"Dracula Untold" Review

Universal Pictures continues their recent kick of revamping the image of their classic movie monsters: first with 2010's The Wolfman, followed by this January's I Frankenstein. October is among us and we're presented with Dracula Untold. If The Wolfman was solid and I Frankenstein lackluster, Dracula Untold is somewhere in the middle, straying from its horror roots, but still packing enough goofy charm to keep me entertained for an hour and a half.

The disconnect between this film and the house that Bela Lugosi built extends even to the name: Luke Evans plays Vlad, a prince who employs the help of a vampire (Charles Dance) to gain the power to defend his kingdom from a warlord (Dominic Cooper). Gone is Dracula's nightmarish atmosphere and menace, replaced instead with medieval battles and CGI grandeur: the bastard child of Underworld and Lord of the Rings.

Evans, despite doing his best Russell Crowe impression, works with a well-crafted character, able to tap into different aspects of his personality. When given his trademark powers (super strength and speed, transformation into a bat, sharp fangs, etc.), Vlad undergoes a lust for blood, which if he succumbs to, will seal his fate as a vampire for eternity, as opposed to the 72-hour free trial the vampire lets him try. This development forms Vlad into a man who questions, how much evil can one justify doing in the name of the greater good? This is an aspect of the story that hasn't been explored in any story prior, but is a welcome addition to the mythology.

In Dracula Untold's final act, the two armies clash in a valley underneath a monastery. The CGI is on full display, shot with the plasticity of a Call of Duty game, as Vlad shows off, decimating waves of enemies with kick-ass superpowers. The testosterone-fueled Mountain Dew-drinking twelve-year-old in me is in heaven. The action hits all the notes one would expect, but never in a way that drags. It shows what it needs to and moves on: competent with fun little twists.

If describing Dracula Untold in one word, I think "competent" fits. For someone who walked into the theater ready to hate this movie, I found myself enjoying a lot more than I expected. call it the beneficiary of lowered expectations, but I thought the new take on the vampire was handled well enough that it never delved into a caricature. Come into the film, lower your suspension of disbelief, and you'll find it an entertaining first half to a Saturday double feature. Thank you for reading; I'm the Man Without A Plan, signing off.