Rating: 
Summary: Could have been MUCH better...
Review: I did not see this movie in the theater, but was curious to see it after seeing some brief advertisement for it on TV. My wife and I bought the DVD.I have to admit that the film started with surprising promise. A priest has a run-in with a man, whom we later find out to be a "Sin Eater", which leads to his mysterious demise. Is it suicide? Murder? Is it possible that some evil force was involved? As we get introduced to the cast, we come across 3 demons; one with a message portending an evil Pope on the rise and the other 2 as the laughably quotable "demon spawn in the guise of children." Who the hell says "guise" of whatever these days? However, what I thought would turn out to be some edgy thriller with demons galore turned out to be a snooze-fest with Heath Ledger playing a priest who barely has enough time to establish that he wants to maintain his faith (as eventually contested by the Sin Eater) before he jumps out of his clothes and sleeps with a woman he helped once through a difficult time. The Sin Eater/Ledger scenes start out to be interesting, but after hearing the same message paraphrased about 3 times in various scenes (church, private jet, etc.), my wife wondered aloud, "I hope this picks up some time soon." Unfortunately, it does not and the movie becomes surprisingly confused and wonders off to a different place. Ledger's scenes with the Sin Eater seem surreal and at times I have dim recollections of other characters in the film. The other priest and the girl are conveniently written out at key times in the film and the feeling is contrived and forced. What is even worse (or perhaps funny, you choose) is that demon-fighting apparently involves a priest holding up a cross and informing it that it should go back to hell. Please. Yes, go back to hell and begone with you. Whoosh! They're gone. You think that evil would just be a little more powerful beyond conjuring a 10,000 horse-power leaf blower to knock Ledger down in the graveyard. Oooooo...he fell down...what next? Ok, granted, I'll give you that the nailing of Thomas (the other priest) was somewhat suspenseful, but you think that demons over several millenia would learn to aim with somewhat more deadly accuracy. What hurts the movie even more was to have scenes which bring questions as to who/why/what/when/where at the very beginning and taking an EXCRUCIATING amount of time explaining them. And when the explanations come, they are short, abrupt, and rather unsatisfying given the amount of time that was left to build them up. The "plot twist" at the end amounted to an extremely dessicated lemon that one could see a hundred miles away. When it came, I stared at my ceiling in despair and wondered if there was any more to come of it. It's a pity that this movie turned out this way because some clever re-writing and editing could have made this much better. Always beware when you have the same person write, direct, and produce your movie. That's too much work on one person's shoulders and it's painfully obvious here. The movie's saving grace is that it is fairly well-acted throughout. That and the first half hour of the film had me rooted to the spot. I think the movie, however, decided to lose me when Ledger's character decided to show his true colors and reveal how weak he truly is. I mean, it did not even feel like he put up much of a fight. "No, I can not...ok, Sin Eater, I see your point. I'll roll over, sit, speak, and do whatever you want me to do."
Rating:
Summary: Great potential, fell flat MISNAMED
Review: This movie should have been titled differently. There was virtually nothing in its plot about "the order", but rather it was all about the sineater which left this viewer confused.
The whole plot was confusing. There were too many loose ends, too dark, too bad. The girl should have been the saving grace of the movie, not sacrificed in the boring plot. Peter Weller was not convincing in his ambition. I was disappointed in this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Bashful's DVD Summary #014
Review: Best: 1) It makes you think about the nature of sin and absolution.
2) The dialogue was tight and fairly easy to follow.
3) It all becomes more interesting as the film progresses and the ending was a thriller.
4) There are deleted scenes and a director commentary. Worst: 1) It's dark and depressing most of the time, so it isn't for casual viewing.
2) The occasional CGI effects seemed out of place and sometimes were a little overdone.
3) The idea that sins can be quantified and contained inside of a chosen person's body is something you may not believe from the onset. Recommendation: If you have a strong interest in religious subjects outside of the norm, this one may greatly spark your interest. Buy it cheaper than retail, however, just in case it's not your cup of tea.
Rating: 
Summary: among the worst
Review: This is among the worst movies I've ever seen. I can't think of a powerful enough word to describe how idiotic the "plot" is. Sin eater? Please...more like $$$ eater. Save your money. I wouldn't even rent it. Plot...zero. Special effects...non-existent. Creepy factor...it was a joke & not even a little creepy. Seriously folks, I'm not that hard to please & this movie pissed me off it sucked so bad. Cheers...
Rating:
Summary: Cross Purposes
Review: What a mess. I'm not even Catholic, but the two or three molecules of this too-too solid flesh were annoyed and insulted by this movie's take on the Pope and Church and all that. Even if you don't agree with the Catholic doctrine of priestly celibacy (and I don't), it's hard to find sympathy for the hero/priest when he discards his collar for a suicidal nutjob of a girlfriend. Her backstory was too jumbled. He'd exorcized her but--did he really? She tried to kill him before--or had she tried after the exorcism?
