Dracula Untold (C or 2/4 stars)
In an attempt to reboot one of cinema's great monsters into an action hero for a new Universal Studios horror franchise, 'Dracula Untold' (directed by Gary Shore) becomes a mediocre affair void of much personality. The film tells an origin story that blends the life of the somewhat-"historical" Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) with those of the mythological beast that Bram Stoker birthed for his 1897 novel. Dracula (Luke Evans, of The Hobbit, Immortals), born Vlad Tepes, spends his early life serving in the unrelenting Turkish army. Following a series of bloody campaigns (in which he's known for impaling 1000s of enemies), he returns to his home land of Transylvania (Romania), where he reigns supreme as a prince & subordinate to the current Sultan of Turkey, Mehmed II (underused Dominic Cooper).
After yrs. of peace, the Sultan concludes that, in additional to the usual $$ tribute he collects from Transylvania, he wants young boys for his army, including Vlad's cherished son, Ingeras (Art Parkinson, from Game of Thrones). Upset & fuming, Vlad decides to go to war against the Sultan. But recognizing that he simply can't defeat the almighty Turkish army with a small, untrained force, he reluctantly seeks assistance in the dank, haunted caves of a nearby mountain. There he meets the Master Vampire (creepy Charles Dance), who offers him a deal: drink my blood, become a temporary vampire, and the supernatural abilities given to you from my blood will help defeat the Turks -- just don't suck anyone's blood for 3 days. Howwwever, suck someone's blood within those 3 days, and you're damned to an eternity as Dracula. Vlad accepts & uses his new supernatural abilities to save his loyal people; which includes the love of his life, wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon). But, when his people learn (through plot machination) what he has become on their behalf ... they turn on him. Melodrama, CGI action, & general silliness ensues.
For roughly 45 minutes, 'Dracula Untold' does a pretty decent job establishing the setting, characters, & narrative trajectory. I enjoyed some unsettling moments in the cave where the entombed Master Vampire ravages his human prey. I liked the relationship btwn. Vlad & his wife (Sarah Gadon - she has the porcelain skin & deep red-lipped visage that's perfect for Dracula). Sadly, the last 30-35 minutes become hugely unsatisfying. Oh, let me count the ways. 1) The narrative turns into hokum. 2) The story fails to properly express the tragedy of a man losing his humanity & having to live for eternity. 3) The visuals reminded me too much of Underworld or Van Helsing {I shudder}. 4) Charles Dance, as the Master Vampire, all but disappears from the story when I thought he'd be integral.
5) Rated PG-13, there are immense limitations put on the type of violence, the amount of gore, & the sex scenes (if you can call them that) that take place. I mean, this is DRACULA for crying out loud ... you've got Luke Evans & Sarah Gadon - 2 exceedingly attractive human beings in source material that involves a high quotient of ravenous sex, bodily fluids, copious blood, & supernatural abilities - and that’s all made INNOCUOUS by the PG-13 Rating. Kill joy!!! 6) Another bummer: the PG-13 violence looks so freaking silly & computer generated. A scene in which 1,000 men are slaughtered is a chaotic, incoherent mess. Every endless action sequence has those quick, shaky, blurry edits that make you feel like you're in the middle of some cheap video game -- awful use of special effects. 7) and lastly, a climactic fight btwn. Vlad & the Sultan in a room filled to the brim with silver coins (silver burns Dracula's skin) is the most ridiculous scene of all. Vlad had just taken out thousands of Turks with his powers, and yet, against the Sultan, he can barely defeat him because of the presence of ... coins? STUPID.
Now, there are some enticing moments of gothic nightmarish-ness. And the film's epilogue takes a semi-interesting turn as it enters the 21st century (several characters from the 15th c. plot show-up and a sequel is certainly intimated). Sure, none of this is hinted at from Stoker's classic novel, but I digress -- it's a cool-ish moment. But really, those 30-35 other minutes near the end all but killed the movie for me. And that's a shame, because while he's no Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, or Gary Oldman, I think that Luke Evans has the kind of megastar looks & brooding charisma that action heroes require. Heck, he'll break-out even more with his heroics in the final Hobbit movie out this December. Ah, well. I don't think 'Dracula Untold' is some enormous misfire, but it IS a misfire.
