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Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Rite

Critic's Rating:  **1/2
Cast: Colin O'Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins, Ciaran Hinds
Direction: Mikael Hasfstrom
Genre: Horror
Duration: 1 hour 44 minutes
Readers Rating: **1/2
More from The Rite
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Story: An American priest in the making, decides to give up on the seminary when an interesting challenge is thrown his way -- that of exorcism. Is that reason enough for him to believe in the anti-Christ?

Movie Review: Based on true events, The Rite somehow fails to send chills down your spine. All one gets to hear are the anti-Christ philosophies: The devil is still alive... The devil is active today... Don't talk of the devil for it brings bad things home... Yes, almost forty minutes into the movie and you get to witness the first scary scene. And scared are we? Not really, except for a couple of scenes when the American seminary student, Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donogue) is attacked by the possessed or when he talks to his already-six-hours-dead dad over the phone. For the rest, it's all about Michael questioning the existence of the devil, aliens, God, sin, religion.

More than half way into the movie, yet Colin refuses to believe in the power of Satan. So what if a 16-year-old pregnant (possessed) Italian girl suddenly speaks a language alien to her. Or for that matter, it's okay even when another possessed soul vomits out big nails. Things perk up only when Michael travels to the Vatican to attend a new programme designed to teach the clergy the `rite' to exorcism, courtesy mentor Rev Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins).

Watch out for the angry, sweaty, desperate and convincing exorcist act by Anthony Hopkins, if you must.

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