The majority of reviews out there for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" are bad ones, there are a lot of people hating on this movie and telling people not to go watch it. I'm here to tell you that this movie was not only a fun movie but it is also receiving the "brashest movie of the summer" award for 2012. Every year we select one film to win this prestigious award, last year's winner being "Cowboys And Aliens" and this year the award goes to good old Abe. To those that are not familiar with the definition of brash, here is some help:
Brash: Self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way. (dictionary.com)
Used it in a sentence:
Tim: Have you seen the latest Michael Bay flick?
Bob: Yeah man, it was so brash I could barely handle it.
Casting
The casting for this movie was superbly done, Benjamin Walker was fantastic as Abe and Dominic Copper outdid himself as he played Henry, Abe's mentor in the vampire hunting business. The movie was filled with good actors, from the main villain played by the awesome Rufus Sewell, to Abe's best friend and surprise amazing performance of Anthonie Mackie. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was stunning as Mary and Jimmi Simpson pulled through big time as Speed. There were many great moments within this movie but it was this brilliant combination that made the movie come to life so well. Benjamin Walker deserves the most praise for sure, he played a classic Abraham Lincoln, you'll thoroughly enjoy his performance.
Book Adaptation
Fans of the book be forewarned that the movie takes a different direction than the book. The book is way funnier and in some elements is even brasher than the film, I won't put any spoilers in here just in case anyone wants to read the book still, I recommend it, it is definitely a good read. Seth Grahame-Smith got to work on the screenplay so it's not like some Hollywood producer ruined the book, it was Seth that decided to take his work in a different direction and create this brash representation of his novel. The movie is a joke action movie, a brash action movie. To be fully entertained by this movie one must summon the same mindset that was summoned for "Cowboys and Aliens", in doing so this movie will take a different shape, it will become something awesome instead of a bad movie.
Action Sequences
This is where the movie shone, the film is packed with awesome unique fight scenes, be it with Abe using his axe to vanquish some vampires, to a horse stampede fight scene, to a great train fight sequence, the fight scenes within this movie will surely keep you entertained. Remember that this is not a Michael Bay film so there won't be explosions everywhere or special effects everywhere, this is just your good old fight sequences, even resembling at times martial-arts movies. In fact I would wager that if you like martial-arts movies then you will find enjoyment in this film. While watching this film remember that this is a brash movie, so they are all absurd for sure, but that's the whole point.
Watchability
A movie like this one requires a mindset prior to going to see it, you must fully prepare yourself for what you are about to face, you must get yourself into brash mode. This is the kind of movie you gather your friends together to go watch and escape an afternoon together. The movie is not made to be taken seriously, if you do that then you missed the point of the film (i.e. Cabin in The Woods). "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a good movie to go see in theaters but it will become a great Saturday "brash movie night" gathering with your friends. If you enjoy brash movies and was feeling like your brash thirst was not being quenched this summer then rest assured that this movie will satiate your thirst.
And there you have it, we won't always have Sunday posts but when two good movies come out in a weekend we'll do our best to bring you two reviews. We hope your weekend has been a restful one and pray that it has been a safe one.
Love from your humble blogger,
This one could have definitely been a lot more ridiculous and insane, like the premise seemed like it promised, but I still had fun with it. Surprised this actually did well at all at the box office. Totally thought that people weren't all that interested in the idea of Honest Abe, hacking up vamps, but I guess there is a big enough crowd out there for this. Good review Mario.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful blog thanks for posting.
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