movies: abraham lincoln: vampire hunter

Sometimes you go into a movie knowing that it's going to be ridiculous and over the top and make you roll your eyes more than a few times.

And sometimes that's more than okay... in fact, sometimes those movies have a way of being thoroughly enjoyable.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is exactly one of those movies. I mean, seriously, just look at the title... one of America's most famous presidents hunting bloodsucking undead...

But there's something about this movie that just made me put my brain in neutral and enjoy the ride. I even didn't mind the liberties with vampire mythology like vampires walking around in the daylight with the use of "sunblock" (okay, the one scene where they show it being halfheartedly applied was kinda stupid).

Benjamin Walker makes an excellent Lincoln... he has the physical look, and because he's a relative unknown it makes it easier to "buy" him as Lincoln where it may have been harder to suspend disbelief with a more well known actor.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also really good as Lincoln's First Lady, in fact there's a scene where she confronts Lincoln that's a great dramatic scene.

I will say that I'm tired of Rufus Sewell as Bad Guy Du Jour... he always seems slightly bored and patronising... and while he usually makes me dislike him, he's not the most threatening or villainous of villains.

I saw the movie in 3D, and I have to say that it's a really good looking movie. The 3D isn't overpowering (although there's an ongoing "dust mote" effect that seems to run through most of the movie that I kept noticing due to the 3D), there really isn't any instances of things flying out of the screen at you that I thought there might be given the nature of the movie.

There are some scenes that do defy belief... particularly a fight scene that takes in, around, over and under a seemingly neverending stampeding herd of CGI horses. It's ridiculous, but at the same time it's beautifully rendered and lit.

And there's A LOT of slow motion in the movie... like A LOT. Every fight scene has multiple instances of slow-mo... and this movie has a lot of fight scenes. I did love the use of Lincoln's axe though... there have been any number of weapons used in movies, but I can't actually think of another movie off the top of my head that turns an axe into such a beautifully balletic weapon.

Having said all of that, it's a thoroughly entertaining movie, and the over the top sequences never detracted from that enjoyment.

yani's rating: 3 swinging axes out of 5