The Covenant

I have just finished watching a DVD lent to me by a work colleague, The Covenant. I have seen lots of talk about this film in the blogosphere, mainly due to the hot quintet of male stars, and I always intended to watch it at some point. I am so glad that I did.

Although it does feel a bit like the same old story at the beginning, with a group of friends all decended from an ancient secret "society," there are a few interesting twists.

Riding on the shirt-tails of hits of the last decade-plus, like Buffy, Angel and Charmed, the Covenant explored the teen world of male witches and what it is to have power, knowing that using that power will eventually leave you withered and old. An analogy to drugs, with the addictive aspect of The Power, especially when explored by teens.

The film has superb special effects throughout, mainly stemming from the boys using their powers, the most stunning sequence is when the main character is distracted while driving and plows headlong into a logging truck. In a Matrix-like, slow motion scene you see his car explode into its component pieces and then reform perfectly behind the truck as if nothing had happened.

The main reason for watching the film though has to be the guys. Steven Strait, unfortunate surname and yes, he apparently is, plays the main character of Caleb. He is the star of the school swimming team, which means that we get to see him in speedos. WOW. Showing off his great chest, and arms and superb lop-sided smile he has a god-like body. WOW (sorry I had to say it again!). And he was a model and can sing too apparently, is there no end to his talents?

His best friend, Pogue, played by Taylor Kitsch is also a bit of a hottie, who also has a great body, though not as good as Steven's. Taylor, who is also a model, is going to be playing Gambit the "Ragin' Cajin" in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine film, and he looks the part.

With one, all too brief group shower scene, and even a boy-on-boy ["brotherly"] kiss, the boys in this film got me all excited and I think, just to appreciate the film fully, I may have to purchase my own copy of the DVD to watch it allover again.

Despite being slated by many reviewers, I think that, even without the sexy cast, this is a good film, well worth watching if you are interested in this genre.