Dracula Untold (2014)

Plot summary (story synopsis): Transylvanian prince Vlad (Luke Evans - Fast and Furious 6, Immortals) is bullied by Turkish prince Mehmed (Dominic Cooper - Dino Bambino in Need for Speed) into paying an annual tribute of silver.

Mehmed now ups the tribute to include one thousand and one young boys, including Vlad's own son, to be brought up to become Turkish Janissaries - slave soldiers.

Unable to accept such a demand, Vlad offers himself to the Master Vampire (Charles Dance - Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones) in exchange for a vampire's superhuman power to kill.

Vlad becomes a deadly monster and successfully fights the Turkish army. But he has to resist drinking human blood for three days, or he will be doomed to become a vampire forever. His family is not yet safe - from the Turkish army, and from himself.

***

Dracula Untold puts a superhero spin on the familiar Dracula story. Unfortunately, that's not sufficient to make the story interesting enough to distinguish it from the many Dracula movies that have preceded it. We've already seen too many anti-heroes try to resist the lure of blood - from Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire to Joss Whedon's Angel - for it alone to be enough to hold our interest.

Dracula Untold is a one-trick pony. All it has is Dracula as superhero. Unfortunately the movie doesn't do much with this idea. Just a simple, linear extrapolation. You can guess the ending, and most of the events leading up to it, early on in the movie. 

This is Irish director Gary Shore's first feature. Following the footsteps of the Scott brothers, he started out in TV commercials. This explains why the visuals are good.

However the script and acting (possibly a director's main responsibility) are lacking. The melodramatic script by rookie writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (this is also their first feature) is as subtle as a sledgehammer, all tell and no show.

The script has rough edges. The movie starts off with narration by Vlad's son, but isn't bookended by another narration by him at the end. The epilogue is actually a cliched scene set in today's world, a clumsy attempt to set the stage for a sequel.

Another gripe - Vlad deputizes/creates about 20 vampires from humans, to help him fight the Turks. After killing thousands of soldiers, and presumably drinking their fill of blood, these vampires are still thirsty for Vlad's son's blood?

From a business viewpoint, the movie is an odd duck. It's from industry stalwarts Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures, and also Michael De Luca Productions (Captain Phillips, Moneyball, The Social Network, Ghost Rider). IMDB estimates the budget as $100 million. So this is a moderately expensive Hollywood movie - not surprising as it is heavily effects-laden.

Yet there are no big stars heading the cast list. While it's easy to scoff at the large salaries drawn by A-list stars, movies like Dracula Untold show how the big stars earn their keep.

Luke Evans doesn't impress as Vlad (even Kit Harrington would have been better), Dominic Cooper is only slightly more interesting as Mehmed, his Turkish opponent. The elegant Sarah Gadon is more watchable, but not by much. The most fun to watch is Charles Dance as the Master Vampire but he doesn't get much screen time.

Casting a major star like Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves would not have improved the weak script, but their on-screen charisma would have made the movie more palatable. Luke Evans is painfully bland.

On the plus side, there is no noticeable political correctness in the movie. No mention is made of religion, but the Turks are evil, through and through. For an example of political correctness gone wild, watch Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven.