Dracula Untold
2.5/4
Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Art Parkinson, Diarmaid Murtaugh, Dominic Cooper, Charles Dance
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Warfare, Vampire Attacks, Disturbing Images and Some Sensuality
It seems that every few months we get another vampire movie (thank you, Stephanie Meyer!). At least in this one, there's no teen angst, goth girls and emo boys, and the bloodsuckers don't sparkle. But it is PG-13, and that turns out to be its undoing.
20 years ago, the Turkish sultan came to Transylvania demanding 1000 boys for his army to be used as cannon fodder. He also took the son of the king, who eventually put a stop to it by ravaging one of the Turkish towns, thus earning himself the name Vlad the Impaler (I think...the intro isn't especially coherent). But Vlad is not the psychopath that history and legend have rumored him to be. He is, in fact, a loving husband to his wife Mirena (Gordon) and son Ingeras (Parkinson), and a good king to his people. Now, the sultan's son Mehmed (Cooper) has come calling again, once again demanding 1000 boys, plus Ingeras. Vlad refuses, but Transylvania is a small kingdom and stands no chance against the Turkish army. Desperate, he makes a deal with the devil: he goes to an ancient wretch (Dance) living in a mountain to become a vampire so he can defeat his enemies. He has three days of ultimate power, but if he can resist his blood lust, he will return to human form. If not, he is doomed to become a vampire forever.
I've never considered Luke Evans to be an especially good actor (especially since Britain has given us a number of legendary actors...then again, they did also give us Robert Pattinson). He tends to blend into the background against, well, just about everything. So I was wary when I heard that he was not only the lead in a movie, he was playing a heavy. Surprisingly, he does a solid, but not spectacular job. He's stronger in the low-key scenes, and he can look fierce when the occasion calls for it (makeup and CGI help too). His co-star Sarah Gadon is very good, although to be frank, she doesn't have a lot to do other than be the damsel in distress. Art Parkinson is also very good as their son. Dominic Cooper, on the other hand, is absolutely awful. I was stunned to learn that he played the part of Mehmed because his performance is cringe-inducing and he's normally a very good performer.
With all the special effects and action sequences, I figured this would be just another generic action movie designed to appeal to texting tweens and audiences halfway around the world. But Gary Shore, directing his first feature, concentrates more on telling the story than the special effects. He's not Len Wiseman or Jonathan Liebesman, and for that I was grateful. It's not "The Lord of the Rings," despite the fact that the second half blatantly steals from "The Two Towers," but it's effective enough.
Alas, it's PG-13. I'm sorry, but when you have Vlad Tepes as an action hero, it's gotta be bloody and violent as hell. Actually, Shore is talented enough that he could have gotten away with it had he not shaken the camera. The action scenes are sloppy and confusing. Played straight with minimal blood would have been more effective.
The fact that it's PG-13 doesn't usually bother me too much because it's rare that a studio will spend $70 million (the budget of this movie, which is kinda small for a genre movie like this) or more only to have to make cuts demanded by the MPAA. But here, Shore thinks that it necessitates shaking the camera and cutting quickly, and that is not to its benefit. Never mind that we see vampires melting then explode (but with no blood).
So yes, it's definitely watchable and at least moderately entertaining. But I'd rather see a version with cleaner action scenes. Maybe an unrated version will be better.
Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Art Parkinson, Diarmaid Murtaugh, Dominic Cooper, Charles Dance
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Warfare, Vampire Attacks, Disturbing Images and Some Sensuality
It seems that every few months we get another vampire movie (thank you, Stephanie Meyer!). At least in this one, there's no teen angst, goth girls and emo boys, and the bloodsuckers don't sparkle. But it is PG-13, and that turns out to be its undoing.
20 years ago, the Turkish sultan came to Transylvania demanding 1000 boys for his army to be used as cannon fodder. He also took the son of the king, who eventually put a stop to it by ravaging one of the Turkish towns, thus earning himself the name Vlad the Impaler (I think...the intro isn't especially coherent). But Vlad is not the psychopath that history and legend have rumored him to be. He is, in fact, a loving husband to his wife Mirena (Gordon) and son Ingeras (Parkinson), and a good king to his people. Now, the sultan's son Mehmed (Cooper) has come calling again, once again demanding 1000 boys, plus Ingeras. Vlad refuses, but Transylvania is a small kingdom and stands no chance against the Turkish army. Desperate, he makes a deal with the devil: he goes to an ancient wretch (Dance) living in a mountain to become a vampire so he can defeat his enemies. He has three days of ultimate power, but if he can resist his blood lust, he will return to human form. If not, he is doomed to become a vampire forever.
I've never considered Luke Evans to be an especially good actor (especially since Britain has given us a number of legendary actors...then again, they did also give us Robert Pattinson). He tends to blend into the background against, well, just about everything. So I was wary when I heard that he was not only the lead in a movie, he was playing a heavy. Surprisingly, he does a solid, but not spectacular job. He's stronger in the low-key scenes, and he can look fierce when the occasion calls for it (makeup and CGI help too). His co-star Sarah Gadon is very good, although to be frank, she doesn't have a lot to do other than be the damsel in distress. Art Parkinson is also very good as their son. Dominic Cooper, on the other hand, is absolutely awful. I was stunned to learn that he played the part of Mehmed because his performance is cringe-inducing and he's normally a very good performer.
With all the special effects and action sequences, I figured this would be just another generic action movie designed to appeal to texting tweens and audiences halfway around the world. But Gary Shore, directing his first feature, concentrates more on telling the story than the special effects. He's not Len Wiseman or Jonathan Liebesman, and for that I was grateful. It's not "The Lord of the Rings," despite the fact that the second half blatantly steals from "The Two Towers," but it's effective enough.
Alas, it's PG-13. I'm sorry, but when you have Vlad Tepes as an action hero, it's gotta be bloody and violent as hell. Actually, Shore is talented enough that he could have gotten away with it had he not shaken the camera. The action scenes are sloppy and confusing. Played straight with minimal blood would have been more effective.
The fact that it's PG-13 doesn't usually bother me too much because it's rare that a studio will spend $70 million (the budget of this movie, which is kinda small for a genre movie like this) or more only to have to make cuts demanded by the MPAA. But here, Shore thinks that it necessitates shaking the camera and cutting quickly, and that is not to its benefit. Never mind that we see vampires melting then explode (but with no blood).
So yes, it's definitely watchable and at least moderately entertaining. But I'd rather see a version with cleaner action scenes. Maybe an unrated version will be better.
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