When it comes to vampires, the one who
comes to mind the most when mentioning the iconic creature is Count Dracula. Bram Stoker's novel
about the creature of Transylvania, much like “Frankenstein,” are
symbols of classic horror and embody the image of Halloween and
horror. Universal's iconic film from 1931 is the most famous
portrayal of the character, and Bela Lugosi's performance made him
the character, through and through. Since then, many adaptations of
the novel and character have been done countless times, even by
“Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola, with Gary Oldman as
the titular character.
This time around, we'll be talking
about a film that gives us the origin of Count Dracula, from
Universal and Legendary, “Dracula Untold,” starring Luke Evans.
In the times of the dark ages, Dracula
was formally Prince Vlad the Impaler, and was a warrior of great
strength. When his old acquaintance requests his son for his army,
Vlad takes it upon himself to find the strength to defeat him and his
army, by succumbing to vampire blood. Now he has three days to defeat
the army, or give in to temptation and remain a monster.
With the cast that this film has, they all do great jobs. Luke Evans is a really damn good Dracula, and you can get that
emphasis of torment in his eyes as he's trying to fight his urges and
keep his humanity. I would really love to see him play Dracula again
in future films. Dominic Cooper gives a great job at playing the
villain, as anyone else would in this kind of role. Not much to his
character, aside from being a childhood friend of Vlad, but Cooper
manages to take advantage of that nicely. Sarah Gadon as Vlad's wife
is good as well, playing a stern and strong woman, and willing to
take command if needed. Needless to say, what happens at the end is
quite heartbreaking.
As for the action scenes all manage to be exciting, showcasing Dracula's
power with every passing scene. The first action scene however, was a
bit annoying to sit through, due to the shaky cam work not being
creative. Aside from that, the rest of them are pretty entertaining
to watch, especially with the scenes where Dracula attacks his foes and travels by turning into bats. It actually makes me think that a film adaptation of "Legacy of Kain" can be possible, which I DO want.
What I love best about this film is
the concept. The idea of giving Dracula an origin story is a neat
idea, and this actually does work. Not only does it add to the legacy
of the vampire legend, but it also adds a sense of sympathy to the
character, that actually works. We do get to see a sympathetic side
of Dracula, and that he only was ruthless because he was raised that
way, but wants to resist that past. THIS is what “Maleficent”
SHOULD have been! This was what I actually thought Maleficent's back
story to be, instead of what that pathetic excuse of a film from Joe
Roth and Linda Woolverton gave us. Thank you Universal, for using this idea for one of
YOUR villains!
Overall, “Dracula Untold” was
really enjoyable to watch. Universal claims this is the start of
their new Monsters series, with possible reboots of “The Wolfman,”
“Frankenstein,” and others. If they're as good as this film, I
will gladly be there to see them. It's dark, it's foggy, it's grim,
and it's fun. Definitely give it a watch, and see for yourself.
Rating: 8/10
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