The New Pope (2020) User Reviews (134)

IMDb - Exquisite Supporting Performances after the dust has settled

[todoodot · 9/10 · 13 April 2020]

For me, episodes one through five did an excellent job of setting up the characters, rhythm, mood, basic conflicts and action to follow so that we could come along on this wild and beautiful ride. We already knew Lenny Belardo and Voiello from The Young Pope but we needed to appreciate the necessity for a "NEW POPE" and we also needed to be drawn into the development of Sir John Brannox's character.

In episode six, the story picks up tempo and rolls into a dark, sometimes surreal and borderline Lynchian dimension which is frequently both uncomfortable to watch and brilliant.

Jude Law is not just easy on the eyes. He yet again proves that he is a consummate actor and by all reports, a deeply dedicated professional. Malkovich is a cinematic icon and Silvio Orlando is now and forever Voiello.

But one of my great joys is occasionally witnessing a stellar, deeply moving performance by an actor who had previously completely eluded my radar. It doesn't happen very often but now that the dust has settled and there has been time to reflect, I find that I am still haunted by two powerful scenes from one and the same series.

Episodes six and seven showcase two of the strongest performances by supporting actors in any productions I have seen so far this year. Chronologically they are the opening scene of ep. 6 in which an incomparably mysterious, sinister priest, Leopold Essence, engages Sofia Dubois in a tete-a-tete in the midst of the Vatican cafeteria. It is a scene that makes your skin crawl while making you want to leave wherever you are watching it from but you're too mesmerized to move. Ok, time to breathe again. I'm sure the actor J. David Hinze really isn't like that. Right?...Right?..

In ep. 7, the doctor's wife, Ewa Novak takes Lenny to task, relentlessly challenging, pushing and cornering him to somehow compel him to perform a miracle to save her son. It is heart-wrenchingly difficult to watch as a mother leaves it all on the table, including her faith, in the deepest depths of desperation. We are experiencing a living, grieving Pietà with the virgin mother holding her own dead son in her arms. It is so authentic and truly moving that some people may feel the urge to pull away to protect themselves. I know I did. But it's more than worth it to see it through to the end with your secret stash of tissues nearby. Amazing acting by Yulia Snigir. Why aren't we seeing more of her?

In a way, I sometimes think it's easy to get on a mega-star's bandwagon because you know they have many fans and probably many detractors so you're somehow safe being moved by what they do. But it's refreshing to me to see that there are new performers out there (at least new for me), waiting to be discovered, who can really shake things up and get me to reevaluate my expectations.

I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to revisit these two scenes.

Art!

[monathom · 9/10 · 5 February 2020]

Great topic, great script, acting, cinematography, lighting. Watching it, I experience flashes of Federico Fellini.

Outstanding! The Vaticane as you've never seen..!

[divaaeternis · 8/10 · 11 January 2020]

Very provocative and smart, "The New Pope" shows us intrigues and madness, perfectly rendered by an exceptional cast. A little slow at the beginning, but at the same time also unsettling. A must-see..!

Not for everyone

[abampi · 10/10 · 10 February 2020]

This new series is CLEARLY intended for a "certain" kind of audience - people complaining about Malkovich and how "slow" and "boring" the first episodes are, simply can't understand what they're missing. Outstanding visuals, outstanding dialogues, oustanding acting - a deep, provocative (but not offensive) well-thought portrait of the marvelous complexity of the Christian (and not only Christian) Church in the 21st Century. Please, try to watch it until the very last second of the last episode (a true masterpiece of an episode!): because it gets better and better, and all makes sense as a whole. If you left the series after ep. 1 or even 2/3, your vote simply doesn't mean anything.

