Dracula Untold: A return to the good ol’-fashioned vampire
Welcome folks to another exciting day of cinematic analysis! Yesterday I got a chance to revisit one of last weeks releases. Universal’s Dracula Untold, starring Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon. Evans stars as Vlad Tempes, a man seeking to protect his people and their sons from the hands of the Turkish King.
The story itself reboots a classic monster tale of the origins of Dracula, the most iconic of the plasma feeding race known as the vampire. The downside of the film industry is that when a bandwagon has passed, it has indeed passed. The vampire story is a bandwagon phase in hollywood that has long passed and was, in my opinion diminished with the “popular” Twilight movie series and The Vampire Academy. The theme has been so drained (heh… drained…) that its left such a bad taste in the mouth of fans to the mythos of vampires that any reboot will be hard pressed to make any revenue.
Its sad. I love the legend and tragedy of the classic vampire story and hope that it can reclaim its once great majesty (I think of Dracula, staring Gary Oldman as I write this). The story of the vampire is one of intrigue: an immortal being cursed to live in the darkness of night and feed on the life force of others while seeking some sort of redemption (whether through love or atonement). I mean, it’s what made Angel such a good story; it’s what made Spike such an interesting character in Buffy after he received his soul; and what made Raziel such a dark hero as he sought vengeance on Kain.
Universal’s reboot of the classic tragic story of Dracula with an appreciation for the legend of Vlad the Impaler, makes for an interesting start to Universal’s entrance into the combined cinematic universe. You follow this tragic character to his current place in the world’s “history” in an action packed fueled plot that makes you want to fund out what else this created world has to offer. It is by no means a revolutionary masterpiece, but it offers a level of entertainment that will keep audiences happy.
Luke Evans does an awesome job as Vlad Tempes, as we follow his warped path to darkness, as a man who wants nothing but to protect his family and will stop at nothing, and sacrifice everything to do so. Charles Dance from Game of Thrones fame does makes an appearance as well as the Master Vampire that offers Dracula this dark gift and plays a much bigger role in the larger story that will be told.
Although, the story itself follows a rundown bandwagon, Dracula Untold is a solid retelling of the once powerful force of the Vampire. If you’re a fan of the mythos, or even if you are interested in seeing a larger cinematic story told in a series of separate stories that aren’t your typical superhero brand, this is definitely a movie worth seeing once. No need to see it with any special visual enhancements (IMAX or 3D) this one is fine with a regular ticket. My favorite part of the movie is the vampires are in their former glory here: No glitter in the sunlight here, no androgyny included. Just good old-fashioned, burning-in-the-sunlight, afraid-of-crosses, silver-allergic vampire-y goodness.
