Dracula Untold

As effective and fat-free as its sinewy star, Luke Evans, Dracula Untold proves an absorbing, swiftly comprehensive origin tale.

If they had to give Drac an “origin story” this literal-minded, at least they had the sense to keep it keen and lively, whittled to a point.

More sad dad and noble martyr than creature of the night, Evans’ dashing Prince Of Darkness inspires less fear than just about any incarnation of the famous character, save perhaps the one played by Leslie Nielsen.

Looking for plausibility in a movie called Dracula Untold is as pointless as looking for humor or personality in Mr. Evans’s dour performance.

Armour-clanging, cloak-swishing tosh with okay battles, terrible dialogue and sadly little horror or heroism. Nowhere near as bad as I, Frankenstein – but what is?

Another addition to Universal’s Pictures Classic Monsters arsenal of crap (remember Van Helsing?), director Shore, in his feature debut, displays a fine sense of pacing but little else.

Drab, silly and mind-numbing, this Dracula is strictly for the suckers.

Interesting version that mixes Vlad original story with the legend of Dracula. It has a superhero movie perspective. The actors are amazing and the effects are very good.

Note to the screenwriters: you don’t need to rush when writing the script. The biggest flaw of this film is its script, written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless: it is a disaster from the very beginning. The screenwriters completely forget about developing the characters and almost the entire story, focusing exclusively on the action and thus creating a disconnect between the viewer and the protagonists. Despite the solid and potentially strong performances, the lack of emotional depth prevents us from feeling sympathy for Vlad. The narrative seems to race against the clock without taking the time to build the story, resulting in a chaotic and superficial script. Gary Shore does not manage to rescue this plot: the staging leaves much to be desired, and the expected tension of the film is simply not there. Visually, the film has its ups and downs. Cinematography is one of its strongest points: the settings, although repetitive, manage to place you in the intended historical period; the gothic style, characterized by its somber lighting and almost monochromatic color palette, creates a very striking aesthetic effect. However, the visual effects are a double-edged sword: they initially impress with their slow-motion shots that intensify the action, but the CGI often breaks the illusion, ending up artificial and unconvincing. It is a contrast that gives the impression that the visual effort remained halfway to being executed with real skill. It ends in a coherent way and with a definitive point, but it feels forced and underdeveloped. It could have been a truly powerful ending if it had been properly developed, giving the characters greater emotional weight and strength. Instead, it remains a basic idea that fails to convince. 'Dracula Untold' is a film with good intentions and interesting potential, but one that ends up being a mere attempt at a memorable work due to its rushed script, flat characters, and inconsistent effects. It is entertaining at times, but fails where it matters most: telling a story truly worth watching. Spanish: Nota para los guionistas: no hay que correr escribiendo el guion. El gran fallo de este filme es su guion, escrito por Matt Sazama y Burk Sharpless: es un desastre desde nada más comenzar. Los guionistas olvidan por completo el desarrollo de personajes y casi de la historia, centrándose exclusivamente en la acción, generando así una desconexión entre espectador y protagonistas. A pesar de las correctas y potenciales actuaciones, la falta de profundidad emocional hace que no sintamos simpatía por Vlad. La narrativa parece correr a contrarreloj sin detenerse a construir la historia, resultando en un guion caótico y superficial. Gary Shore no consigue rescatar esta trama: las puestas en escena dejan mucho que desear y no sientes la tensión propia de la película. En cuanto a lo visual, tiene sus altibajos. La fotografía es uno de sus puntos fuertes: escenarios, aunque repetitivos, consiguen colocarte en la época ambientada; el estilo gótico caracterizado con su sombría iluminación y paleta de colores casi monocromática logra un efecto estético muy llamativo. Sin embargo, los efectos visuales son un arma de doble filo: al inicio sorprenden con sus cámaras lentas intensificando la acción, pero el CGI muchas veces rompe la ilusión, siendo finalmente artificial y poco convincente. Un contraste que deja la sensación de que el esfuerzo visual se quedó a medio camino de conseguirse con destreza. Se cierra de manera coherente y con un punto final, pero se siente forzado y poco trabajado. Podría haber sido un grandísimo punto si se hubiera desarrollado correctamente, dotando a los personajes de un peso y fuerza emocional más grande. Es una idea primaria que no logra convencer. 'Drácula, la leyenda jamás contada' es una película con buenas intenciones y un potencial interesante, pero que se queda en un mero intento de ser una obra memorable por su apresurado guion, personajes planos y efectos inconsistentes. Entretiene por momentos, pero falla en lo más importante: contar una historia que realmente valga la pena.

Encore un film sur Dracula… celui que l’on appelait « Vlad l’Empaleur », ça en jette, non ? du moins, ça peut jeter un froid, surtout au milieu d’un dîner. Un dîner ? il ne vaut mieux pas en compagnie du Prince… mais est-ce un Prince ou un Comte au fait ? j’ai perdu le compte. En tout cas, le film est bien construit et bénéficie d’un format ‘compact’ fort bienvenu : il dépasse, générique compris, à peine une heure et demi ! du coup, on se fait pas chier : droit à l’essentiel ! ce qui n’empêche pas quelques maladresses comme le gamin peu convaincant (et carrément neuneu et énervant) et en général, la romance (ou guimauve) obligatoire et lourdingue… L’autre souci concerne le montage hâché des affrontements (quand le Prince -énervé- fait un peu le ménage chez les têtes de Turcs) : on aurait aimé des ralentis plutôt que ce saucissonnage de plans, sans compter la caméra agitée… mais à dire vrai, je crois que ça secoue davantage que ça ne saucissonne (putain, tout ce saucisson, ça me donne faim à la fin). Les effets spéciaux se révèlent convaincants pour leur part, contrairement à l’acteur principal, pas toujours au mieux dans le rôle, de même que sa femme, bien belle blonde certes mais vraiment fadasse, et trop belle pour lui, je crois. Néanmoins, le film se distingue sur un autre point, à savoir une autre approche à l’égard du personnage légendaire et ce n’est pas plus mal, finalement. Et la conclusion elle-même m’a bien plu, de même que cet épilogue un brin taquin, ma foi. En fin ce compte, un film avec des défauts mais pas déplaisant, contre toute attente.

This is the perfect example of why style over substance results in a pretty bad film. The style looks fake as there are so many visual effects but I guess that isn’t a problem if, like me, you don’t mind the video game/CGI look. The fight choreography and fight cinematography is really disappointing, the camera is too close, the editing too jumpy and the choreography is lacklustre. This is not a good fight movie. Much as the story and characters are totally forgettable and unrelatable the style is occasionally very cool and nice to look at. Also the music was very good. Neither of those things though can excuse bad writing.

Another generic action/fantasy movie with some British actors from Game of Thrones or The Last Kingdom. It doesn't help much. The story, the characters and the plot are ridiculous en uninteresting the same time. It's just an appetizer for a next heavy CGI scene.