Movie Review: Dracula Untold

Long before Twilight became a thing, Vampires were some of the coolest monsters that entertainment media could work with. What's not to like about a noble, bloodthirsty, undead creature of the night? On top of that, aren't their powers and abilities cool? Turning into bats at will, having super reflexes and senses, super strength, etc etc. Vampires were cool. Without a doubt though, the greatest vampire of them all is Dracula himself.

What makes Dracula so enduring is that he's appeared in tons and tons of different kinds of vampire related media. From Brahm Stokers Dracula, to Castlevania, to the Underworld series, Dracula has managed to best the test of time and remained a relevant character in entertainment. So with that in mind, what could you possibly add to a character that's been around for so many years? Universal Studios and Legendary Pictures believe that it's time to tell the origins story of this famed vampire with, of course, some creative twists.

For those not in the know, Dracula was inspired by the real life historical figure Vlad the Impaler, an actual prince of Transylvania who gained notoriety for using extremely vicious methods of torture on his enemies. Most famous of his methods, as his name implies, is impaling them on spikes around his territory. Of course, all of this was meant to be used as a brutal method of keeping invaders and foreigners out of his country. As such, Vlad the Impaler went down in history (to the Romanian people) as a hero and a beloved figure. To the others, he became a monster of the cruelest intentions. Perhaps that's why Dracula was birthed, to reflect the outside look of Vlad the Impaler, from the foreigners perspective.

Well, enough history for now, how did the film fare?

Costumes weren't the best, but I enjoyed Vlad's dragon armor

Well, in all honesty, I enjoyed the movie enough to not feel terribly offended by it. With that being said, Dracula Untold is by no means a good movie, but it's also a far cry from a terrible one.

Dracula Untold, as it's name suggests, chronicles the untold origins of Dracula.The story makes sure to cover all the basics: Who Vlad was, Who he is now, and who he is destined to become. The very beginning of the film, we're given our usual prologue with all the juicy exposition that you could ever want. Vlad (Luke Evans) was a child who was taken by force by the Ottoman Empire, forced to become a soldier for them, eventually breaking free from the shackles of slavery and leading his people to fend off the Ottomans, mainly through the use of his impaling tactics to send a message to invading armies and what not.

Dominic Cooper as Sultan Mehmed II, the main antagonist of the film who doesn't really develop beyond iron-grip conquerer.

But this doesn't end here of course, the Ottomans gain a new Sultan who demand more from the small country of Transylvania, that they give up 1000 sons so they may fight in the Sultans Jannisary forces. All of this is happening while rumors of a creature that stalks the night and lives in a dark, damp cave have been getting stronger and stronger.

Eventually, we see Vlad making a deal with (perhaps) the first ever vampire (Charles Dance) so that he may gain the powers necessary to fend off the Ottomans once more and defend his people. The vampire agrees and explains that he has a 3 day limit to use the powers and turn back into a mortal. However, the rules also state that if he succumbs to the thirst for human blood, Vlad will forever be an immortal blood sucker.

We all know how this story ends, there's no surprise that Vlad will eventually become Dracula for good, but it's the journey that counts and I won't spoil anything here for those who may want to see it.

Overall, the story is pretty typical, mainly focused on Vlad and his fall from grace. We have several side characters like his wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon) and his son (Art Parkinson) who might as well just be plot devices with faces. Everyone besides Vlad and the first vampire is portrayed incredibly poorly in Dracula Untold. There were so many times that I felt...well..frustrated at the dialogue between Vlad and someone I couldn't even care to remember.

Basically an older and less intimidating Tywin Lannister

The pacing of the film was lacking as well in that I couldn't tell whether or not the film was moving slowly or if it was moving far too fast. Normally I can tell whether it's one way or the other quite easily, but in the case of Dracula Untold it was quite simply a mess that couldn't bring itself together. It's also due to this poor pacing that I barely felt connected to any of the characters on screen besides Vlad, and the only reason I felt connected to Vlad is that I already know that he becomes Dracula, and the process of him becoming the famed vampire lord is interesting to me.

Not everything about the film is bad though, I believe it's greatest strength does lie in the creative direction the writers went with the character of Dracula and how he comes to be. By humanizing Dracula, we get to see a genuinely interesting take on the undying legend and experience the satisfying journey of vengeance. I mean, if you had told me that Dracula became who he was out of compassion and self sacrifice, I probably wouldn't have believed you. It's refreshing to see a take on Dracula being a hero instead of the typical villain.

The film also boasted some pretty fancy special effects when it came to vampire weaknesses. Flesh literally ripping away from the skin into a strange floating liquid, the transformation of facial features when they feed, and the generally cool effect of bursting into hundreds of bats instantaneously. Though the latter was quite weak compared to the other effects, it was still a decent treat for the eyes.

However, despite the entertaining special effects, the set pieces used in the film were...well...boring and uninspired. Everything just looked incredibly bland and forgettable. Hell, I can barely even remember certain locations of the film and I had only watched it about 10 minutes ago before writing this review.

This is pretty metal you guys

Dracula Untold was an entertaining film. It's by no means a special movie, not by a long shot. But if you have any love for Dracula and perhaps classic Hollywood monsters, Dracula Untold will be a suitable film for you, especially since its written like slightly above average fan fiction.

I am finding myself interested in seeing what Universal Studios does with other classic Hollywood monsters though. Dracula Untold is meant to be the first film of Universals very own 'Movie Monster' universe. So who knows, maybe we'll see a cross over between Dracula and The Wolf Man one day, possibly a team up film featuring the Creature from the Black Lagoon and a better version of Frankenstein (not from I, Frankenstein of course).

Verdict: 3/5