Pure genius

[ehudmi1 · 10/10 · 26 January 2020]

The dismissive critics have no clue. This genius campy series discusses the issues of power and faith in the modern world of angst and loss and loneliness. The breakdown of modern society brought on by the rise of mass media and the utter ruthlessness of current world leaders reducing democracy to a sham is being ridiculed in an artistic manner. And where is god in all of that? That is the question all the characters struggle with. Brilliant dialogues. A must watch must ask yourself questions type of series... P.s... Had to add. Just finished episode 9. So many emotional moments during the last 3 episodes. The series is truly a work of love for belief and man and god. It doesn't need to im be reverent to truly reflect the positive elements of belief and being human. Almost to the contrary - using human frailty, vice and stupidity it is a celebration of what being human is all about and if i were the Catholic Church this would be the best promotion ever

If director Paolo Sorrentino were a chef, this series would bring him his 3rd Michelin star.

[silvana_popa · 10/10 · 13 January 2020]

Because who else could do Vatican-Rockstar fusion and make it the best meal you ever had!? If you've seen his previous miniseries The Young Pope, you know you can't find one thing to nitpick about. It's flawless. So you gotta give it to the guy, to be this great and know it, but not be afraid to do it again cause you know you can do even better?? Mindblown. Mister Sorrentino, if you ever wanna remarry...

The outstanding music is something you might expect if you've seen The Young Pope but the cinematography is

What a remarkable piece of masterpiece

[GeorgesDV · 10/10 · 13 January 2020]

Sorrentino continues to unfold his directorial talent in an amazing sequel. A play with an excellent script and incredible symbolism shows the struggle with our own instincts through a comic version of a story that is enchanted in the Vatican. Jude Law and John Malkovich at one of their best acts

It's a 10 !

[maryanul · 10/10 · 25 January 2020]

The content of the series is not that complex as the "The young pope" one... but the cinematography is fabulous. The sounds, the compilation of scenes, the story (even if is pretty slow) is brilliant and beautiful. The music of the series is so well chosen that captivates you into the movie. The new pope is a beautiful piece of glass, each english accent word of his is a living story. Congratulations for the show from a humble hbo viewer !

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!

[eugene-alexander · 10/10 · 31 January 2020]

This series is simply a piece of art. I could write pages trying to explain why it represents the true meaning of love within the darkness of any religion. Be careful to listen closely the what they say, especially John Malkovich as Pope. The best movie I have seen in a long time. Bravo to Paolo Sorrentino!

Something new, something different

[andreilongaver · 6/10 · 10 March 2020]

First of all, I applaud the cast and directors for delivering the second - and long awaited - season of 'The Young Pope'. It was a long wait, and the anticipation and expectations were soaring. Probably this is why for me, 'The New Pope' failed to live up to the bar. The setting fits the overall storyline, but the series evolved painfully slow without a reason. Also, I was very saddened by the choice of music during the episodes, the scores from the first season going extremely well in setting the mood of the stage, while in this season, they just angered me. Another thing I didn't understand was the excessive nudity and lack of reason for it. All in all, 'The Young Pope' shook me to my bones and triggered emotions in me with every sentence. 'The New Pope', although still posing strong characteristics and cinematography, has left me unsatisfied and somehow with a feeling of emptyness.

You Haven't Seen It If You Haven't Seen It ALL

[bluesready · 10/10 · 18 February 2020]

If you haven't seen episode 6, you haven't seen Leopold Essence. Hence, you haven't seen The New Pope. Absolutely brilliant

Words fail me......

[mallaverack · 6 June 2020]

......but let's offer: pretentiousness in the extreme; futility in purpose; pornography in lieu of art; extremes of paradox; absurdity as an art form. Overall, an orgasmic rush for High Art wankers.

Masterpiece - Yet Follows In Hollywood's Ridicule Of The Church.

[iamdcontingency · 7/10 · 25 April 2021]

Paolo Sorrentino's The New Pope is a classic, a novel miniseries, standing toe to toe with the high bar set by his predecessor The Young Pope. The storylines, the suspense, and the characters were wonderful. It was also a great series with a greater finale.

