I remember seeing the book version of this movie years ago and was amused about the mashing up of both a revered historical figure and that of the romantic notion of vampires. However, like most people, I just wait for the movie version to come out since these books are rarely Shakespeare anyway and are just good natured fun.
Well, here are some things I like about the movie -
#1 The lead actor, Benjamin Walker, looks like a younger Liam Neeson and the make-up people certainly did their best to make him achieve that Abe Lincoln resemblance. He's also a pretty good actor, considering the script he's given. I can foresee a career for him in character-driven movies.
#2 There's a great horse sequence wherein this vampire runs with the horses while Abe Lincoln is chasing him. Easily the best action sequence in the movie although it did look a tad bit like a computer game. Of course, shooting it with real horses might be physically impossible but it was a delight to see the vampire jumping from horse to horse, like he was just skipping on a road!
#3 Mary Elizabeth Winstead! Gosh she looks so different in this movie! I last saw her in The Thing where she looked plain and dowdy, but here, she looks regale and fresh and dignified! Her character, first as Abe Lincoln's love interest and then wife, definitely added another dimension to the movie.
#4 I like the humor! I guess it had to happen since the writer had to mash historical fact with well, vampire lore! Imagine the Civil War being fought by vampires or that Abe Lincoln was assassinated by a vampire! Cool ideas!
#5 Seeing Washington DC when it was still a young city. We've always pictured the White House as it is now, but since this one is supposed to be set in the 1900s, to see the White House that way was pretty interesting!
Here are some of the things I didn't quite like in the movie-
#1 The vampires, in the end, turned out to be uninteresting people, which is sad, since they should've figured heavily also in the script development. They were just played out simply as bad guys who were killed in so much numbers, they became just fodder for the kill.
#2 When the vampires showed themselves, the make-up looked computer-generated and so, a bit unreal. I am no movie special effects guy but sometimes it would look more scary if it was real make up rather than flesh it out like this was another computer game ghouls.
#3 I know there has to be killing scenes in this movie but they seemed interesting at first but towards the end, the sheer number of them being killed and the appearance of the act being too easy for the lead character just lead to boredom instead of me being filled with suspense.
Overall though, the movie was fun to watch if you just suspend your disbelief for a while and not think that this story has any historical significance.
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