HBO Review: ‘The Young Pope’ is beautiful and ridiculous

THE NEW YORK TIMES 
By James Poniewozik

HOLLYWOOD---HBO’s “The Young Pope,” beginning on Sunday and showing Sundays and Mondays, is a visually sublime but textually ridiculous horror tale in which the monster is the pontiff himself. This 10-episode series begins after the election as pope of Lenny Belardo (Jude Law), a fresh-faced, little-known American. The church establishment, led by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando), hopes he will be “a telegenic puppet” and a bridge between church conservatives and liberals. Mr. Sorrentino composes shots as if painting religious art, and “The Young Pope” looks awesome in both the vernacular and spiritual senses. [link]