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The Order

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The Order (2003)

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Reviews Counted:56

Fresh:5

Rotten:51

Average Rating:2.9/10

Consensus: A religious thriller that's more lethargic and silly than thrilling.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US Box Office: $7,536,577

Synopsis: For centuries, a secret Order has existed within the Church. Following a series of unexplained murders, a renegade priest (Heath Ledger) begins an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of... For centuries, a secret Order has existed within the Church. Following a series of unexplained murders, a renegade priest (Heath Ledger) begins an investigation that hurls him into a maelstrom of unimaginable evil, murder and the knowledge that there is a fate worse than death.

The priest's search takes him to The Sin Eater – a key figure in this mysterious and ancient Order. The immortal Sin Eater's role is nothing less than playing God on earth by absolving the unforgivable of their sins outside the Church, allowing great evil to go unpunished. Burdened with centuries of evil, The Sin Eater craves the luxury of death. But who will eat his sins and grant eternal peace? Who will carry on his dark tradition and continue the work of the Order? As the young priest uncovers the answers and pursues these paragons of evil, he fights to save his own soul and that of the woman he loves.

Twentieth Century Fox presents a Baumgarten Merims production, THE ORDER. The film is written, produced and directed by Academy Award® winner Brian Helgeland, and produced by Craig Baumgarten. Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Fürmann, and Peter Weller star in the film. -- © 20th Century Fox [More]

Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann

Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann, Peter Weller

Director: Brian Helgeland

Director: Brian Helgeland
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland
Producer: Brian Helgeland, Craig Baumgarten
Composer: David Torn
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for The Order

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

In what church is Heath Ledger a priest? And who are the nuns - Heather Graham and Tara Reid?

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
09/11/03
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

As the movie’s promotion intimates, ‘There is a fate worse than death,’ and you got it – it’s sitting through this movie.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/09/04
Kurt Dahlke
Kurt Dahlke
Apollo Guide

There are no surprises here, just a movie that limps along like a wounded horse. At some point, you simply want to put the poor thing out of its misery.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
09/08/03
Randy Cordova
Randy Cordova
Arizona Republic

[Helgeland] beats up on the Catholic Church with the same brainless zeal and pointless histrionics as such Grade F noisemakers as Lost Souls and Stigmata.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/08/03
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Annoyingly boring and nonsensical would-be paranormal thriller.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
09/08/03
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

Devout Catholics will be appalled; everyone else will be asleep.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/28/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Schlock that could and should have been better.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
09/08/03
Loren King
Loren King
Chicago Tribune

The film’s failed gothic look is just ugly, so forcibly dank that important details, like which characters are in a certain scene, sometimes get lost.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
09/11/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

"The Order" is a halfhearted "supernatural thriller"%u2014interpret as not an actual "horror" movie...

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
06/12/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

It's long on atmosphere and whispered moments of creepy discovery.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/07/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

It's a horror movie that isn't frightening and a thriller that isn't thrilling.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
09/08/03
Gary Dowell
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News

A severely muddled, lethargically paced religion-based thriller without any thrills or even vague signs of entertainment value.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
09/05/03
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

...the movie makes little sense even for a guy more than willing to suspend his disbelief, as I was.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
12/05/03
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

From the casting to the plot to the monologues that come off sounding like SNL jokes, everything here is just plain sloppy.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
09/11/03
E! Online

The ABC's of the plot are nearly mystifying, and once you have everything figured out you'll realize that the end result was hardly worth all the effort.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/11/03
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Alternately laughable and sleep-inducing, The Order shows that the team behind A Knight's Tale was not just a one-trick pony. They have plenty more bad movies up their sleeves.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/07/03
Collin Souter
Collin Souter
eFilmCritic.com

The picture is so lethargic that I began to think of watching it as a form of atonement.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
09/10/03
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

A movie with no place to go, and no idea how to get to where it's not going.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
09/06/03
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

It's preposterous, silly rather than frightening, and the performances and characterizations have a pot-boiler feel.

Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS) | comment Comment
03/19/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Give me Aramaic runes and whispered chanting on the soundtrack, and I'm pretty much yours for the evening.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
09/05/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
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