Review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) by Kainlupus — 24 Jun 2012

When one attends a film about a former United States President slaying unholy creatures of the night, one does not expect a beautifully written, tear-jerking, dramatic masterpiece. One expects awesomeness, which Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter delivers.

It is, first and foremost, an action film so the quality of the action seems the logical starting place for this review.

The fight scenes are glorious testaments to ingenuity, shining with the kind of creative violence normally presented by serial killers. Every single battle is perfectly choreographed so as to be visually impressive and, at the same time, believable and in keeping with Lincoln's go-to fighting style of "Desperate Brutality".

Expect to see Mr. Lincoln kill many vampires with the closest sharp/heavy object or piece of scenery to hand. My personal favourite moment is when a panicked vampire, fleeing through a field, frantically picks up a passing horse and attempts to club Lincoln to death with it.

Which is not to diminish the non-violent aspects of the film. In a story featuring The Great Emancipator as the lead protagonist, the issue of slavery and the Civil War between the Union (anti-slavery) and the Confederacy (pro-slavery) were bound to rise up out of the setting and into the plot, something that AL:VH takes perfectly in it's stride and uses to bridge the gap from angry, young Lincoln who hates vampires to wise, experienced Lincoln who loves freedom, a progression that fits perfectly into the narrative.

Which is essentially the plot of the story. Like a video-game character, Lincoln goes from fighting one vampire to fighting a dozen of them to fighting an army (the confederacy being conveniently run by vampires) until, eventually, his crusade against vampires becomes a crusade against evil (specifically the evil of Racial Inequality) culminating, in true Action-Film mentality, with Abraham and his black BFF fighting vampires side by side atop a moving train.

Lincoln is portrayed by Benjamin Walker, a relative newcomer to the industry, but he excels in the role, performing a youthful and elderly Lincoln with the same degree of believability. He is backed up by his vampire-hunting posse of Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) and Jimmi Simpson (Breakout Kings), all of whom perform excellently.

To conclude, AL:VH has no illusions of grandeur. It's an action film, and a bloody good one.