Difficult movie to categorise, Fantasy, Mystery, Occult Thrillr, well , it certainly falls into all of these. Good overall story, generally the acting is pretty good and Ledger deserves a special mention. A must in any movie collection. Would we watch it again, absolutely. Retained for future viewing.

Heath Ledger was a pretty well established star by 2003, having appeared in movies like "A Knight's Tale" and "Monster's Ball". "The Order" isn't a crime against humanity - I reserve that moniker for the likes of "Everyone Says I Love You" and "Man on the Moon" - but its plot is too all over the place to make any sense. It was interesting learning about the different kinds of Catholic orders that exist, but the movie didn't have enough focus, so I wouldn't recommend it.It's too bad that Heath Ledger died so young. His career was on a good path, and I have no doubt that were he alive today he would be playing some fine roles. As for Brian Helgeland, it's a surprise that the screenwriter of "LA Confidential" would make this sort of movie.

I think religious thrillers have a hard time in Hollywood. A lot of them feel murky and unfocused, skirting with the issues of the church rather than fully engaging with them. The mainstream interest of depictions of the intricacies, intrigue and plotting within the various churches just isn't there, so writers have to involve ever more outlandish plot ingredients in order to attract attention.THE SIN EATER involves the concept of special people who have the ability to 'suck out' the sins from a person, taking them into their own body. The actor playing the sin eater in this, Bruno Furmann, is effectively mysterious but the film overall isn't. Heath Ledger's leading character is boringly righteous, Mark Addy is miscast, and Shannyn Sossamon there for eye candy alone. Peter Weller (ROBOCOP) is better, but gets too little screen time. The CGI effects are silly. The ending is a particular disappointment, descending into farce with a stock villain who must be thwarted; very Hollywood and very predictable.

Okay, it seems a lot of folks really aren't getting this one. And, perhaps it's the marketing that's responsible (although, one would think these ratings would be based on what's on the screen, not the DVD cover) The Order isn't a horror film, it isn't trying to scare the audience. It is, however, a super-hero origin film (think Unbreakable to non-comic dork readers). And, I think it's a pretty neat-o one, at that. Personally, I really loved the melding of biblical and comic book mythos. And, while not everything in the film works 100%, the central story and how it plays out is really quite cool and original, which is something I can't say about most "superhero" flicks that are being pumped out en masse these days.So yeah, I think this movie gets a bum rap. I'm you've already made up your mind, there's not a lot I can say. However, if you've yet to check it out, consider my two cents.