Film Review: ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (2012)

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writer: Seth Grahame-Smith (novel/screenplay)
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Horror
UK Release date: 20^th June 2012

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 8^th June 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I must admit when the book came out I initially loved the premise of this story. As time passed and it very quickly got snapped up and made into a movie, I began to wonder if my initial hope was misplaced. You see, I’m always wary of Hollywood; they never play the long game when it comes to movies. It’s quick bucks right now and hang any artistic integrity... But that’s another story; we’re here to talk about Abe Lincoln and his vampire hunting hobby. So here’s a very brief summary before I tell you just what I thought.

As a child Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) had already come into contact with vampires when his own mother, Nancy (Robin McLeavy) was killed by one of them, Jack Barts (Marton Csokas). Now older, and after his father had passed, he was now free to exact his revenge and to this end he sought some courage in a bar. Here he meets Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper), who will have a profound effect on his life. Sturges teaches Lincoln all about vampires, and most importantly, how to kill them. Lincoln proves very adept at using his preferred weapon, a modified axe. And so he goes on with his life, killing vampires whenever he comes across them; but still studying law. His friends old and new join him, including Will Johnson (Anthony Mackie) and Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson). And of course he meets his future wife, Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). But the vampire leader, Adam (Rufus Sewell) has plans for Lincoln; plans that will throw the whole country into civil war.

Now, Timur Bekmambetov is well known for the effects he uses in his movies and this is no exception. There is blood and gore all over the screen as death is meated out in many and varied ways, all in glorious slow motion. The trouble is we’ve already seen that kind of stuff before; there’s nothing new or particularly innovative here. Yes, it’s very well done; the effects guys did an excellent job; but I would have liked to have seen something different. The plot; again disappointing, it just followed well documented events in Lincoln’s life and added a narrative that meant he had to do this or that to thwart the vampire hordes. Not exactly groundbreaking either. The performances were all pretty good although nobody really stood out and nobody looked like they were really stretched either. Over all I found it pretty disappointing; not quite as bad as ‘Jonah Hex’ (2010), but heading that way.

SteelMonster’s verdict: NOT RECOMMENDED (Unless you’re a die-hard vampire fan…)

My score: 4.8/10.

IMDb Score: 5.9/10 (based on 70,080 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/

MetaScore: 42/100: (Based on 35 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 35/100 (based on 180 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 52/100 (based on 215,748 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/abraham_lincoln_vampire_hunter/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abrahamlincolnvampirehuntermovie
Trailer:

Film Review: AN EDUCATION (2009)

Director: Lone Scherfig
Running time: 96 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Comedy/Drama
UK Release date: 30th October 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 15th May 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember this film getting quite a lot of critical praise when it came out and so I was intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. Of course it got nowhere near being shown in my local cinema and so I waited patiently for it to show on TV. A screenplay by Nick Hornby based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and set in London in the early 1960’s it has all the hallmarks of a decent production. You’ll be glad to know that I agree with the critics, yes, it’s pretty good. There were a couple of points where it could have gone off the rails, but fortunately it stayed on the tracks and we have a fine piece of work.

Jenny Mellor is a bright sixteen year old student whose parents have ambitions for her to study at Oxford University. She is slightly disenchanted with her lot though, and yearns to go out and experience the world while she is still young. By chance she meets David, a man more than twice her age, who recognises something in her and takes her to see the sights. Two friends of his, Danny and Helen come along and Jenny goes to concerts, sees art, dines in fine restaurants and even visits Paris. David does all this with Jenny’s parent’s permission, he is very persuasive. Of course all is not what it seems and her world is about to take a massive jolt and the many arguments she has made against conformity are about to be tested.

This is a very well made film which features a stand-out performance from Carey Mulligan as Jenny; she was really outstanding in the part. Peter Sarsgaard was suitably suave as David, as was Dominic Cooper as Danny. Both Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour did a good job as Jenny’s parents, Jack and Marjorie. Rosamund Pike played the part of the, rather dim, Helen very well and Olivia Williams did a very good job as Jenny’s teacher Miss Stubbs. Finally, a mention for Emma Thompson who had a nice cameo as the headmistress.

This film asks a lot of questions about how some parents try to control the lives of their children, although it’s not the main point of the story. I really liked the way it was written but I still felt one or two bits could have done with tidying up (I’m sorry, I can’t be specific – spoilers). Having said that, I did enjoy it very much and I really liked the ending. I would definitely watch it again sometime… Recommended.

My Score: 7.6/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1174732/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/an_education/
Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/aneducation/
Trailer: