Review: THE RITE - Cliche-Ridden & Tired Exorcist Thriller
rating: 1
There was an interview I caught in this weeks Shortlist with Anthony Hopkins where he answers the question of whether he went method for his role in this movie, to which he responded with a no, and the following: you reach a point where you think show up, do your job and make sure the cheques on the way. This pretty much sums up the great actors recent career; and here in his latest screen outing Mr. Hopkins no doubt enjoyed a period of filming in the lush Rome countryside and puts in a performance that might not lack enthusiasm but certainly lacks the class that has made him one of the few Brits that could be classed as stars in the history of Hollywood. His is a misguided, under-directed performance, which is sadly the least of The Rites problems. Michael (Colin ODonoghue a plank of wood with a haircut) is a moody mortician with as much charm as a stale bowl of dishwater that has been used only to wash a glass that contained Evian. You wonder how Rutger Hauer playing his father managed to have such a dull, unworthy-of-oxygen son, then realise the character Rutger Hauer is playing has as much charisma as a bowl of tepid dish water that has been used to wash up a cup of Tetley Tea.
Unhappy with his lot in life - which he expresses with protracted script language with his 'friend' who has but just this one scene and whose only purpose is to act as a sounding board for Michaels internal turmoil - he decides to make the huge departure from mortician to priest. But low and behold three years of priesthood training have done nothing to remove the dour expression from his face or bring the slightest hint of light to his eyes - honestly zombies have more life than ODonoghue. Enter Toby Jones, as a priest with a vested interest in Michael. Cue you've got lots of potential, kid speeches, which could not be written in a more scripted manner. On the eve of handing in his resignation Michael witness a woman getting mowed down by a car and performs the last rights. Father Toby Jones also saw this and sets Michael a challenge its more blackmail go to The Vatican and become an Exorcist, or be sodomized, Catholic style, or have to pay back the 100k in tuition fees. 
So off to the Vatican we go, a place, which thanks to Dan Brown is now about as mysterious and fascinating as your local pub. For absolutely no reason Michael is identified as the star pupil and sent to Super Exorcist Anthony Hopkins who lives out in the countryside. Hopkins plays Father Lucas Trevant a zany, old soul who has performed more exorcisms than Hopkins turned down psycho roles in the wake of Silence of the Lambs. Naturally Hopkins takes the faithless, sceptical Michael under his wing and they attempt to exorcise a demon from a young, pregnant Italian girl. Scenes of Hopkins going through the exorcism process lack imagination and just feel far too familiar to get the least bit excited about. While Hopkins shows real intensity, the material and the dialogue doesnt feel authentic and consequently the entire middle of the movie lags horribly, with not nearly enough moments of shock, horror or gore to steal your attention. The third act sees the demon take over Hopkins body and soul and the task falls to Michael to discover his faith and perform the exorcism. Its a part that requires the young actor to not just convince as a faithless priest who discovers faith in a scene of absolute terror, but requires him to hold his own against Anthony Hopkins, and to effectively pull off the point of the scene, actually blow the veteran off the screen. Its a huge challenge that ODonoghue, who frankly Id be surprised if he had mastered putting his own socks on is not up for, and consequently it turns into a Hopkins showcase, which isnt worthy of bad takes of his performance in The Woflman now thats scary! 
My first theatrical review for Obsessed with Film was of last years hugely successful low-budget The Last Exorcism. In retrospect I must admit to being rather harsh on it upon first viewing; while I am still not a fan of the film I must commend it for at least attempting something new with the oh-so-tired subject matter of exorcisms by presenting it through a mockumentary which kept the plot ambiguous to the very end. Far, far, far less can be said of The Rite; it is a cliché-ridden piece of Febuary film fodder not worthy of Anthony Hopkins considerable talent. Surely he has better scripts with lusher, luxurious locations and bigger cheques that he could spend his twilight years engaged in. 
The Rite is released in the U.K. today.