![Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [Blu-ray]](http://cdn.avsforum.com/1/1a/50x50px-ZC-1a796f42_B005LAIHZE-51eBvB-7WWL.jpeg)
Watched this one over the weekend on 2D Blu-ray.
I understand a lot of people raved about the original book this movie is based on despite the silly premise. My opinion of the movie based on the trailer made it look pretty silly as any initial opinion of the concept might garner. However, the movie is vastly better than such impressions may lead most people including myself to believe although this flick is far from a "great" movie.
The strengths are the basic story and how with a straight face it cleverly ties in Civil War era United States, slavery and Lincolns' personal history with... well... vampires. The male leads are good to fair, maybe a bit young and too present day in some speech and behaviors, and the makeup done on Benjamin Walker as older Lincoln in the last 3rd of the film looks a bit too pasty and fake at times.
The big problem with this movie is the portrayal of Abe Lincoln - IP Man with an Ax. All the logic/physics-defying battle scenes are full of green screen wire-fu and ax twirling gymnastics that would make Donnie Yen envious. The movie works for the most part when it's not a action/battle scene. But when you have sequences like the heroes leaping around and over burning trains falling off flaming bridges in comically over the top fashion, the movie fails big time.
The Blu-ray presentation is good, but there's a number of scenes that are very dark (which I think would be problematic for the 3D version) and the overall volume seemed lower than a typical recent theatrical release. A lot of the movie is presented in a very desaturated look which may be off-putting to some viewers. Definitely worth a rental but not a blind buy recommendation.
I understand a lot of people raved about the original book this movie is based on despite the silly premise. My opinion of the movie based on the trailer made it look pretty silly as any initial opinion of the concept might garner. However, the movie is vastly better than such impressions may lead most people including myself to believe although this flick is far from a "great" movie.
The strengths are the basic story and how with a straight face it cleverly ties in Civil War era United States, slavery and Lincolns' personal history with... well... vampires. The male leads are good to fair, maybe a bit young and too present day in some speech and behaviors, and the makeup done on Benjamin Walker as older Lincoln in the last 3rd of the film looks a bit too pasty and fake at times.
The big problem with this movie is the portrayal of Abe Lincoln - IP Man with an Ax. All the logic/physics-defying battle scenes are full of green screen wire-fu and ax twirling gymnastics that would make Donnie Yen envious. The movie works for the most part when it's not a action/battle scene. But when you have sequences like the heroes leaping around and over burning trains falling off flaming bridges in comically over the top fashion, the movie fails big time.
The Blu-ray presentation is good, but there's a number of scenes that are very dark (which I think would be problematic for the 3D version) and the overall volume seemed lower than a typical recent theatrical release. A lot of the movie is presented in a very desaturated look which may be off-putting to some viewers. Definitely worth a rental but not a blind buy recommendation.
