The Joy and Frustration of B-Movies

My wife and I went to see the science fiction horror movie Priest last week and we enjoyed it.  I should qualify that:  I enjoyed it for what it was -- a high quality b-movie.  That might sound like an oxymoron, since b-movies are thought to be low-budget crapfests, but even big budget films can at times embrace the positive aspects of the b-movie mantra. 

B-movies are unflinching in their total commitment to adrenaline-fueled action, pulp fiction plotting, and stock character good guys and bad guys.  They bring out the kid in all of us.  Like Legion, director Scott Charles Stewart's previous film, Priest has all those qualities.  In an age of pretty-boy vampires, it's great to see a hero who hunts down bloodsuckers for the monsters that they were originally imagined to be.  The excellent cast (Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Maggie Q, Brad Dourif, Lily Collins, and Christopher Plummer) all play their roles with conviction, the kind of dedication that elevates their otherwise stereotypical characters to new levels. 

The post-apocalyptic world is entertaining to watch even if it makes no effort to hide its graphic novel roots.  Therein lies my frustration.  As much as I enjoyed the faithfulness to Min-Woo Hyung's original comic, there was potential to do more with the religious, political, and speculative fiction themes on display in a live-action version.  B-movies can be a blast of merriment, but they can also be full of predictability and storytelling loop-holes, of which Priest has its share. 

It does a good job of setting up a sequel (as all great b-movies do) so one can only hope that future big screen adventures of the nameless vampire-hunting priest might balance the fun with some more thought-provoking and interesting storylines.