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Sunday, December 21, 2014

DRACULA UNTOLD (2014)

If you know any historical facts attributed to the real Vlad the Impaler - the man who inspired Bram Stoker to create Dracula - you'll find them forgotten here.  Luke Evans stars as the young prince, captured and tortured from childhood until molded into a killer by the Turks, who now peacefully runs his kingdom and is a loyal husband and father.  When an old friend turned new nemesis, the Turk warlord Mehmed (Dominic Cooper), demands the sons of Vlad's kingdom to build his new army of killers, Vlad's only recourse in fighting Mehmed's bloodthirsty army lies in a monster who inhabits a cave in the mountains - a monster who can imbue Vlad with the power and near-immortality that could protect his family and subjects ... though at what a cost to him.  The film is high on style, but low on substance; performances are fine, the film looks great, but enough time isn't spent on developing Vlad or the story to fully engage the viewer in the characters or what's going on.  Not a horrible film; you just get the feeling that it could have been so much better. (rated PG-13)  C

DRACULA UNTOLD trailer

1 comment:

  1. So many of this type of film is like this: "high on style, but low on substance". I wondered what this would be like and given your ecliptic taste hoped you'd review it. Thank you: the film met my expectations (according to your review), but what a waste eh?

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