However, the series greatly follows in Hollywood's footsteps of making mockery of the Catholic Church by depicting The Vatican as a place of hypocrisy, weakness, deprivation, and chiefly political intrigue - devoid of all spiritual and moral sanctity. This normalization of ridicule of The Church, even depicting cloistered nuns exhibiting lewd acts before a cross in its opening theme is unrealistic, unartistic, and offensive which is something a great director like Sorrentino cannot excuse as 'fiction'.

What happened to this show?

[Hitchslapped · 4/10 · 8 October 2020]

This show is all style and no substance. Young Pope was intriguing with a captivating performance by Jude Law. New Pope just looks like Young Pope but that's about it. There's barely any plot and they desperately shove in pointless sex scenes whenever they can that don't serve any purpose apart from showing some boobies. It's not 1990 anymore. Depicting priests and nuns in a sexual context might shock my grandmother but it makes me yawn. If I wanted to see naked nuns I'd certainly watch something without the pointless drivel in between.

Absolutely brilliant

[malcolmminnis · 10/10 · 9 February 2020]

I was so looking forward to this sequel to The Young Pope and it turns out it's even better than I hoped. The characters are brilliantly portrayed, the storyline is gripping, the soundtrack deserves an award and I can't wait to see what's coming after 9/9. Think I might just have to sleep until it airs and I hope it's already in production. Really really really gutted that's there's only 9 episodes. Might just watch them all again. Come back soon!

Ps. Thanks to all involved

A skillfully written. Beautifully shot piece of work

[liamoc-39453 · 10/10 · 25 January 2020]

First series and 2nd are a joy to watch. Each scene is beautifully shot. Bringing to life a world of tough subject matter, bags of history and highlighting the true magnatude of the church.

Its also pulled into a modern piece through the soundtrack and skillfully written scripts. I hope another is in the works. Hats off to all the actors involved who bring this to life and do not let down the fantastic script writing.

A must see if you have enjoyed The Young Pope

[bobzzy · 10/10 · 17 January 2020]

The first one "The young pope" was a masterpiece - great writing, great scenery and top notch performance from Jude Law and Silvio Orlando.

Now we have even more - John Malkovich added to the team and there is no need to say a word further.

If "The young pope" was 10/10 I am expecting this one to be 15/10 due to these 3 actors and the brilliant writing again. At least the first two episodes gave the expectation!

The New Pope, The Second Time

[tabledeckerer · 10/10 · 27 April 2020]

The New Pope was worth a second watch as I still had questions about a number of things after having viewed it the first time. The second time, binging it all in three days as opposed to following the series from week to week, turned out to be a more enlightening way to enjoy the it because the details of previous episodes were still fresh.

So here it is.

What I loved:

The incredible cinematography, lush and just gorgeous, pared with beautiful scenic-design and costumes.

The writing. The dialogue is stylized, with an individual beauty and respect for the use of language and it pulls the viewer into a living novel that floats in and out of familiar and less familiar levels that most of us associate with reality. The twists and turns of the story are utterly impossible to predict.

Sorrentino, whether by intention or not, holds up a mirror to the viewers, often giving them the opportunity to trigger themselves, if they are so inclined, into strong, knee-jerk, emotional interpretations and various thematically diverse expressions of righteous indignation in the early episodes, only to have the perspective completely turned around in the later episodes. It is therefore, usually quite easy to tell which authors judged the entire series without having seen all episodes. There is a certain poetic justice in this.

The music.

Voiello. Everything about Voiello

An awakened Lenny

Any scene with Leopold Essence

Paolo Sorrentino introduces Federico Fellini to David Lynch and they get along famously

Episode 9



What I loved less:

The accent. Malkovich's character was given some of the greatest eloquence and most of the most beautiful verbal expressions in the entire series. I deeply respect John Malkovich as an actor. While many have come and gone, Malkovich, at his age, is right in the thick of things. He's in Billions, The New Pope and whatever else is next on his agenda. I wanted it all to work but I was pulled out of the story from time to time, asking myself just what accent that is actually supposed to be. Perhaps a back-story with an American nanny or some such would have helped.

