#29 of 100 on my 100 Movies I’ve Never Seen Before Challenge (part II)
I’m conflicted on this one. On one hand, I think it’s a fun movie with some great action but on the other, I think it’s a good example of how NOT to adapt a book to film. Granted, the book may not carry the type of narrative that most film audiences are accustomed to but the problem with the movie was that it cut back on some of what made the book so great. That being said, this will be a review of the movie, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and not a critique of the quality of the adaptation.
You probably didn’t know that Abraham Lincoln lead a double life as a killer, did you? In “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”, he is just that. After he witnesses the murder of his mother, Abe swears revenge on the man that took his mother’s life. When he gets older he tries to carry this promise out only to find out the killer is not human but a vampire. Abe has his ass handed to him and is saved by another vampire, Henry, played by Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark in Captain America).
Henry lets Abe in on the secret life vampires have been building in the new world and enlists Mr. Lincoln as a hunter because vampires can not kill their own kind. So Abe starts hunting and hacking vampires up on Henry’s request. He moves to Springfield, Illinois and every now and then gets a kill order. Of course all of this is after a sweet Yoda training session where Abe learns to become a monster killer.
But Abe isn’t satisfied when he gets his revenge. He sees the vampire problem runs deep in America. The south is overrun with them and they are feeding on black slaves. Mr. Lincoln won’t stand for this and his rise to political power begins in his quest to both rid the country of slavery and the world of vampires and kill two birds with one stone…or axe.
The movie is fun but it moves at such a quick pace that it never allows time to give the characters any emotional depth. It also could have used a bit more humor. The premise is ridiculous so it could have added a bit more snark instead of taking it self so seriously. However, the movie is visually amazing, I think. The screening I saw was in 3D– and it’s a post-production 3D conversion. Also the 3D is terrible, making the action quite blurry. Overall, I was disappointed with some of the changes that were made but it’s a fun twist on vampires and historical dramas.
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