The Man from Rome

No pun intended - of course some may not know the man (actor that is) - not everyone has seen or does watch many movies like I and maybe you do. On the other hand, if you are here, there has to be a reason for this, no? Maybe even our main actor is one of those reasons. I quite like him - that said, that doesn't change my feelings towards the movie.

It is a nice B-Action movie - with some interesting casting choices. While I really like Franco Nero - he does phone it in. And can you blame him? That's rhetorical of course. Action and cinematography is also at least decent. So if you are into that kind of thing ... there are worse things or rather movies out there than this ...

Greetings again from the darkness. It appears as if Catholicism has gone high-tech! Of course, with that comes the risk of being hacked, and that's how this film from writer-director Sergio Dow begins. Based on the 1995 novel "La Piel del Tambor" ("The Skin of the Drum") by Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte, the list of those with a writing credit includes: Adrian Bol, Beth Bollinger, Gretchen Cowan, Carolina Lopez-Rodriguez, Sheila Willis, and Luis Zelkowicz, Yes, so while the premise is appealing, it's likely too many fingers in the writer's pie created the tangled web that prevented this one from reaching greater heights.

Richard Armitage stars as Father Quart, the best Priest-Investigator the Vatican can offer. Mr. Armitage performed admirably in a couple of Harlan Coben limited series, "Stay Close" and "The Stranger", and he has a unique and quietly compelling screen presence ... and probably very few other actors could come across as somewhat believable in the role of Priest-Cop. Still dwelling on a tragic error in his last case, Quart is sent to Seville, Spain where a 17th century church has been the scene of some recent unexplained deaths. Upon arrival, he learns the church is also a key element in a family squabble related to a pending land development deal.

Macarena (Alma Salamanca) and her mother Duquesa Cruz Bruner (Fionnula Flanagan, dropping her familiar Irish brogue for a Spanish accent) are self-funding the church renovations, while Macarena's estranged husband, the ambitious and unscrupulous Pencho (Rodolfo Sancho) is pushing for the razing of the church so the large development project can proceed. Also included in this battle are Gris (Alicia Borrachero), who is the church's architectural restorer, Monsignor Spada (screen veteran Paul Guilfoyle) pushing Quart to close the case, Padre Ferro (Paul Freeman), the Priest from the small church who believes Quart is the bad guy, Padre Cooey (Carlos Cuevas), a Priest with other-worldly tech skills, and the always great Franco Nero who plays the Pope in a couple of scenes (interesting that he also played a different era Pope in Russell Crowe's recent thriller, THE POPE'S EXORCIST).

The deaths occurring inside Our Lady of Tears church may or may not be mysterious, but what is clear pretty quickly is that greed and corruption are quite prevalent in this situation. The film opens with Father Quart offering his own personal confession, and this is meant to convey that he really is a good guy (not a perfect one) looking for answers ... not a lackey sent to get the high-dollar deal closed. The film is at its best when Armitage is on screen, yet the story might have benefitted from a deeper dive into the corruption aspect.

These days, a money-laundering scheme is the preferred scandal for the Catholic Church, and it's kind of humorous to think that the Vatican might have a bullpen of programmers wearing Priest collars as they cyber-protect the Church. There are some fight scenes that aren't particularly well-staged, although the work of renowned Spanish composer Roque Banos is a highlight, as are the beautiful locales. We are left feeling like this could have worked best as a limited series on Netflix.

Opening in theaters and On Demand June 30, 2023.

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a computer hacker who penetrates Vatican security and sends an urgent, anonymous plea to the pope. Handsome Father Quart of the church's Institute of External Affairs, an arm of the Vatican Intelligence, is dispatched to investigate. The message of the hacker concerns a crumbling 17th century Baroque church in the heart of Seville that apparently "kills to defend itself." The movie is based on the 1995 novel by Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte called "La Piel del Tambor", which means "the skin of the drum." The film was directed by Sergio Dow. Writing credits go to Adrian Bol, Beth Bollinger, and Gretchen Cowan.

The movie is set in Spain and uses many Spanish actors; however, the movie is in English.

THINGS I LIKED: Some of the stand-out cast members include Richard Armitage, Paul Guilfoyle, Amaia Salamanca, Alicia Borrachero, Franco Nero, Fionnula Flanagan, Carlos Cuevas.

The opening scene was perfect.

The movie is set in Spain. I lived in Spain twice for a couple of years and loved it! One of the cities I visited was Sevilla, so I loved seeing it in the movie! We get to see a typical Spanish religious procession, a flamenco show.

The cinematography is beautiful.

The movie was released in Spain in October 2022, and now released in the USA in 2023.

The movie is filmed in Spanish but dubbed in English.

Fantastic close-ups.

We get to see some gorgeous Catholic churches and interiors in Spain and Italy. We even get to visit the Vatican. I'm not Catholic, but I absolutely respect all religions and appreciate their buildings and beautiful artwork.

Lovely music.

Some of the characters are instantly likeable like those played by Richard Armitage, Alicia Borrachero, and Carlos Cuevas.

Is it just me or do you also think Victor Mallarino looks a little bit like a Spanish Ray Romano?

The ending is satisfying for many reasons: we learn the truth, loose ends are tied up, and we learn more about faith.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Sometimes, it's hard to understand what people were saying.

There are a lot of things to read on the screen that are written in Spanish with no subtitles. Most of the time, the words aren't crucial to the story.

The fight scenes aren't particularly creative.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: We see several dead bodies, lying in a pool of blood.

Profanity, including F-bombs.

Some violence with weapons, as well as hand-to-hand combat.

We see a man in the shower (private parts are not seen) A priest kisses a woman.

We see some murders.

Priests fight and kill others.

!

I was hoping this film would be more action/horror based than cerebral.. Sadly it was more the latter. The action scenes were pretty naff to be honest and really needed beefing up to give the whole film more bite. The long periods of relative inactivity saw some reasonable acting.

Got to admit i have a soft spot for these Euro collaborations, they nearly wlays end up being a mixed bag.

Richard Armitage is pretty comvincing as a Bible Bond, it's just a shame he didn't flex his muscles enough or, like i said previously, be hamstrung by some extremely ropey fight choreography.

All in it's watchable, i gave it a generous 6 but it's more like a 5, a few more better choreographed fights and it would be a solid 6 IMHO.

You have a very good book and you strip it of its most colorful characters, you change the attitude, motivations and destiny of others, you change a good part of the plot and what you get is a mediocre movie because among other things the script is much worse. I don't know why some producers, directors or whoever is responsible want to bring a book to the screen if they twist it like that. If you liked the book try to be faithful to it. If you didn't like the book, don't make the movie. And well, the terrible actors, not a single one is spared, even Seville is wasted, being one of the most beautiful cities in the world and practically a "character" in the book. Ed a real waste of movie time, and I am ashamed that the writer Pérez Reverte has allowed something like this to be done. Not everything can be allowed for money, Don Arturo.