The Pope's Exorcist 4K 2023

‘The Pope's Exorcist’ is like a summer disco hit that’s just like thousands of others, but it’s still an easy watch precisely because it’s so typical.

Russell Crowe does a solid job portraying his character, infusing him with unique traits. Of course, there’s no deep drama here, but you can’t exactly call the protagonist one-dimensional either. Crowe is charming. The other characters are so formulaic that you’ll hardly remember them.

What is both a strength and a weakness of the film is its mediocrity. The plot twists, shots, music, and characters are so similar to those in other films of this genre that it feels like watching yet another episode of some long-running, beloved TV series.

Given this lack of any pretense of being extraordinary, you don’t even feel like nitpicking the absurdities—which, to be honest, are plentiful. Well, there’s a grand piano in the bushes—so what? Does it bother you? At the same time, there are some very clear and clever scenes that show the filmmakers didn’t just slap this together but actually tried to make a good movie.

If you like exorcism movies, you’ll probably enjoy this one. It doesn’t have the horror of *The Last Exorcism* or the boyish audacity of *Constantine*. But it’s just the thing for an evening in.