Facing
threats to his kingdom and his family, Vlad Tepes makes a deal with dangerous
supernatural forces - whilst trying to avoid succumbing to the darkness
himself.
Starring:
Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Charles Dance, and Sarah Gadon
Directed
by: Gary Shore
Written
by: Matt Sazama, and Burk Sharpless
The story of Dracula certainly isn't
untold. Horror fans have seen many versions of Dracula over the years, even
most recently in a TV series. What "Dracula Untold" tries to do is
give audiences something a little different by showing the kind of person Vlad
is before becoming a vampire, and then his eventual transformation. It might
have been a risk to go this route, but it seems to pay off in the end.
The primary reason it pays off is
because of a strong performance from Luke Evans (Vlad Tepes). He masters all of
the different emotions Vlad is going through starting with his portrayal of a
father desperate to protect his family. He then moves from those emotions to
ones of a man dealing with the struggle of becoming a monster. He brings
everything together to display the passion and fierceness audiences often see
in Dracula. Luke is complimented nicely by strong performances from co-stars
like Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, and Charles Dance.
Looking past the acting, there are two
other things that stand out about this movie. The first is that it's very
dramatic. Most of that comes from Vlad's passion, and desire to save his
family. There are several scenes where he is face to face talking to his wife
about his motives, which includes his love for her. When not in his wife’s
face, he’s right beside his son telling him what to do.
When the movie isn't dramatic, it is
certainly action packed. In "300," an army of 300 soldiers takes on
thousands and thousands of Persians. In "Dracula Untold," an army
consisting of Vlad takes on thousands of soldiers. Of course Vlad already has
his vampire abilities giving him an advantage. Besides the usual vampire
abilities, Vlad has another trick where he can transform himself back and forth
from human form to dozens of bats. This trick comes in handy quite often.
"Dracula Untold" truly seems
to be a movie born from the phrase "desperate times call for desperate
measures." Left with few choices, Vlad desperately steps into a mysterious
cave, and makes a deal with a monster. While the story is solid, Luke Evans
successfully carries the movie on his shoulders. Throw in some drama, and
plenty of action, and it turns out to be a good addition to Dracula’s legacy. A
legacy which fans might see grow in a sequel. With that, I give this
movie 3 pools of blood.
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