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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
2012 | Action, Horror, Mystery
7
5.9 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
When I heard that the same guy that directed Wanted was going to direct the movie version of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I was game. I was looking so forward to this film.
The first thing I found kind of off about the film was the casting of Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Walker. He was just a little wooden, and it didn't work for me.
Now, Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturges was a great casting. Yes, I read the book, so I knew what Sturges was. The scene with Cooper wearing the pair of sunglasses? Amazing.
Overall, this alternative history was good, but not as well executed as the book.
  
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
2012 | Action, Horror, Mystery
4
5.9 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Of all the absurd film titles this has to be right up there. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a film that you can tune into and lose yourself with – nothing more than that.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) the film initially focuses on the early life of one Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) whose mother is killed at the hands of a vampire.

Fueled by revenge he goes out and tries to avenge her death, unsuccessfully at first. He is then taken under the wing of Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper) who shows him the proper ways to fight back, in a training montage that makes Rocky’s wood chopping skills look pathetic.

Sturges leaves Lincoln to go off on his own but sends him the names of undead that he has to go out and kill on a regular basis, while trying to hide his nocturnal hobby from those closest to him. First thing to note with this film is many of the techniques that made Wanted a unique action flick are used considerably throughout, a bit too much for me.

CGI in film should be used sparingly as far as I’m concerned, but when faced with a scene where there is no feasible way you could shoot for real then it’s a perfect solution. When Lincoln is giving chase to Jack Barts (Marton Csokas) across a stampede of wild horses it provides a great action sequence for which CGI comes into its own.

In-fact pretty much all the action sequences use this, and with the climactic train sequence proving a highlight to the end of the film it’s not anywhere near enough to make it a standout, you can only hide behind special effects for so long before you’re going to get found out.

There is a pause in proceedings, a chance to catch breath from all that over the top action, as Lincoln puts down his silver coated axe and follows a career in politics looking to abolish slavery as well as vampires. His lifelong friend Will Johnson (Anthony Mackie) also joins him on this quest as his personal Presidential aide.

Of course it turns out that vampires are unable to kill their own as we see from a brief flash back where Dominic Cooper is mindlessly attacked and his beloved taken from him, so he clearly has a motive as well.

It’s all harmless fun, and while the late Abe Lincoln provides some small resemblance to Liam Neeson with a beard (was it only me that thought that) it’s a far fetched and totally ludicrous story that you cannot take too seriously for a minute.