Review of Rise: Blood Hunter (2007) by Leslie D — 12 Nov 2007

A nice premise: this otherwise 4-star movie suffers from one, glaring, fault. Ignore all the "this movie is the worst of all time; same-old-same-old, etc" comments from the other reviewers...

They just don't seem to get it. So what if it's "only" a revenge-flick? Or, if it isn't the most original? All of these things you can find in any Hollywood movie. Lack of originality isn't the problem.

There are even some really well-written scenes...Lucy Liu gets all of the good lines. The biggest problem lay not with the director; writer; or even the cast. IMO, all did quite well. The problem lay with the editing, and continuity, of the film.

Heedless of any buildup of mood, the scene-changes crash together, even sometimes ignoring linear plot. The main character, for instance, first awakens as a vampire, and with no explanation, is remorselessly and skillfully killing off human prey (we're brought up to speed via annoyingly interspersed dream-sequences, later) in the very next scene.

Sometimes, I was left wondering whether or not I was watching another flashback. In the hands of a seasoned director (since the director is responsible for continuity, in a film) and a competent editor, this film could have blown away the Blade franchise, whose plot essentials it mirrors (rogue outsider gunnin' for da Man).

I mean: HOW can you go WRONG with Lucy Liu, a few hot bod shots, snappy dialogue and vampires? Killing off any built-up mood and continuity with poor editing, certainly would be a start.