Wrapping it up:

As you can tell, I was enchanted by The New Pope. It has an unadulteratedly unique voice which means that there is nothing even remotely like it that has ever appeared on a screen with the exception of The Young Pope.

I, for one, am hopeful that HBO will continue in the tradition that has made the company legendary, producing excruciatingly high-quality content, by soon inviting Mr. Sorrentino in to discuss the particulars of his POPE WORLD PREQUEL.

Majestic Sorrentino

[nobregas2000 · 10/10 · 13 August 2021]

Only Sorrentino can give us so much meaning, be it cinematographic, political, moral, aesthetic and philosophical. Someone referred to him as a "maximalist"; as to oppose the stinginess of other unfortunate apparently creative concept as minimalism. This creator and director is like a semi-god in today's artistic world. And the transformation he has make from John Malkovich typical cinematic persona is just outstanding. One gets almost exhausted with so much. And the surprising bonus of this second season is the comedy! With grand introductions with the Pope meeting real celebrities and hilarious endings that mostly involve dancing. Really beautiful by Sorrentino!!!

Brilliant

[samiam-28557 · 10/10 · 18 January 2020]

The pomp and circumstance the votes the manipulation the the the the Mesmerizing from the first moment and the opening song! GREAT opening!

Truly magnificent in presentation in shock in laughter in... Also I would love to point out the sets and of course the way the director films every scene with perfection to detail.

I can't go on it could be forever and we know that we must all leave this life eventually and I do not want to spend the rest of it on this review which could go on for many years scene by scene word for word. The discourse on this episode alone should be especially sweet - I just love this as I loved the first one.

Thanks to all the great people involved!!!

The curse of the flawless first season.

[scutariuid · 7/10 · 12 March 2022]

As it happens with all tv shows that have a perfect first season, they can only go downhill. The new pope is no exception. It seems the writers knew from the start they cannot top The young pope and they just gave up. Poor writing, lack of ideas and purpose.

Much needed

[scarletcohen · 10/10 · 31 January 2020]

Emotionally evocative & intellectually stimulating, fresh & modern look at the Catholic Church, & all its very human fallibilities. I wholeheartedly applaud the creators. And for the record, the music choices are spectacularly engaging. I love this show in a way I love no other.

The very best ever

[oeps-00976 · 17 November 2021]

The images, cinematography, colors, architectural structure, sounds, music, the words, the humor, the subtleties, sheer beauty, sheer nastiness, the kinkyness,

It's breathtaking in every aspect.

Let it be breathtaking and beautiful without judging acting or storyline or whatever you might try to find to criticise Don't think just let it happen, it's amazing.

A lot more sex and female nudity and the series is the worse for it

[Siddhartha14 · 7/10 · 19 February 2020]

Far less focus on mysticism than in The Young Pope. Far more focus on sex and female nudity. The entire series seems to sex-obsessed. Kind of unbearable, really. A real disappointment after the masterful series The Young Pope. The only breath of fresh air is John Malkovich who is incomparable in part he plays. His being in the series is the only reason I'm not giving this 4 stars instead of 7.

From a HUGE fan of season 1

[mikekworthy · 1/10 · 7 May 2020]

Season 2-not the same show. Unworthy of the similar title.

Painful to watch. Self indulgent. Lacking the depth of meaning that was so full in the Young Pope. John Malkovichs pompous persona is so distant from anyone with even the slightest spiritual intelligence that it's literally unbelievable.

Im finding myself watching, waiting, for anything redeeming and worthy of the relation to the first season.

What happened to the person that wrote the first season? Lack of inspiration? Sold out? Somehow "convinced" to destroy the thoughtful art he created in the first season with this garbage?

There was something so beautiful (and real) about what you did with Jude Law.

Admittedly I'm writing this half way thru the 4th episode, out of frustration from waiting 3 years for ..whatever this is. Cinematic desecration of a religion.

But now I'm being self indulgent in my review...this season must be wearing off on me.

Marilyn Manson? Wearing satanic rings. In the Vatican. Come on..