Review of Dracula Untold (2014) by Stako — 16 Oct 2014

Distinctly I remember the warm summer evening during which a friend of mine linked me a movie poster, proceeded by the question "Castlevania the movie 2, is that you?" (we reffer to Van Helsing as Castlevania the movie 1). That's how I came to know of Dracula Untold. The poster indeed looked very much like something out of Castlevania, particularly - Lords of Shadow. As an avid fan of Castlevania and vampires in general, I kept an eye on this movie. Some time passed and there came a trailer. After watching it, I was officially hyped. Everything looked awesome - plot, acting, action: It was the first movie to fuse real historical facts about Vlad and the famous Vampirism of Dracula we all know and love. After the slew of awful vampire movies in recent years, this one showed promise and potential. I really couldn't wait to see this film. Last night, finally - I did. It IS Castlevania THE movie. And I loved it!

Gaming jokes aside, Dracula Untold is a good movie. I expected far less, even at all the hype I had.

This is director Gary Shore's first full feature, and he did a very, very good job with it. Writing was fine, with a few exceptions: times where the movie didn't care to explain it's mythology, or to explain it well enough. Also there were a few moments when it tells you stories, instead of showing them to you, particularly - the introduction and outro. The cinematography was done very well, most of the movie is beautifully captured, with the right atmosphere perfectly implemented. Action scenes are very intense, it's very fun to watch Dracula use his powers to crush hundreds of people. The overall plot was nice; it is true that the movie takes it's absurd liberties, but none are that bothersome. It is also true that it seems as if it is making preparations for a sequel, but it's not as much as everyone says it is. Soundwork was solid, the music - unexceptional.

Acting was surprisingly good. All the actors were acceptable at the very least. Luke Evans creates a different, interesting Dracula; I would have enjoyed seeing more of him with his family, or of his troubled past, however the movie does not manage to find time (or money) to do this. The showstealer in this flick is Charles Dance, who plays the Master Vampire, he played his part superbly, and if there is a sequel, I can't wait to see more of him.

Overall, Dracula Untold was a great film. It deserves a 7/10, but I'm giving it an 8. I was extremely hyped for this movie and even at that I had a lot of fun with it. If you are a Dracula, Castlevania or Vampire movie fan - go see this flick, it's worth the time and you will enjoy it. If you are not, you may want to wait to rent it out, but either way - it's worth a view, because it's simply a very competent, good movie that you are going to enjoy. It's good to see vampire movies going back to basics and recovering from that one infection.