Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

The title says it all. You get not just the plot, but the style and the tone. Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) is not only a vampire hunter, but his life has been defined by vampires for a long time. His mother was killed by a vampire. As a young man, he tries to seek revenge but fails. But in the process, he meets Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper) who teaches him how to kill a vampire. During the Civil War as President of the United States, he comes to realize that vampires are fighting with the Confederate forces. As a result he mounts his own campaign to defeat them.

Benjamin Walker is not big enough to anchor this movie. For the lead, they really should have gotten a bigger name and a more compelling actor. There was some really slow moments in the middle, but a vampire threw a horse.... A HORSE. That's worth the money to see for the right audience. This is a ridiculous concept. It could have more fun moments like the horse.

This is what a comedy-action-horror should be like. A preposterous idea mixed with some drama, wit, scares and decent enough CGI. Because of events he saw as a child Lincoln trains to become a vampire hunter with the assistance of Dominic Cooper.

He wants to hunt down Rufus Sewell who is the leader of the pack and before long Sewell plans to lead the South against Lincoln who is now President but not before inflicting another personal tragedy on the Lincoln family.

At least Benjamin Walker did not have to go through some faux type Daniel Day Lewis authenticity for his version of Lincoln. It was wielding axes, swords and other instruments of vampire death.

The action mixes historical fact and fiction with cartoon like action. Its fun although the movie makers might have taken things a tad too seriously in light of the fact that a Spielberg epic on Lincoln was around the corner.

Supposedly, the beginnings of Vampires in America and a story about Honest Abe (Benjamin Walker) as he hunts them down before becoming our 16th president.

I had no idea who Benjamin Walker is. Anyone? Yes, I suspected, but had never heard the truth that Abraham Lincoln was a Vampire Hunter…..until now. And, now you will too, if you watch this movie. I can hear you asking, "is it all true" Well, of course, it is. Hollywood wouldn't make up something if it weren't true now, would they? And, yes, they are finally admitting the truth about Edgar Allen Poe being a detective who wrote poems on his stake-outs. But, on to Abe………………..as a Vampire Hunter.

But first, before you turn away from this one, let me tell you of 2-scenes that are worth your time. The first one is a battle between Abe and Vampire Jack Barts (Marton Csokas) on horses in a horse stampede. Yes, that's right. In a horse stampede. The way this was done was nothing short of fantastic and you will ask yourself " how in the world did they do this?" The second one is near the end on a burning bridge the train is crossing. Unbelievable how they did this. Again, you will ask yourself "how in the world did they do this?" They took CGI to a new level. You will be talking about these two scenes for a long time. Kudos, kudos and kudos again.

The entire production, photography, dialogues were all first rate as were the actors within. The music was spot on especially with the train near the end chug-chugging in time with the beat. Excellent.

Yes, there is some gore as Abe settles in to become the Vampire Hunter we know and love, and his weapon of choice is an Axe. Hey, he was a rail-splitter at one time. Keep up.

Abe is befriended by Henry (Dominic Cooper) who teaches him how to kill Vampires. But, wait……Henry has a secret.

The main villain Vampire is Adam played by Rufus Sewell and he is always good. And, we learn how the battle for Gettysburg was really won. Yes, the North won but now you will learn how they did it. Never before told.

One more thing: finally, someone decided on a Mary Todd Lincoln (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is easy on the eyes. Good choice. And, yes, Benjamin Walker makes a good Lincoln especially with the beard later on in the movie.

It's true, I didn't want to see this movie much less do a review on it. A friend I won't name (Russ) recommended it and thanks to him I discovered the truth and it set me free. Now, I know all. Will you? (7/10)

Violence: Throughout Sex: No. Gore: Yes, there is some. Nudity: Yes, quick shot of a dead woman with a breast exposed. Language: Only two f-bombs were heard. Otherwise no language at all. (7/10)

It is what it is, a nutty premise made in nutty fashion, but for the undemanding horror fan there's a good time to be had here. Action choreography is of a very good standard, as is, perhaps surprisingly, the CGI. The history aspects of the story, one Abraham Lincoln's accent into justifiable legendary status, are of course a mixture of the based on fact and chaotic popcorn, but it's always interesting, exciting and bloody!

I imagine most horror fans have seen it by now, but if like me you are late to it, and like me you go in with low expectation levels, you could well find yourself having a blast and not hating yourself in the morning . All that and Rufus Sewell looks suspiciously like Adam Ant! 7/10

Summary: The movie has horrible plot holes and inconsistencies but it makes for a good "popcorn" movie. It can be very entertaining and funny but outside of that, there's really not much. 6/10

Characters: About 3 of the characters develop (slightly) and the rest are left to rot in their horrible cliché state of blandness and stereotypes. 4/10

Effects: This is one of the better parts of the film. The effects are good and at some points great. They fit well with the action scenes. At one point in the movie, I remember it didn't feel like I was watching a movie due to the amount of action and great effects. But it was short-lived due to the silly plot. 8/10

Plot: PFFFFFFT. It's bad. Really bad. But funny. Very funny. 5/10

Should I see it?: But if you're bored one night and have some dough to waste for a couple of cheap laughs and good action scenes, this movie is fine for you.

If you're looking for something deep or for a classic movie you can remember for this summer, this movie isn't it.