MovieFreak.com - "The Order" DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

For centuries, a secret Order of priests has existed within the Church. A renegade priest, Father Alex Bernier (Ledger), is sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of one of the Order's most revered members. Following a series of strangely similar killings, Bernier launches an investigation that forces him to confront unimaginable evil and the terrifying knowledge that there is a fate worse than death.

First of all, don't confuse the film with The Order starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Both films deal with the same subject matter apart from carrying the same title, but Brian Helgeland's film is much darker, though I can't say if it's worse. Either way, it doesn't matter. What does matter, however, and it's the leading cause why the film doesn't work, is the combination of an unimpressive story and weak characters. Helgeland's script features some good scenes, most of them are quite dark in terms of perspective and tone. Perhaps it is too dark and mysterious as a whole.

In terms of filmmaking, The Order shows some nice work, especially that of cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. The score by David Torn features several haunting tracks, and they add to the film's darkness. But again, the script is not very supportive. I didn't care for the Pope dying at the beginning and Alex's investigation didn't do much for me either. The biggest problem with Alex is the way he looks. Heath Ledger's messy facial hair is almost distracting. I mean, he plays a priest. Then again, he's a renegade priest, right, so I guess he's not obliged to look the part. Wrong. If the main actor in a film looks messy when he doesn't need to be, I see a problem. It's an unappealing affair. In fact, so is much of the film.

The supporting characters are thin; the romance subplot with Shannyn Sossamon's character is a bit odd considering the background, and Mark Addy's character seems to just hang around and appear out of the shadows; not literally. Then there's Peter Weller. He and Addy to the best they can with the material. On the other hand, German actor Benno Fürmann (The Princess and the Warrior) did a nice job with his role. I can't remember if the script had any light moments, maybe some subtle humor. Then again, I really wasn't looking for much of anything in this film. I avoided it in theaters, but had to watch it to write the review. As the horrible DVD cover suggests, there is a fate worse than death. In this case, that is true. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea.

It's kind of surprising that on this film Helgeland reunites with three actors he worked with in A Knight's Tale, namely Ledger, Sossamon and Addy. Did they own Helgeland a favor or is their involvement in The Order simply an ordinary casting move. Something seems to indicate it's the former, but I'm not here to speculate. The three actors played pivotal roles in Tale, and the only missing cast member from that film would be Paul Bettany, who's co-starring with Russell Crowe in the epic sea adventure Master and Commander. Bettany is doing well it seems, but I can't say the same for Heath, who hasn't found his perfect project yet, unless the upcoming The Brothers Grimm, directed by Terry Gilliam, turns out to be the one.

In short, The Order is not worth watching. There are very few if any rewarding things about the film. Fans of Ledger will likely be disappointed considering his muddy appearance.

Fox presents The Order in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. That version is on side A. Video quality is generally quite decent. The print image is in very good condition without specks. However, scenes shot in dim light and dark corners appear soft. Some compression artifacts also occur in those types of scenes. Some grain is noticeable, too. In the case of outdoor scenes, edge enhancement is visible. However, sharpness and detail is handled very well on occasion. Colors are mostly subdued, but they look just fine. Overall, decent video quality. For reference, side B contains the fullscreen presentation.

Fox presents The Order in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. You won't hear anything out of the ordinary from this track, but it offers a few good moments. Surrounds handle the sound effects to good effect, and dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score is presented in a strong way. There is hardly any dynamic range, and not much ambience. Much of the audio is located in the front. In the end, Fox's presentation performs just fine.

Both sides of the disc feature the audio commentary by Brian Helgeland. He's soft-spoken and gets across a few tidbits here and there, but this track just didn't interest me. If you care to watch the unrated deleted scenes and dailies you have to play side A. They're all expendable and that's why they're here. Rounding out the extras is the film's theatrical trailer.

You can select to view the film with optional English and Spanish subtitles. The 102-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters. A paper insert lists scene selections and DVD contents.

The Order makes an attempt to compel, scare and mystify, but it fails because of an uninteresting story and weak characters. Video quality is decent, the audio sounds just fine, and the extras are as basic as they are bland. Don't bother picking this one up.

THE MOVIE	4
THE VIDEO	7
THE AUDIO	7
THE EXTRAS	4
OVERALL (not an average)	4