So is it a
film you want to see? Let’s take a look.
The novel
this film is based off of covers a lot of ground, from the death of his mother
to his political campaign. The film gives both of these scenes a passing nod,
something that kind of annoys me. The death of his mom is tragic yes, but it’s
the only scene they share in the entire film and given that you really have no
problem shrugging it off. Still, I suppose it’s better than his father’s demise,
who only receives a passing nod in the narration. Now I understand that the
movie wants to get to the vampire hunting quickly, but his mother’s death is
the driving force behind his need to decapitate these monsters with an axe, I’m
sure an extra five minutes with her wouldn't have its audience walking out of
the room.
But I can
overlook this; I can ignore it because we get right to the action after her
death, jumping ahead a few years to when he’s a young man (Benjamin Walker in
his first major film role). While having a quick drink in a bar he’s approached
by Henry (Dominic Cooper, Captain America),
who tries starting a conversation. Lincoln, deciding that the film should get
to the vampire killing instead of wasting time on stupid things like character
development, shrugs him off and walks outside to the docks where he confronts
the murderer of his mother, Jack Barts (Marton Csokas, The Lord of the Rings). After
promptly getting his ass handed to him, Abe is rescued by Henry.
Waking up in
his house, Abe is immediately taught how to properly dispel vampires through a
montage. By the end he’s somehow gained super strength and near indestructibility Now even full grown horses being thrown at him are not
enough to stop ol’ Abe. Seriously, just take any Chuck Norris joke, swap the
name and you get the idea. Now this film has been nothing but action up to this
point, until we meet Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). She catches the eye of our
protagonist and it comes as no surprise that they marry, but the scenes of them
bonding are hard to sit through.
At this
point I was in full action mode and expected that their romance would be summed
up in a narration and we’d get back to the vampire slaying, but we spend a lot
of time (for this film anyway) building up the romance. Now that isn't a bad
thing, but films usually start slow and then build up, not start fast then stop
completely before picking up the plot again. Yes, he loves her enough to marry
her, but he loved his mom enough to create a lifetime vendetta against the
creatures that killed her. Who decided a passing glance at that wasn't screen-worthy?
From action
we move into romance, historical drama, and right back to action. We learn the
Confederate army was actually made up of the vampires, that his third son
(though they never speak of or reference the other two) was really killed by a
vampire assassin dressed as a maid, and that he had an epic battle in and on
top of a train riding over a flaming track. Yep, suddenly History wasn't such a
boring subject to me.
So now that I've given the plot, let’s get to the verdict.
Benjamin
Walker doesn't really sell the role of Lincoln, sad because you get the sense
that he’s a talented actor. He’s an okay action star but not very good at
showing emotions, like the death of his son. He looked bored for the entire
minute, like there were some more vampires he could be out killing instead. It’s
not just the acting of Lincoln, but also the way he’s presented. In one montage
he’s gained the skills of the Winchester Brothers and Clark Kent, but who am I
to question the abilities of a montage. He does need saving once, but my
suspension of disbelief couldn't get past the many ways that wouldn't have
worked.
Dominic
Cooper plays Henry Sturges, Lincoln’s teacher. He does a great job portraying
the character and I can’t really find a major problem with his performance. He
displays sadness well, and that’s really the only expression Henry has. He’s
good, moving on.
Mary Elizabeth
Winstead plays Mary Todd, the wife of Lincoln. I loved her as Ramona in Scott Pilgrim and was sad that she chose
such a horrible role. She plays the part well, but unfortunately her only
scenes are the ones that slow the film down, like when their love is
developing. Sorry to say it, but she really wasn’t the bright spot I was hoping
she’d be. The movie was too confused to use her full abilities and that is one
huge mistake.
Anthony
Mackie (Hurt Locker) plays William H.
Johnson, the childhood friend of Abe (in real life he was the President’s
valet). He is easily the best performance in the film, despite that not being
too hard to achieve. My one complaint rest with the character and not the
actor, that being that he is just as good a fighter as Abe, shown in the ending
fight scene. I guess he went through the same montage off screen, but it really
just came out of nowhere when he started killing the vampires in perfect
synchronization with Abraham.
Now this was
based off a popular book, and like most book-to-film adaptations it varies with
what it follows and what it omits. The book is told from Lincoln’s
point-of-view and covers a lot about him, like the relationship between him and
his family. In the book, when the mom
dies you can sense the agony and depression he is in, unlike the film where her
death is more important than an extra dying, but not by much. Also in the novel
you learn that Abe built his strength up through the labors he did every single
day, making it much more believable why he’s able to stand his own against the
undead. The film also leaves out an important character in Edgar Allan Poe, the
poet Abe befriends that informs him of why the vampires are coming to America. The
endings vary, but I won’t give them away in case you don’t want to be spoiled.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: action
is nicely choreographed, acting isn't unbearable, effects are nice, takes itself serious despite silly concept.
Cons: film isn’t sure what it’s trying to be, physics work
like a Looney Tunes short, Abe
belongs in a DC comic book, improper use of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, slowing
down when it clearly doesn't know how, trying to evoke an emotion without any
idea of how.
If you want an actual plot, read the book. It’s well-written,
humorous, and works hard to sell you on the ridiculous material.
No comments:
Post a Comment