Print
‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ sounds awesome, but it’s … not
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 (4:54 p.m.)
Ah, that famous moment in history when Lincoln got ready to chop down the cherry tree with George Washington’s ax … er, kill some vampires … er, never mind.
The Details
- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
- Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
- Rated R
- Beyond the Weekly
- IMDb: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
- Rotten Tomatoes: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
For a movie with such a ridiculous title and premise, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter takes itself remarkably seriously.
Based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), it weaves real historical details of the life of our 16th president around a fictional narrative about his lifelong crusade against vampires. It’s a deeply silly idea, but Grahame-Smith (who also wrote the screenplay) and director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) play it completely straight, with massive set pieces and a grisly back story for Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) involving his quest for revenge against a vampire who killed his mother.
There isn’t a hint of humor to this tedious, plodding movie, and Walker has no charisma as the grim, determined Lincoln. Bekmambetov overdoses on slow-motion and quick cuts in his action sequences, and the special effects look dingy and fake. An adaptation of a textbook would at least have been more educational.
digg
reddit
Newsvine
Fark
E-mail
Discussion:
In an effort to increase the dialogue on our stories, we will be requiring Facebook accounts to leave comments on lasvegasweekly.com stories. We believe that Weekly readers are likely to have Facebook accounts already and more apt to comment on this site with that account rather than have to create an account with us. If, however, you do not have a Facebook account, click here to sign up for one. If you have questions, comments or concerns about this new commenting policy, please let us know.
For any other questions related to commenting on Weekly stories, please read our full policy.