I went and saw it last fall shortly after it first came out. I enjoyed it enough that I went back to see it again in November of last year. I thought it was a decent film. I bought a streaming copy through my Apple TV account so I was able to watch it with my mom today. She thought the film was good.
With the Cardinals smoking she remarked how much they really cared about their health. Mom also thought Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) looked a lot like Pius XII. She would know since Pius was Pope for the about the first 12 years of her life.
There was something amusing about watching a bunch of middle aged to elderly men devolve into bickering over who the next Pope would be before they all voted for someone far closer to the ideals of Christ than any of them. And yes, Tedesco is an a--hole.
I liked it. As I said elsewhere on this forum, I have some reservations, and it is pretty on the nose at times. However, it has got tons of atmosphere and the spectacle of the cardinals is priceless. Good performances of the cast all round.
I ranked it #6 among all movies I saw in 2024. Would not be upset to see it win the Oscar. (I'm convinced THE SUBSTANCE and DUNE 2 have no shot.)
Given the current Pope's illness, it's pretty timely.
It's a well crafted film that's also very entertaining. However I thought it lacked depth. It's based on a mystery novel by Robert Harris, and that conditions the end result.
This has now become topical