Queen of the Damned
3/4
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Aaliyah
Rated R for Vampire Violence
For a movie that was made simply because the rights to the books were about to expire, "Queen of the Damned" is better than expected. You see, Warner Brothers purchased the rights to the first three novels in Anne Rice's vampire saga, but only the first film ever made it to the screen. During the last year that they had the rights to the novels (after which time they would go back to Rice, who could sell them to someone else), they realized it was their last chance to see a return on their investment. So they combined the second two novels, "The Vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the Damned," into one film. The result has its problems, but it's pretty decent for a rush job.
Jessie (Moreau) is a young student in London studying the paranormal. She thinks that she has found a vampire coven, and goes to investigate. There, she meets Lestat (Townsend), to whom she becomes fascinated and infatuated. Lestat, who was bored with immortality, had taken a nap for a century, but now has woken up. He has never liked living in the shadows as instructed by Marius (Perez), the vampire who turned him. So he turns himself into a rock star and proudly shows off his vampirism. This of course puts him on the hit list of other vampires, but it also awakens Akasha (Aaliyah), the mother of all vampires.
Neil Jordan's version of "Interview with the Vampire" was deeply atmospheric, strange, and sad. "Queen of the Damned" is a cross between a music video and an action/horror film. It's not necessarily a bad change, but a lot of the perception and subtlety that made the first film so interesting has been lost.
At least the acting is solid. The script isn't as strong as the first film, but the actors get the job done. Stuart Townsend's interpretation of Lestat is radically different than Tom Cruise's. Cruise saw the character as a vicious predator that craved connection to others. He was a villain, if a tortured one. Townsend plays him as a celebrity with an ego to match, but he's more of an antihero in this one. Margurite Moreau is also good as the curious Jessie; she's an effective stand-in for us. The most interesting characters are Marius, who is perfectly played by Vincent Perez, and Akasha, played by Aaliyah (her final role...she died in a plane crash shortly after filming was completed). Unfortunately, Akasha is only on-screen for a few scenes at the end (and she doesn't have much to do...she's not as badass as she is in the trailer).
Actually, the stuff with Akasha is the film's Achilles' Heel. Not enough is done with it to make it satisfying. The movie builds up to it bit by bit, but when it comes, it's a let down. The final fight scene should have been a violent adrenaline rush, but it's so short and so limp that everyone will be disappointed.
As must be for any big budget movie, the film is loaded with special effects. Most noticeable are how the vampires' bodies trail after them when they fly. It looks cool, I'll admit, but does it really belong in a movie like this? I don't think so.
Also worth mentioning is the sound editing. For the first ten minutes, the words we hear obviously don't match up to the character's lips. Whether this happened during the translation to Blu-Ray or not, it's jarring and unacceptable.
I liked this movie, actually. It's still interesting to see how vampires live, and Perez and Aaliyah are fun to watch.
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Aaliyah
Rated R for Vampire Violence
For a movie that was made simply because the rights to the books were about to expire, "Queen of the Damned" is better than expected. You see, Warner Brothers purchased the rights to the first three novels in Anne Rice's vampire saga, but only the first film ever made it to the screen. During the last year that they had the rights to the novels (after which time they would go back to Rice, who could sell them to someone else), they realized it was their last chance to see a return on their investment. So they combined the second two novels, "The Vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the Damned," into one film. The result has its problems, but it's pretty decent for a rush job.
Jessie (Moreau) is a young student in London studying the paranormal. She thinks that she has found a vampire coven, and goes to investigate. There, she meets Lestat (Townsend), to whom she becomes fascinated and infatuated. Lestat, who was bored with immortality, had taken a nap for a century, but now has woken up. He has never liked living in the shadows as instructed by Marius (Perez), the vampire who turned him. So he turns himself into a rock star and proudly shows off his vampirism. This of course puts him on the hit list of other vampires, but it also awakens Akasha (Aaliyah), the mother of all vampires.
Neil Jordan's version of "Interview with the Vampire" was deeply atmospheric, strange, and sad. "Queen of the Damned" is a cross between a music video and an action/horror film. It's not necessarily a bad change, but a lot of the perception and subtlety that made the first film so interesting has been lost.
At least the acting is solid. The script isn't as strong as the first film, but the actors get the job done. Stuart Townsend's interpretation of Lestat is radically different than Tom Cruise's. Cruise saw the character as a vicious predator that craved connection to others. He was a villain, if a tortured one. Townsend plays him as a celebrity with an ego to match, but he's more of an antihero in this one. Margurite Moreau is also good as the curious Jessie; she's an effective stand-in for us. The most interesting characters are Marius, who is perfectly played by Vincent Perez, and Akasha, played by Aaliyah (her final role...she died in a plane crash shortly after filming was completed). Unfortunately, Akasha is only on-screen for a few scenes at the end (and she doesn't have much to do...she's not as badass as she is in the trailer).
Actually, the stuff with Akasha is the film's Achilles' Heel. Not enough is done with it to make it satisfying. The movie builds up to it bit by bit, but when it comes, it's a let down. The final fight scene should have been a violent adrenaline rush, but it's so short and so limp that everyone will be disappointed.
As must be for any big budget movie, the film is loaded with special effects. Most noticeable are how the vampires' bodies trail after them when they fly. It looks cool, I'll admit, but does it really belong in a movie like this? I don't think so.
Also worth mentioning is the sound editing. For the first ten minutes, the words we hear obviously don't match up to the character's lips. Whether this happened during the translation to Blu-Ray or not, it's jarring and unacceptable.
I liked this movie, actually. It's still interesting to see how vampires live, and Perez and Aaliyah are fun to watch.
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