1.5/5
Stars
A young Abraham Lincoln (Lux Haney-Jardine)
witnesses his mother being killed by a vampire, Jack Barts (Marton Csokas).
Considering himself to be guilty for his mother’s death Abraham vouches to take
revenge. A decade later, he (Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln) tries to
eliminate Barts, but in vain.
An acquaintance Henry Sturges (Dominic
Cooper), who is a vampire himself, teaches him ways in which he can fight and
kill vampires. However, Henry makes it clear to Abe (short for Abraham) that he
will only kill vampires on his orders. Abe moves to Springfield where he is on
the job in the days and on the hunt during the nights. The store owner Joshua
Speed (Jimmi Simpson) helps him out in getting accommodation and work and goes
on to play an instrumental role in his growth as a politician. He also meets
Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), his eventual wife, as well as reunites
with his childhood friend Will Johnson (Anthony Mackie).
Once he plans to move on to the worldly ways, he
vows to not ever get pulled into the world of vampires again. However, having
made enemies in vampires such as Adam (Rufus Sewell), Vadoma (Erin Wasson) along
with their entire troupe, Mr President Abraham has to return back to his
vampire-slaying old-self to save his country.
Performances were decent. Benjamin Walker shows
his mettle as a fine actor; however it gets too annoying after a while. He puts
in an intense performance in the first half. However, it does dwindle a bit
towards the end. Dominic Cooper’s role is one-dimensional, leaving the ‘The Devil’s
Double’ star with nothing much to do in the film. The villainous vampires (Marton
Csokas, Rufus Sewell and Erin Wasson) too, fail to have any sort of impact. The
women in the film are almost lampposts. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays
Lincoln’s wife, could have done so much more with her character. The
performances were impressive; however they are terribly let down by the
disappointing writing.
Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by
Seth Grahame-Smith (writer of ‘Dark Shadows’), the film is directed by Timur
Bekmambetov (directed the Angeline Jolie starrer ‘Wanted’). Seth Graheme-Smith, who also wrote Tim Burton’s ‘Dark Shadows’, fails to derive the
greatness of Lincoln. He even does grave injustice to the genre of vampire
films. The concept was indeed, very innovative. To amalgamate a historic figure
with a surrealistically-conceived plot was always a risky one. There were a few
moments in the film (for instance, Abe learning the art of slaying vampires,
his battle with his mother’s murderer Barts with a backdrop of innumerable
horses galloping at a thunderbolt speed, the speeches made by Abraham during
the political rallies). However, the sad part is that they are too few and far
in between.
The background music of the film (Original
Music by Henry Jackman) was brilliant. In films such as this one, sound along
with visuals plays a big role in capturing the attention of the audience
(notwithstanding the thoughtless idea), and Jackman does deliver. The CGI
(computer-generated imagery) was breath-taking and even the 3D effects were
passable (better in comparison in some of the recent fare that is being meted
out).
Director Timur Bekmambetov fails to capture
either of the two worlds effectively. Honestly, like one shouldn’t tamper with
the classics, even historic figures should be left untouched. Abraham Lincoln
is too iconic a figure to be caricaturized in such an absurd manner. The
screenplay of the film was bizarre. The events that unfold towards the end
could have been better placed in order to end the film on a high. However,
looks like the makers wanted to leave no stone unturned to accomplish this kamikaze.
They shouldn’t have made this film at all. Neither
does it contribute greatly in terms of storytelling nor does it boast of out-of-the-world
visuals. The story does great disservice to the great man that was Abraham
Lincoln. (First Posted in MSN)
Shivom
Oza
Good review Shivom. This movie was a lot of fun, believe it or not, but whenever they focused on the plot/story/history, it got boring. Also, should have been as ridiculous as the title suggested.
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