SummaryBehind Vatican walls, the traditionalist Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and the reformist future Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.
SummaryBehind Vatican walls, the traditionalist Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) and the reformist future Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.
Anchored by two outstanding performances from Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, the film is a triumph of writing as well as unostentatious filmmaking.
This movie is simply a masterpiece. It combines the excellent performances of Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, with an amazing score, great dialogue and some very moving and emotional moments. Beautifully shot and some of the cinematography is astounding! This film really opened my eyes to religion as I felt before I was far more judgmental and in my books that is a massive achievement
The stimulating meeting of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, especially focusing on the crisis that caused his abdication to papal seat. The chemistry between actors works at every minute, with several compelling moments that make difficult to choose which is the better.
The Two Popes shouldn’t work, a two-handed conversation about Vatican minutiae. But with great writing, smart direction and late career-high performances from Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, it’s a high-end treat. Send up the white smoke, we have a winner.
Whenever the film settles on the two leads—who both melt into these real-world personas so thoroughly that Hannibal Lecter himself is soon forgotten—it becomes an intimate portrait of faith as a struggle, even for those at the very top.
If nothing else, the mere sight of two popes drinking brews and watching a soccer game together is one of the more surreal things you’ll see at the movies this year.
If you are a fan of excellent debate, you will enjoy this movie. I had not known why Benedict abdicated (first Pope in 700 years to do so). It was because the church got caught bishops being blackmailed for **** into money laundering (that's not in the movie), and the abuse scandal. These 2 men agree on nothing but do not repeat ignorant emotional arguments, instead they both defend their positions well. I like when Francis said a sin is a wound to be cleaned, not just forgiven. confession does nothing for the victim. "Banks beg for deregulation like a tiger begging to be let out of a cage. They devour everything." I had not respected Benedict until seeing the courage required to give up the papacy and encourage someone he disagreed with on every issue. There is much information here also, I did not know that Francis got 2 priests abducted by a dictator and tortured for 5 months, then took the name of 1 of them in papacy as a symbol of penance.
A heartfelt telling of what could have been a boring, uneventful story turns out to be quite interesting and even compelling. I can't recommend this film to anyone not already interested in the papacy, but if you have even the slightest interest in this once in a 700+ years event, give this one a watch. Hopkins and Pryce clearly put effort towards conveying the real personalities of these two Popes and in a film that almost solely consists of conversations between the two of them, they pull it off.
The performances from Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins were really good and some of the scenes they share together are interesting to watch and not much else. The movie actually started good. The conversations Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bergoglio share are actually pretty well written and acted. I could even rewatch any day some of those conversations they have. It is interesting to see their opposite ideologies and thoughts about the catholic church. However, I found myself dozing off during the last hour of the movie. I don't know, the movie just stopped being interesting after a while, not because I'm not interested in the catholic church but because the way the rest of the movie is executed during that last hour is really...Boring. The characters stopped having charisma or acting like human beings and it felt like they were just reading a Power Point presentation to the audience. It relies HEAVILY on flashbacks and narration and that's why it becomes boring. I could barely finish watching it. It started really good but started to decline until it became a boring and uninteresting biopic. The cinematography and other technical aspects are nothing special. I can't say they are bad but just...Bland and uninspired. I mean the movie looks like those stock demo videos you see on TV screens in stores to show their capabilities, which it's nothing bad, but just to give you an idea of how dull the visual presentation is.
Overall, while not a bad movie, it's a movie that could've been so much better.
"The Two Popes" contains strong themes, but it lacks in resonating with the audience. Most of the conflict in this film is brought up through talking about difficult religious topics. There is very little action, and the payoff is what you'd expect. The visuals are unoriginal, lifeless, and boring.