Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writers: Seth Grahame-Smith
Stars: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper
Apparently, Abraham Lincoln would have been a blogger.
His secret life as a vampire hunter was chronicled in the journal he began as a young boy, and that is the basis of both the movie Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, and the book it’s based on, interwoven around the historical events of Lincoln’s life.
The filmmakers use muted colors and sepia-tones (think old photos) to set the mood as the 1800s-this is surprisingly effective. The movie manages to maintain a period feel throughout. The costumes and set pieces were also absolutely first rate. This is one of my favorite historical times, and the attention to detail was appreciated. They managed to take history on a national scale, and make it up close and personal.
The mythos surrounding the vampires in the film has its issues-if you want to enjoy the film, don’t analyze how vampirism works or its weaknesses and strengths too closely. Or exactly what will or won’t kill a vampire. It may be these things are handled better in the book, but the movie left some definite holes.
Benjamin Walker absolutely shines as Lincoln, and via excellent prosthetic makeup, plays him convincingly from his early twenties to his late fifties. With the help of an excellent stunt team (and his broadway background), he has turned axe fighting into an art form, with fight scenes reminiscent of Summer Glau in Serenity, both graceful and deadly.
The battle scenes that are larger in scope are typical Bekmambetov, and something he has always done well. Aside from one fight where the bad CGI just overpowers everything, all of the other fights are just a ball to watch. There’s even an extended fight involving a train (remember Wanted?)-even bigger and better. They even kept the gore to something of a minimum (considering the whole killing evil blood-suckers thing).
The movie spans Lincoln’s entire life, starting with him as a young boy and continuing into this presidency. One transition is particularly jarring-the story jumps multiple years in the blink of an eye, and while I understood the need for it, it threw me out of an experience I was enjoying. A voiceover of the key events that took place in the intervening years, with or without pictures of a few of the scenes, would have eased the segue immensely.
Other standouts include Rufus Sewell as the major villain of the piece, always poised, cool, and very, very evil. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is enchanting as the woman who distracts Lincoln from his mission of vengeance, and ends up being his wife. And Dominic Cooper as the required mentor in the ways of vampire-hunting is strong and full of secret knowledge.
I went into this one looking for a good time, and I found it. If you don’t think too hard-you will, too. It’s a lot of fun for a vampire hunter turns politician turns vampire hunter movie.
Elektra Hammond
Buzzy Mag Editor & Reviewer
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