Dracula Untold had a simple goal: Be an origin story for the most famous Vampire Literature or some good Historical Fiction for Vlad the Impaler.
It fails miserably at both. It fails miserably at being a good film.
First off, The movie doesn't give a damn to history. Names aside, there is nothing in common with the (fascinating) story of the real Vlad the Impaler. You can hardly call them the same person (they even look different). The real Vlad walked the line between Ax-Crazy, Well-Intentioned Extremist and Knight Templar, making him one of the most fascinating characters of his time, while the movie Vlad is a generic Action Hero. So don't go in expecting to find even resemblance of an interesting historical interpretation.
As an adaptation of Dracula, it also falls flat on its face. The whole Protagonist Journey to Villain promised? Never happens. Vlad borders on a Messianic Archetype, and the movie goes out of its way to make him a Saint. Worse, there's opportunity aplenty for Vlad to take his title as vampire King, but he never does so, and even tries to kill himself along with all his minions in hope of ending the vampire race.
In a more pedant side, it also mangles basic things. Like sunlight burning and destroying Dracula (while in the book he is a Daywalking Vampire).
Since it's terrible as a Historical revision and even worse as an adaptation, the only hope left is that it can stand on its own. It doesn't. The plot is clichéd, Vlad is so generic you could confuse him for a background prop, the villains are all Generic Doomsday Villains (with a hint of racism: Black Face and a Middle Eastern-ish accent, while everyone else is schizophrenically English-sounding), nothing has emotional impact, the dialogue doesn't even deliver a good Bond One-Liner.
The fights could have been the saving grace, but they're not. The fight scenes are dark. In that you can't see shit, which combined with Dracula's overused bat-shenanigans, means you can't understand a thing. The ony decent fight is Mehmet's swordfight with Vlad, and that's not saying much.
Dracula Untold is one of the worst vampire movies in recent memory, not just because of what it is, but 'specially because of what it could have been.
Film May God Strike Down Whomever did this to Dracula.
Dracula Untold had a simple goal: Be an origin story for the most famous Vampire Literature or some good Historical Fiction for Vlad the Impaler.
It fails miserably at both. It fails miserably at being a good film.
First off, The movie doesn't give a damn to history. Names aside, there is nothing in common with the (fascinating) story of the real Vlad the Impaler. You can hardly call them the same person (they even look different). The real Vlad walked the line between Ax-Crazy, Well-Intentioned Extremist and Knight Templar, making him one of the most fascinating characters of his time, while the movie Vlad is a generic Action Hero. So don't go in expecting to find even resemblance of an interesting historical interpretation.
As an adaptation of Dracula, it also falls flat on its face. The whole Protagonist Journey to Villain promised? Never happens. Vlad borders on a Messianic Archetype, and the movie goes out of its way to make him a Saint. Worse, there's opportunity aplenty for Vlad to take his title as vampire King, but he never does so, and even tries to kill himself along with all his minions in hope of ending the vampire race.
In a more pedant side, it also mangles basic things. Like sunlight burning and destroying Dracula (while in the book he is a Daywalking Vampire).
Since it's terrible as a Historical revision and even worse as an adaptation, the only hope left is that it can stand on its own. It doesn't. The plot is clichéd, Vlad is so generic you could confuse him for a background prop, the villains are all Generic Doomsday Villains (with a hint of racism: Black Face and a Middle Eastern-ish accent, while everyone else is schizophrenically English-sounding), nothing has emotional impact, the dialogue doesn't even deliver a good Bond One-Liner.
The fights could have been the saving grace, but they're not. The fight scenes are dark. In that you can't see shit, which combined with Dracula's overused bat-shenanigans, means you can't understand a thing. The ony decent fight is Mehmet's swordfight with Vlad, and that's not saying much.
Dracula Untold is one of the worst vampire movies in recent memory, not just because of what it is, but 'specially because of what it could have been.
2/10.