THE RITE

THE RITE (PG-13 for violent, disturbing thematic material, frightening images, profanity, sexual references):  A young mortician, Michael (Colin O'Donoghue), leaves his funeral home position to become a priest, has a serious lapse of faith, is sent to Rome to study exorcism.  He tries to convince his teachers that God does not exist, then meets up with an old exorcist (Anthony Hopkins) who tries to convince him that God does  not exist.  Eventually, he realizes, after an agonizingly boring 112-minutes, that he must perform an exorcism to prove to himself that God does indeed exist.

Comments lifted from other critics add up to a good reason for evading the film at all costs:

"It's doubtful that even Roman Polanski could have made 'The Rite' into a good horror film, but he would have at least made it into a competent one."

"Just another cautionary tale for atheists and just another loud-jolt exercise for the Friday-night teen audience, content with the mere ritual of supernatural hokum and the illusion of dramatic depth."

"Stylish, initially provocative, but suffers from increasingly implausible oversimplifications, diminishing suspense and a bland, unengaging performance by O'Donoghue."

"This movie exists in theaters because Hopkins signed on.  He does have 'The Rite,' but that doesn't mean we have to watch."

"Ša psychological thriller filled with pretentious, gruesome, cliché-riddled Satanic drivel."

"It aims for authenticity but is nothing more than a cartoon.  The film is rife with poorly executed genre clichés and (except for Anthony Hopkins) bad acting, alienating the viewer from the picture - and putting him into a coma."

"Anyone who has seen 'The Exorcist' or any of its imitators in the last 38 years can skip this boring re-tread."

Now, can you blame me for not taking the time to see & review it?