Perhaps there's also a fundamental issue in that: people are tired of unmemorable Dracula re-tellings/interpretations. Heck, Dracula in THIS movie is given a back story as some loving, tragic figure who feels tormented that he impaled thousands of innocent people for the world to see. I don't think audiences expect an empathetic, mushy Dracula, haha. Furthermore, Dracula's intrigue has been exhausted (from the novel, many movies, cartoons, magazines, cereals). No new light is shed on his legend. Agh, I just think that everything about this film could have been better -- that's the overriding problem. Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance, excellent costumes, some nice sound design ... all gone to waste with dismal direction, messy writing, & disappointing special effects.
After yrs. of peace, the Sultan concludes that, in additional to the usual $$ tribute he collects from Transylvania, he wants young boys for his army, including Vlad's cherished son, Ingeras (Art Parkinson, from Game of Thrones). Upset & fuming, Vlad decides to go to war against the Sultan. But recognizing that he simply can't defeat the almighty Turkish army with a small, untrained force, he reluctantly seeks assistance in the dank, haunted caves of a nearby mountain. There he meets the Master Vampire (creepy Charles Dance), who offers him a deal: drink my blood, become a temporary vampire, and the supernatural abilities given to you from my blood will help defeat the Turks -- just don't suck anyone's blood for 3 days. Howwwever, suck someone's blood within those 3 days, and you're damned to an eternity as Dracula. Vlad accepts & uses his new supernatural abilities to save his loyal people; which includes the love of his life, wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon). But, when his people learn (through plot machination) what he has become on their behalf ... they turn on him. Melodrama, CGI action, & general silliness ensues.
For roughly 45 minutes, 'Dracula Untold' does a pretty decent job establishing the setting, characters, & narrative trajectory. I enjoyed some unsettling moments in the cave where the entombed Master Vampire ravages his human prey. I liked the relationship btwn. Vlad & his wife (Sarah Gadon - she has the porcelain skin & deep red-lipped visage that's perfect for Dracula). Sadly, the last 30-35 minutes become hugely unsatisfying. Oh, let me count the ways. 1) The narrative turns into hokum. 2) The story fails to properly express the tragedy of a man losing his humanity & having to live for eternity. 3) The visuals reminded me too much of Underworld or Van Helsing {I shudder}. 4) Charles Dance, as the Master Vampire, all but disappears from the story when I thought he'd be integral.
5) Rated PG-13, there are immense limitations put on the type of violence, the amount of gore, & the sex scenes (if you can call them that) that take place. I mean, this is DRACULA for crying out loud ... you've got Luke Evans & Sarah Gadon - 2 exceedingly attractive human beings in source material that involves a high quotient of ravenous sex, bodily fluids, copious blood, & supernatural abilities - and that’s all made INNOCUOUS by the PG-13 Rating. Kill joy!!! 6) Another bummer: the PG-13 violence looks so freaking silly & computer generated. A scene in which 1,000 men are slaughtered is a chaotic, incoherent mess. Every endless action sequence has those quick, shaky, blurry edits that make you feel like you're in the middle of some cheap video game -- awful use of special effects. 7) and lastly, a climactic fight btwn. Vlad & the Sultan in a room filled to the brim with silver coins (silver burns Dracula's skin) is the most ridiculous scene of all. Vlad had just taken out thousands of Turks with his powers, and yet, against the Sultan, he can barely defeat him because of the presence of ... coins? STUPID.
Now, there are some enticing moments of gothic nightmarish-ness. And the film's epilogue takes a semi-interesting turn as it enters the 21st century (several characters from the 15th c. plot show-up and a sequel is certainly intimated). Sure, none of this is hinted at from Stoker's classic novel, but I digress -- it's a cool-ish moment. But really, those 30-35 other minutes near the end all but killed the movie for me. And that's a shame, because while he's no Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, or Gary Oldman, I think that Luke Evans has the kind of megastar looks & brooding charisma that action heroes require. Heck, he'll break-out even more with his heroics in the final Hobbit movie out this December. Ah, well. I don't think 'Dracula Untold' is some enormous misfire, but it IS a misfire.
Perhaps there's also a fundamental issue in that: people are tired of unmemorable Dracula re-tellings/interpretations. Heck, Dracula in THIS movie is given a back story as some loving, tragic figure who feels tormented that he impaled thousands of innocent people for the world to see. I don't think audiences expect an empathetic, mushy Dracula, haha. Furthermore, Dracula's intrigue has been exhausted (from the novel, many movies, cartoons, magazines, cereals). No new light is shed on his legend. Agh, I just think that everything about this film could have been better -- that's the overriding problem. Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance, excellent costumes, some nice sound design ... all gone to waste with dismal direction, messy writing, & disappointing special effects.