A rítus

Hafström egy rendes mester. Minőségi színészekkel mindig tud egy ígéretes forgatókönyvből tisztességes thrillert megsütni. De A rítus forgatókönyve, amely gyengeségével egy bedrogozott vörös szemű lovat is elaltatott volna, ezt most nem tette lehetővé. Mintha a produkció arra számított volna, hogy a Hannibal-szerű vigyor minden árnyalatát energikusan dobáló, látványosan kisminkelt Hopkins szereposztása egy unalmas banalitást félelmetes thriller-utazássá emel. Ez nem történt meg, és a gyenge O'Donoghue sem segített a helyzeten. A Rítus filmben nincs egyetlen igazán erős pillanat, és az ördögűzés témája, amit először zseniálisan Az ördögűző formálta meg, és legutolsó érdekes változata az Ördögűzés Emily Rose üdvéért film volt, itt abszolút semmivel nincs feldobva. Még az Amerikai kísértet is érdekesebb volt, a történelmi környezetbe történő elhelyezéssel és vizuális finomságokkal. A rítus gyenge, unalmas, felesleges. Mindvégig valami nagyobb dolog felé tart, ami végül nem jön el. (2011.03.11)

The approach in the opening forty-five minutes is pleasant, but foiled the screenplay which doesn’t manage to get anything extra from it, or anything at all, for that matter. In other words, the change in style from the bracelet scene onward is a release. All of a sudden it’s a sort of “initiation adventure for not-yet-father Lankester Merrin", although not even that can free it of the waters of mediocrity. P.S.: I have probably never seen a dumber and more senseless use of CGI; why not leave it up to the actors? (2011.05.07)

"What did you expect? A spinning head and vomit?" Mikael Håfström hinted at it with 1408, and with The Rite he confirmed it - the guy is hugely talented and his next film should definitely be a horror again. Give us more of it. The Rite is has a great atmosphere, which is all the more pleasing because it doesn't just rely on the flawlessly excellent Hopkins, but relies on skillful direction, cinematography and unobtrusive, but impressive music. There simply hasn't been a better exorcism movie since The Exorcist. Four pure stars.__P.S. Only Anthony Hopkins can really afford to answer his mobile phone during the ceremony (although maybe it's because in Max von Sydow's time there were only landlines). A great scene. (2011.04.29)

Incredibly dull and clichéd, with an unimaginative and utterly boring script and an atmosphere that wouldn't scare even a five-year-old afraid of thunderstorms and the dark. A completely useless film that tries to impress only with the terrifying idea of exorcism, while somehow neglecting the basic elements of horror, such as thick suspense, stunts or the horrific appearance and speech of the possessed. The only ting The Rite offers is a priest muttering something in Latin while furiously waving a crucifix. That one star is only for Hopkins, whom I respect immensely and have him in my top list, and whose acting potential is unworthy of this ugly piece of shit, which only devalues his career. (2011.08.24)

The most average from the averagely average. Mikael Håfström is not a bad director, but this time he got a not very good script. It’s not that it’s stupid, illogical or chaotic, but the story never escalates and doesn’t have any higher ambitions. Anthony Hopkins shines in the climax, but it’s a pity that he is not given more space than the bland apprentice (meaning the “likeable” hero we are supposed to root for). Otherwise, a couple of the jump-scares did scare me, the images of Rome were nice, so, considering that I had free time at the cinema, I don’t regret going :-D If you are not too anti-Catholic, The Rite won’t offend you. A more important question, however, is who it is trying to appeal to. Nobody, I’m afraid. (2011.03.18)