Thursday, October 25, 2012

Film Review #17

Are you a patriot or a vampire?

          With great apprehension I sat down to watch Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the 16th President of the United States hunting down vampires. Much to my chagrin I was slowly drawn in by the film’s charm. Timur Bekmambetov is the director. His most notable film for American audiences is probably Wanted. The cast is a group of talented but relatively unknown actors. Benjamin Walker stars as Abraham Lincoln. His supporting cast includes Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anthony Mackie, Jimmi Simpson, Rufus Sewell, and Marton Csokas.

          The movie is a fictional account of the life of Abraham Lincoln (Walker). As a boy his mother is killed by a vampire named Jack Barts (Csokas). Abraham grows up knowing who his mother’s killer is and one day decides to strike. Abraham’s attempt to kill Jack is a failure. Young Abraham would be dead if it were not for Henry Sturges (Cooper) seeing potential. Henry inevitably trains Abraham to kill vampires. After a period of slaying countless vampires Lincoln decides that he wants a real life with personal attachment. He retires from assassinating vampires and his life progresses. It would seem that Lincoln’s life as a vampire slayer was over. Not quite! While serving as President of the U.S. during the Civil War, Abraham’s past life comes back to revisit him. Facing the extinction of human America President Lincoln decides to pick up his axe and slay once more.

          I thought Benjamin Walker did a great job of playing Abraham Lincoln. During the beginning I felt his character was rather ordinary but I suppose that was the point. After all, the actual Abraham Lincoln struggled with defeat and failure for quite some time. I’ve failed at various things in my youth and have been left questioning myself. Dominic Cooper is charismatic as Henry Sturges, Lincoln’s mentor and middleman. You really feel his presence when he is on screen. Marton Csokas is utterly convincing as a plantation owner and murderous vampire.  Rufus Sewell is an integral part of the film as the story unfolds and Lincoln ages into his fifties. Sewell is perfect for playing the mastermind vampire who is behind the Confederate’s flawless victories. Anthony Mackie and Jimmi Simpson deserve praise for their roles as well. Overall, the cast is an extremely talented one and my expectations were fulfilled.

Walker & Cooper
          With a title like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer you can imagine that special effects are essential. Thanks to Tim Burton producing the film the vampires as well as the combat choreography were very well done. I really enjoyed seeing Lincoln swing his ax. The fact that this film is set in the 1800s required skilled set design. These ingredients all combined to make the key scenes in the film very believable. I never felt like I was watching something cheap or too over-the-top. The music used in the film is fantastic. It sets the mood perfectly. The score matches up great with Lincoln’s narration in the film.

          I would recommend this film to my readers because it’s well balanced. The film does not try to be something that it is not. The director carefully balanced horror, drama, and fantasy into something cohesive. Add to this an exceptional cast from the bottom-up and you have yourself an entertaining piece of cinema. As long as you’re not going into this film expecting gold you will probably enjoy it for what it is.

6.5 out of 10

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