But by then we're trying to make out what the heck is going on with the current story. Am I really supposed to believe that the second-in-line-to-be-Pope Peter Weller keeps an evil Black Mass party hall under the Vatican itself? (I know it's a little detail, but in supernatural thrillers, good ones anyway, the devil is in the details). The whole concept of a "sin eater" is intriguing, but the movie gets bizarre and confusing and really uninteresting as it goes on. The characters all end up muddled at cross purposes. Why didn't they do anything with those devil kids from the first half? Does ANYONE know what they're talking about in the second half? Can the tubby sidekick priest get anymore obnoxious with his chain-smoking, drinking and cussing?
What does God have to say about a process that slips unworthy souls into his kingdom? THE ORDER is a "supernatural thriller" that forgot to include the supernatural beyond a couple of horror movie cliches. They stepped into a cathedral and looked up to see only a ceiling.
Rating:
Summary: Different Film
Review: I rented this after watching the awesome trailer. About halfway through I began to wonder if I'd rented the wrong thing. First off, the trailer makes it look like an entirely different film than it really is. The trailer says that a rogue priest must battle an ancient evil summoned by a corrupt order of priests. Cool, it sounds. The film is actually about a rogue priest's mentor dying and of a being called the "sin eater". The premise isn't half bad, but next time, advertise the right thing!
Rating:
Summary: Religious Thriller?
Review: I enjoy intelligent thrillers, even those that move forward slowly and carefully. For example, I thought "The Game" with Michael Douglas was one of the best of this type of movie. I thought this movie had the potential of being in the same class as "The Game," but I was disappointed. Part of the problem is the story itself. Alex Bernier (Heath Ledger) is a young priest investigating the apparent suicide of his mentor. It is important to the story to realize that all the principal characters are Catholic. While suicide is a sin in all religions, in the Catholic faith it is perhaps the worst sin of all because it can never be forgiven and prevents that person from being buried in hallowed ground. Alex struggles to believe that his mentor could have committed suicide and sets out to understand why or to prove that he did not commit suicide. The movie plods along, paced by Alex's thoughts and his interaction with William Eden (Benno Fürmann) and Mara Sinclair (Shannyn Sossamon), along with several other characters, including Peter Weller in one his most unusual roles. The problem with the pacing is that the core issues in this movie are the shock of "sin eating," a pagan practice that dates back hundred or even thousands of year, and corruption with the church. Perhaps Catholics might be shocked that sin eating might still exist, but Protestants are going to yawn and say "so what?" Further, with all the recent publicity regarding a variety of crimes committed by various priests and the ensuing cover up by the Catholic Church, political corruption within the Church and the possibility that some of the most important members of the church might be other than they seem just isn't all that shocking. This movie should have been made twenty years ago when it might have had more of an effect. The actors here are not at fault. The acting throughout is quite good. I was very impressed by all the principal characters, especially by Heath Ledger, who did an excellent job. Shannyn as his conflicted love interest was dark, brooding, very sensual and sexual and yet also very innocent; outstanding acting. The cinematography was similarly excellent and enhanced the subject quite well. The problem with the movie is that the central conflict will have little effect on many people, and thus they will lose interest and not want to spend the effort to focus on the complex, philosophical story line. Perhaps Brian Helgeland could have made this movie a different way or with a different script and achieved the effect he was hoping to create. Instead the movie spends far too much time on religious philosophy and on the shock of salvation by means other than religious beliefs, and many members of the audience have a difficult time to relate.
Rating: 
Summary: Order is great dispite the reviews
Review: This movie may have never found its audeance but the ideas behind it are still fun, frighting, and dark.
Heath ledger catchs my attention for the first time and Benno Furmann as always is exellent! I know lots of people missed out on enjoying this film but sometimes you have to spend time thinking about movies insted of just takeing them at face value.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible film, horrible cinematography, horrible story, etc.
Review: Not only is this one of the worst movies in terms of technical aspects, but it's one of the worst in terms of its plot and direction as well. Brian should stick to writing, b/c it's here, where he seems to be more on (he adapted the story and wrote the screenplay for MYSTIC RIVER, which is one of 2003's best films) but here, he tries to do it all and fails miserably. Do not see this movie. Do not see it because of Heath Ledger and do not see it because of anyone else. One minute, Heath is walking through a cathedral, the next minute, he's swimming in a large river that seems to have been hidden in the cathedral's walls....hmm....symbolism? I think not. Just really really really bad screenwriting, period.
Rating:
Summary: One of 2003's best thrillers!
Review: Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential," "Mystic River") delivers a gothic, mature, and scary as hell horror film in the form of "The Order," which tells the story of Alex Bernier (Heath Ledger), a rebel priest who, along with a friend and a troubled artist, searches for answers to who is the culprit behind a string of mystical and gruesome murders. This investigation leads the audience through a dark world of demons and cults and I enjoyed every minute of it, from the deep and sublime screenplay writing to the dark and spooky atmosphere. The performances are top-notch, also, especially from Heath Ledger, whom you'll remember from "The Patriot," where he played Mel Gibson's cocky warrior son. If you're looking for a scary, and intelligent, horror film, give "The Order" a shot! When you're afraid to turn the lights off that night, you'll think of me. Uh-oh. :)
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