Move over James K. Polk you just replaced as my favorite 19th century president, and its all thanks to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. A young President Lincoln's mother is killed by a supernatural creature, which fuels his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers. This was a fun thrill ride of a movie and on the surface looks like something any self respecting nerd would be excited to watch. So, did this movie live up to the expectations? Was it what we were all waiting for?
Let's start, as always, with the good. This movie looks amazing! From the set design, to the costumes, to the effects, this film's visuals are absolutely stunning. And while at times the CGI can look like CGI I didn't mind that so much. Also the acting in this film was actually pretty good and surpassed what I thought would come from a movie like this. I felt that Benjamin Walker did a good job as Honest Abe, even though his delivery can be stilted or awkward at times it seems to fit the character but the he brightest spot among the cast, in my opinion, was Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I really liked her portrayal of the young Mary Todd and found her acting top-notch in this film. The overall story was compelling and even tough some of the twists were predictable it was still fun. And finally I really liked the inclusion of other historical figures along the way. I did however would have liked to see more between Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas(Alan Tudyk) but I guess this is not the place to go for background on historical debates.
Now for the bad. The love story between Mary & Abe is very, very concise. Basically she shows up engaged to Douglas, then goes on one date with Abe, then the future first couple is getting married. Most of it probably ended up on the cutting room floor but I would have liked to see a little more. Also the make-up on this film could have been better. While they did an amazing job on aging Abe they must have run out of money after that because everyone else seemed to just get bad fake beards. And it looks like they didn't even bother to age the Mary Todd Lincoln character aside from putting a slight hint of gray in her hair. The music in this film was a little subdued in my opinion. I would have liked to have heard a little harder and louder score to the movie. Killing vampires should rock harder. Finally the ending to this movie felt a little anti-climatic and the final fight between Lincoln and the lead vampire Adam(Rufus Sewell) seemed a little quick for my taste. It might just be that I'm used to video games where boss battles happen in many stages but I would have liked to see a longer battle between the two.
So the overall verdict? Go see this movie, its fun and at times will have you on the edge of your seats. The action is fun and frenetic and the story is enjoyable. I give Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 4 out of 5 Stove-Pipe Hats.
I Want an Ax Gun
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