Karl Urban Tormented Paul Bettany In This Overlooked Comic Book Horror Film
Karl Urban is perhaps most recognized for his role as Butcher in the comic book series “The Boys,” yet the actor has been featured in numerous comic book adaptations and genre films, including the 2011 release “Priest.” Undoubtedly the least impressive adaptation Urban has been a part of, “Priest” is a chaotic film that pales in comparison to Urban’s lead performance in 2012’s “Dredd,” which is based on 2000AD’s “Judge Dredd.”
“Priest” centers on the eponymous character, portrayed by Paul Bettany, as he seeks to eradicate vampires that have slaughtered his family and endanger various human settlements. Urban takes on the role of the antagonist, Black Hat, who possesses the ability to control vampires. Despite the film’s mediocrity, Urban delivers a strong performance while harassing Bettany’s Priest character with sinister plots aimed at humanity’s extinction.
Similar to how “The Boys” diverges from the comics, “Priest” is only loosely inspired by the original work by author Hyung Min-woo. The source material, a Korean comic or manhwa, does not involve vampires directly; instead, it showcases fallen angels as the villains. There isn’t even a character named Priest; the protagonist is Ivan Isaacs, a demon-possessed priest. Urban’s character is entirely an invention of the new storyline.
Paul Bettany disappointed some viewers
“Priest” was met with negative reviews upon its release in May 2011, achieving a mere 16% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 41 out of 100 on Metacritic after the reviews were compiled. Among the more favorable critiques was from the now-closed Movieline, which commended how swiftly the adventure was initiated, allowing the rest of the film to focus on its action-driven storyline. Another positive review from The Vine awarded it three out of five stars, once again highlighting the action.
Most critiques, however, deemed Bettany’s acting as “lifeless,” or noted that he had a tendency to select subpar scripts for action films during that period. The actor found his comic book breakthrough a few years later, landing the role of J.A.R.V.I.S. in Marvel’s “Iron Man,” later evolving into Vision in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Vision is slated to have his own series in 2026.
Nonetheless, Den of Geek lauded Urban’s performance. From a handful of clips available online, it’s evident that the actor embraced the whimsical nature of the role. Ultimately, the film resides among a collection of comic book adaptations that have been largely forgotten as everyone pursued the Marvel goldmine.