Apart from the streaks of lightning across obvious mock-ups, the moody photography of this film was brilliant, and in keeping with this Gothic masterpiece. But I wonder how many more treatments we're going to get of Bram Stiker's Dracula.
The casting, I thought, was abysmal. Marc Warren looked to me like a petulant teenager who didn't want to be in this film, and who was thoroughly bored with it. He exuded none of the sexuality that people like Lee, Langela and Jourdan did in previous incarnations of the mesmerising blood-sucking fiend.
Stephanie Leonidas and Sophia Myles were a couple of the weakest players of Mina and Lucy I have ever seen in a Dracula adaptation even compared with the early Hammer version.
Rafe Spall didn't have much of a chance to play a role - Harker was a kind of mechanism to get Dracula to England and to give the audience some link to the appearance of Mina in the film. If the whole Harker bit of the script was deleted it wouldn't have made much difference. Holmwoods determination to be cured of syphilis by bringing Dracula to England should have sufficed.
The person who had any real presence was David Suchet as Van Helsing, but sadly his part was only too small and badly written. I think he would have been a great Van Helsing if only he was given the opportunity. Instead he had a bit-part which didn't give him enough time for his character to develop.
I'm really very disappointed in this production apart from the photography. It has some really good ideas about how the Bram Stoker story can be further developed but it missed out because of a weak script, weak acting, and bad casting. Not a film I'd be rushing to see again.
The casting, I thought, was abysmal. Marc Warren looked to me like a petulant teenager who didn't want to be in this film, and who was thoroughly bored with it. He exuded none of the sexuality that people like Lee, Langela and Jourdan did in previous incarnations of the mesmerising blood-sucking fiend.
Stephanie Leonidas and Sophia Myles were a couple of the weakest players of Mina and Lucy I have ever seen in a Dracula adaptation even compared with the early Hammer version.
Rafe Spall didn't have much of a chance to play a role - Harker was a kind of mechanism to get Dracula to England and to give the audience some link to the appearance of Mina in the film. If the whole Harker bit of the script was deleted it wouldn't have made much difference. Holmwoods determination to be cured of syphilis by bringing Dracula to England should have sufficed.
The person who had any real presence was David Suchet as Van Helsing, but sadly his part was only too small and badly written. I think he would have been a great Van Helsing if only he was given the opportunity. Instead he had a bit-part which didn't give him enough time for his character to develop.
I'm really very disappointed in this production apart from the photography. It has some really good ideas about how the Bram Stoker story can be further developed but it missed out because of a weak script, weak acting, and bad casting. Not a film I'd be rushing to see again.