I must say that it is nice to finally have an exorcism movie available that is worth watching. There has been some really lousy exorcism movies on the market in the past, not to hang any movie out in particular, but nothing worth watching or mentioning. Then "The Rite" came along and rekindled the embers.
The story told in "The Rite" was compelling from the very beginning, with enough drama and suspense to keep you in the seat till the very end. And the story was helped along by believable characters with depths and personalities. The story in the movie is, briefly summarized, about Michael Kovak - a young American seminary student - who travels to Italy to learn the rites of exorcism. Here he experiences first hand the powers of demonic possessions and how to expel the unclean spirits.
"The Rite" has a rather good cast, most noteworthy is Anthony Hopkins (playing Father Lucas Trevant), of course. Hopkins's performance in "The Rite" is nothing less than extraordinary. He was the one who truly carried the movie and made it interesting. The role of Michael Kovak (played by Colin O'Donoghue) was good as well, and O'Donoghue did a good enough job. However, I could somehow see Christian Bale would be filling out the shoes better in this particular role. Anyway, it was also really good to see Rutger Hauer (playing Istvan Kovak) in this movie, despite him having a fairly small role. He always brings something unique to the movies he is in.
Now, "The Rite" isn't particularly scary in any way, but the story is dark and brooding, with just the right amount of thrills and suspense to it. A very good mix that served the movie so well. The story sinks in and sits with you for a long time after the movie ends, because it does stir up some thoughts and emotions.
The effects in the movie, though few were there, were working well. And I especially enjoyed the make-up on Hopkins in the latter half of the movie, that was brilliant. It looked genuinely disturbing and sinister. And his acting, of course, helped add to the gloomy situation.
As for the sound aspect of the movie, well they had a really good music score working for them. It was just subtle enough to be playing in the background and add to the effects and drama, but not so much that the music stole away the attention from the movie. And they had done a magnificent job on the work with the voices when the possessed were talking. Multiple layers of voices and pitches works so well. Thumbs up on the sounds in the movie.
"The Rite" is a movie that is well worth checking out, if not for anything else, then for the performance of Anthony Hopkins - he is in top gear in this movie. I found the movie to be rather good and it was a much needed breath of air to an otherwise stale exorcism niche of movies.
The story told in "The Rite" was compelling from the very beginning, with enough drama and suspense to keep you in the seat till the very end. And the story was helped along by believable characters with depths and personalities. The story in the movie is, briefly summarized, about Michael Kovak - a young American seminary student - who travels to Italy to learn the rites of exorcism. Here he experiences first hand the powers of demonic possessions and how to expel the unclean spirits.
"The Rite" has a rather good cast, most noteworthy is Anthony Hopkins (playing Father Lucas Trevant), of course. Hopkins's performance in "The Rite" is nothing less than extraordinary. He was the one who truly carried the movie and made it interesting. The role of Michael Kovak (played by Colin O'Donoghue) was good as well, and O'Donoghue did a good enough job. However, I could somehow see Christian Bale would be filling out the shoes better in this particular role. Anyway, it was also really good to see Rutger Hauer (playing Istvan Kovak) in this movie, despite him having a fairly small role. He always brings something unique to the movies he is in.
Now, "The Rite" isn't particularly scary in any way, but the story is dark and brooding, with just the right amount of thrills and suspense to it. A very good mix that served the movie so well. The story sinks in and sits with you for a long time after the movie ends, because it does stir up some thoughts and emotions.
The effects in the movie, though few were there, were working well. And I especially enjoyed the make-up on Hopkins in the latter half of the movie, that was brilliant. It looked genuinely disturbing and sinister. And his acting, of course, helped add to the gloomy situation.
As for the sound aspect of the movie, well they had a really good music score working for them. It was just subtle enough to be playing in the background and add to the effects and drama, but not so much that the music stole away the attention from the movie. And they had done a magnificent job on the work with the voices when the possessed were talking. Multiple layers of voices and pitches works so well. Thumbs up on the sounds in the movie.
"The Rite" is a movie that is well worth checking out, if not for anything else, then for the performance of Anthony Hopkins - he is in top gear in this movie. I found the movie to be rather good and it was a much needed breath of air to an otherwise stale exorcism niche of movies.