Not quite Twilight, but perhaps the next-worst thing.
At first viewing of the Gary Oldman classic (my intro to the actor as well as the helmer), I thought they were trying to cram way too much into the plot, while also keeping the love story alive across generations. Seeing this (while not a travesty, still a very lesser work) banished that thought instantly.
Gone is the love, gone is the obsession, though make no mistake, Vlad does it all for love here as well, but more as a sacrifice, being the last refuge of a coward (kinda). They could've dug into the vampire myth a little more than what the previous version did - but that is one missed opportunity, among a long list of others. Dominic Cooper is wasted, though he surprisingly proves to be a stronger opponent to the lead character than his 2 scenes overall make us suspect.
Speaking of wasted characters, it's not just Cooper, but also Dance (Lord Tywin himself) who's utterly wasted, making a sequel-grab of sorts, without much explanation as to the origins and the eventual destination for that so-called important character. Glad t see him in his 2 scenes though.
A lot of side-characters get appropriately sidelined, and that's a pity, since this may have been a more substantial work if they had been given more room to breathe.
The shock of having quite the worst voice-over, that was not fixed even in post-production, is a huge mystery to me, rivaling the one that did not get fixed in '300', and ultimately found its own cult following as well. I don't think there's the danger of that happening over here, but who knows?
Given the recent news that this is going be something like the Avengers of Universal Studios' monsters assembly makes everything apparent, in terms of why this was rushed into production, and why everything else at Universal is as well, considering Marvel and DC/Warners have theirs, and this is all that Universal can mine. Box office wise, it's never gonna see the haul become the equivalent of what Marvel's got in its kitty already, and they had better remember that heroes sell more than baddies.
Luke Evans though, is the only reason to watch this flick, and I was thankful that there was no converted 3D cash-grab done for this as it has been done to a host of lesser works in the genre. The PG-13 too, nullifies/softens what could have perhaps been a gritty re- telling of an epic classic, but let's face it, as long as it's a studio hack running the show, PG-13 is all everyone's gonna get.
And speaking of hacks - In Gary Shore, Universal's found a perfect studio hack, and he won't make the studio a huge loss, but they can stop expecting him to perform miracles with the material they handed to him this time around.
Technically, I guess the CGI's alright, but the production design could've used more work, even close to the likes of the lesser- budgeted 'Centurion', or even the Purefoy-led vehicles like 'Ironclad' or 'Solomon Kane'.
A missed opportunity - and I am NOT lookin' fwd to all of those Spin-offs, assemblies with other Universal monsters and sequels, of which we're gonna be treated to a few, come each October.
At first viewing of the Gary Oldman classic (my intro to the actor as well as the helmer), I thought they were trying to cram way too much into the plot, while also keeping the love story alive across generations. Seeing this (while not a travesty, still a very lesser work) banished that thought instantly.
Gone is the love, gone is the obsession, though make no mistake, Vlad does it all for love here as well, but more as a sacrifice, being the last refuge of a coward (kinda). They could've dug into the vampire myth a little more than what the previous version did - but that is one missed opportunity, among a long list of others. Dominic Cooper is wasted, though he surprisingly proves to be a stronger opponent to the lead character than his 2 scenes overall make us suspect.
Speaking of wasted characters, it's not just Cooper, but also Dance (Lord Tywin himself) who's utterly wasted, making a sequel-grab of sorts, without much explanation as to the origins and the eventual destination for that so-called important character. Glad t see him in his 2 scenes though.
A lot of side-characters get appropriately sidelined, and that's a pity, since this may have been a more substantial work if they had been given more room to breathe.
The shock of having quite the worst voice-over, that was not fixed even in post-production, is a huge mystery to me, rivaling the one that did not get fixed in '300', and ultimately found its own cult following as well. I don't think there's the danger of that happening over here, but who knows?
Given the recent news that this is going be something like the Avengers of Universal Studios' monsters assembly makes everything apparent, in terms of why this was rushed into production, and why everything else at Universal is as well, considering Marvel and DC/Warners have theirs, and this is all that Universal can mine. Box office wise, it's never gonna see the haul become the equivalent of what Marvel's got in its kitty already, and they had better remember that heroes sell more than baddies.
Luke Evans though, is the only reason to watch this flick, and I was thankful that there was no converted 3D cash-grab done for this as it has been done to a host of lesser works in the genre. The PG-13 too, nullifies/softens what could have perhaps been a gritty re- telling of an epic classic, but let's face it, as long as it's a studio hack running the show, PG-13 is all everyone's gonna get.
And speaking of hacks - In Gary Shore, Universal's found a perfect studio hack, and he won't make the studio a huge loss, but they can stop expecting him to perform miracles with the material they handed to him this time around.
Technically, I guess the CGI's alright, but the production design could've used more work, even close to the likes of the lesser- budgeted 'Centurion', or even the Purefoy-led vehicles like 'Ironclad' or 'Solomon Kane'.
A missed opportunity - and I am NOT lookin' fwd to all of those Spin-offs, assemblies with other Universal monsters and sequels, of which we're gonna be treated to a few, come each October.