Sunday 1st July 2012Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Year: 2012
Stars: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Lots of my friends have been rather sceptical about this movie. I, for one, was more than happy to see it. It sounded fun to me. So when my husband and I were looking for a movie to go and see on our wedding anniversary, this one just beat the competition. Although I'll admit that the competition wasn't that strong - it is the middle of the summer, after all. I was mildly surprised to find my husband willing to sit through it. Although his acceptance wavered a little when we discovered we had to watch it in 3D, and it was therefore going to cost us a hideous amount of money (this being a Sunday, not a Wednesday with its Orange 2-4-1 offers).
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter does exactly what it says on the tin. Amazingly, it's adapted from a novel - but it's all about a world where Abraham Lincoln goes off killing vampires. Oh, there's a bit in the middle where he stops and fights slavery (turns out the vampires are responsible for that, too), because doing both at once would be, well, silly. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, and although the movie plays it straight, it must know this. It doesn't try to be anything it isn't. Although the scene with the stampeding horses did have me almost laughing out loud for its sheer ridiculousness...
If you know what you're getting, and are willing to accept it, this is a pretty fun movie. I enjoyed the hour and a half by simply taking the movie for what it was. And the 3D was, for me, surprisingly effective. Sure, all the usual "vampires jumping out at you" tricks are employed, but what I really liked were the early scenes where the 1800s are given a hazy, washed-out summer tone, and the 3D makes the figures seem almost unreal.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (I enjoyed it, but I'm willing to admit that it's not an example of cinema at its best)
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