Dracula Untold Review (1 Viewer)

The rest of the story plays out as any superhero origin story would, with director Gary Shore putting Vlad through the motions of getting up-to-speed on his new powers before expertly wielding them to lay waste to wave after wave of hapless Turkish soldiers. But, of course, events transpire in such a way that he's left eternally damned (the outcome of a scene that screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless liberally borrow from the climax of The Amazing Spider-Man 2).

Visually, Dracula Untold has its heart in the right place. Its recreation of 15th century Europe looks appropriately resplendent, with portions of the movie shot on-location in Shore's native Ireland (where, as it just so happens, HBO's Game of Thrones is also filmed). A good chunk of the production design budget also seems to have gone towards the lavish costumes — especially Vlad's stark red and black armor, which looks like it could have conceivably been worn by Gary Oldman in the opening moments of Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version of the tale.

Thematically, though, the film has more in common with another early Summer blockbuster, Disney's Maleficent, than it does with Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece, taking a character traditionally regarded as a villain and trying to cast him in a sympathetic light. All things considered, Evans does a respectable job with the part, coming across as tortured and emotionally conflicted but never too emo. The one thing neither he nor the film ever conveys, however, is a sense of terror. Because if there's one thing Dracula Untold isn't, it's a horror movie.

Perhaps nothing is more telling of this than how Shore approaches the material, having Vlad fight most of his battles under partly grey skies, rather than under the full cover of darkness. Likewise, the film — staying true to its PG-13 rating — delivers rousing action and adventure (plus a hint of romance), but little more (and certainly nothing much darker). In truth, although it works as an action film, it ends up missing the point of the character, reducing a once-iconic villain to a one-note super-powered hero — albeit one who can create awesome bat-tornadoes like nobody's business.

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RobertR said:

Ugh. I can't stand this sort of "sympathy for the devil" revisionism, as well as the "forget horror sensibilities, let's go for a cgi action fest" silliness.

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Yavin said:

Dracula Untold is the first film in that new monster-verse, and it's a complete reboot of the character. The movie gives Dracula the Maleficent treatment, casting the iconic villain in a more sympathetic light.

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ruthkeith said:

What to watch this one ASAP! Dracula in a sympathtic avatar! Sounds interesting!

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ruthkeith said:

How can I edit my own post? I wrote 'what' instead of 'want' :'( !!!

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Yavin said:

Well, everyone's hopping on the Let's-Create-A-Marvel-Style-Interconneted-Cinematic-Universe bandwagon. The latest studio to do so: Universal, with their shared monsters cinematic universe.

Dracula Untold is the first film in that new monster-verse, and it's a complete reboot of the character. The movie gives Dracula the Maleficent treatment, casting the iconic villain in a more sympathetic light.

It stars The Hobbit's Luke Evans as Dracula (aka Vlad the Impaler... aka Vlad the Dad), who's more concerned with being a good husband and father (to wife Sarah Gadon and son Art Parkinson) than impaling everyone in his sight.

But when the evil Turks, led by Sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper), threaten his kingdom, he finds that mortal might won't be enough to protect his family and the good citizens of Transylvania. So he turns to Master Vampire Charles Dance, who transforms him into a creature of the night just so that he may vanquish his enemies.

It's a three-day-special, after which Vlad will revert ot his mortal form... unless he gives into "the thirst". Well, you can probably guess what happens next.

Here's a bit from my full review:


3 out of 5. Dracula Untold doesn't quite suck, but it misses the point of the character. It's Dracula in name only, but if you don't care about the blood and just crave medieval-themed action, it's got just enough going for it to make for a fun time at the movies.

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