Dracula Untold [DVD]

This movie is a grand example of how one should not trust the reviews and half-assed critiques one will find regarding movies that are all too often pushed aside for common sensationalist pap. Take a chance, and trust in your own instincts regarding films, and you will find that many will suit you just fine, and may in fact, prove to be far better than you ever would have thought. This, my friends, is one of the good ones.For the fans of the classic legends of vampires, this movie shows that it is possible to bring a new spin to a venerable creature of the night. Even the fans of the "fluffier" style of vampire might enjoy the romantic side of the titular character. But, unlike modern vamps, who are written to avoid the difficulties of daylight, or blood, or silver, Vlad Tepes/Dracul brings us back to those roots and demonstrates how an old school vampire manages 'like a "sir"'."Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans) is the Prince of Wallachia /Transylvania. Vlad and his men find a helmet that means an Ottoman scouting party is clearing the way for an invasion force. At Broken Tooth Mountain, Tepes finds a cave littered in bone fragments. Inside the dark depths they are savaged by a fiendishly strong man-like creature, whose speed, sharp teeth and keen red eyes, spell the death of all of Tepes' men, but not without cost. The wounded creature attempts to make Tepes his victim, but halts when sunlight causes his blood to burn and turn to ash on the wind. Vlad returns to his keep, and a monk informs him that a vampire, once a man who bargained with the devil for power, is accursed, and must remain in his rocky prison until he can pass his curse to another through a pact sealed with the vampire's own blood.Time passes, and Tepes is with his wife and son when a Turkish entourage arrive and see audience. Tepes offers them the customary tributes of silver coins, but the Sultan, named Mehmed, states that a contingent of Turkish men are missing, with the clear indication that Tepes was behind their disappearance. He then demands an additional tribute of 1,000 boys to be trained as soldiers. Tepes refuses the demand, but he knows his army is insufficient to repel the Turks if they should attack, so he asks Mehmed, who has known him since childhood, to show leniency and leave the children be. Mehmed is not swayed by his request and Tepes then offers himself in their stead. The Sultan then demands that Tepes' own son must come also. The boy tells his father that he is ready to join the Sultan's army, but Tepes kills the Sultan's men knowing that his actions will lead to war.Driven to desperation, Tepes revisits the cave seeking help from the vampire who tells him of the steep price of such a bargain. He holds forth a skull bowl containing a large amount of blackish vampire blood, and informs him that if he is able to resist human blood for three days, the deal will be nullified and he will retain his humanity. But, should he fail, he will inherit the blood curse of vampirism for all eternity and he will be required to render aid to the vampire when he finds his maker and seeks revenge upon him. Knowing that he has no choice if he is to save his people and his family, Tepes agrees and drinks the creature's blood completely. Immediately, he is wracked with pain, and through gritted teeth he asks:"What happens now?"The vampire turns away as he says:"Now, you die."Drawing from history surrounding the actual Prince of Wallachia, the movie incorporates a heroic view of the main character, just as residents of that area hold now. In this way, the story is a clever blend of romanticism, heroic sacrifice, infamous legend and historic events that is altogether entertaining and enjoyable. It's dark, and moody and the characters are well played. For those with teens and preteens, it's not all that bloody or gore-ridden, depending more on facial reactions and dizzying action to depict violence. There is one sexual situation that is quite tame, and the movie doesn't rely on foul language or crudity to carry the story. From beginning to end, it was a good vampire romp with great actors, great costumes, and dizzying quantities of bats. How cool is that!?If you are weary of vampires with the Star Trek: Next Gen. sinus-problem makeup to make them look "scary", or vampires that have had all the gritty, bitey fun stripped away, including the fangs, then join me in some classical throat-sucking warfare that you'll really enjoy. The end of the film implies a sequel, which I do hope eventually gets made, and I for one, want more! A lot more! I've honestly had all the wimpy sparkly vamps I can handle for one lifetime.

Good movie good screen play

Okay, I know there have been a lot of bad reviews of this movie, and I'm not sure why. Ultimately, this is my favorite Dracula movie, because it's just so dang entertaining.Does everyone have inexplicably different accents? Yes. Are there cheesey moments of predictable drama? Yes! Is it entirely believable? No! But what the heck are you expecting from a Dracula movie? If you want a story involving Vlad the Impaler and not something from Anne Rice (Seductive, Interview With The Vampire types) or Stephenie Meyer (Twilight's sparkle-filled teen angst-a-thons), watch this. It stands on its own as an imaginative re-telling of the story of Dracula, without heavily relying on racist Romani stereotypes (thank. goodness.) and over-the-top excessive gore just for the sake of gore (I'm looking at you, 30 Days of Night!).Luke Evans really makes the movie, to the point where he sold his character so well I just forgave everything else. If you go into this expecting to be entertained and not expecting to see a high-strung period piece that takes itself too seriously, you will enjoy the crap out of this film. It has everything: Inappropriate accents, a creepy old dude who has been trapped in a cave, a deal with a demon, Vlad doing some of what he does best - impaling, overly dramatic lightning, cool special effects, sappy couple affection, sarcastic comments, and an inordinate - nay, obscene - amount of bats.

I watched this movie without great expectations. For me, that's a good thing because when I anticipate being a little disappointed it helps prevent me from expecting too much. ("Frozen" is an example. From all the rave reviews, I expected it to be a knock-out movie. I was sorely let down by it.) I was underwhelmed by the trailers I had seen for "Dracula Untold" but there were enough positive customer reviews to prompt me to take a chance. Obviously, this movie is fiction but it is one that I felt blended historical fact, fiction, and mythology quite nicely. Other reviewers are much better than I at analyzing the movie so I will not tread that ground again, only render my own overall opinion. Though flawed, "Dracula Untold" is a refreshing take on the vampire mythology, one that mercifully does not include sparkly vampires. Vlad is a flawed yet noble antihero, one who is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of his people and his family; a man willing to reluctantly embrace darkness in order to protect his loved ones and those under his leadership. I found Luke Evans' portrayal to be surprisingly relatable; taking us from the man to the myth with a deft mixture of tenderness, fierce protectiveness, and a touch of quiet humor. There were some things that disappointed me, like the perpetuation of the erroneous belief that sunlight can destroy Dracula (Is Hollywood really that adverse to reading the actual source material??) and trying to convince me that a human can plummet an ungodly distance and still be conscious, unbloodied, intact, and able to speak coherently... (Yeah, I'm still gnashing my teeth about that because they could have worked around the issue. I get Sheldon Cooper about such details when they so flagrantly fly in the face of logic, physics, and/or biology. I can suspend disbelieve only so far. But I digress.) While "Dracula Untold" is not a great movie, I feel it is an interesting and fun take on a well-worn, nearly threadbare, subject. "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is still my favorite vampire movie though, despite Winona Rider's flinch-after-death and Keanu Reeve's usual wooden acting. With the exception of the ever-fascinating Gary Oldman's magnetic performance in "Bram", I think the acting in "Dracula Untold" is more even. I think it was an excellent choice to select actors for their talent rather than how big a box-office draw their name brings. Luke Evans was a pleasant surprise and Charles Dance gave his usual solid performance, giving his character a slippery yet somehow almost regal quality. I look forward to watching it again.