MOVIE OF THE WEEK (10/23/15): THE LAST WITCH HUNTER
 |
| "I should have just bought a flashlight ... It has much less risk of causing an arson." Vin Diesel stars as Kaulder in a scene from director Breck Eisner's THE LAST WITCH HUNTER. Credit: Scott Garfield © 2015 Lionsgate Publicity. All rights reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Rena Owen, Julie Engelbrecht, Joseph Gilgun and Michael Caine
WRITER(S): Cory Goodman (screenplay)
DIRECTOR(S): Breck Eisner
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Kaulder (Vin Diesel) is a man with a loving wife and child. Well, he was anyway, before the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht) cursed him with immortality 800 years ago when he killed her with his magical flaming sword in an undisclosed haunted forest-like hideout.
Fast-forward to the present and Kaulder is now working on behalf of the Axe & Cross, a Catholic-type of holy organization that oversees witches in the modern world. And while most like Chloe (Rose Leslie) are happy to live amongst and serve their own people unnoticed, there are others like Belial (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) that can't wait to cause chaos, bring the Witch Queen back to life and destroy mankind.
Fortunately for Kaulder, the 36th Dolan (Michael Caine) always has his back to help him out ... Unfortunately, however, the 36th Dolan has fallen victim to a spell, leading the 37th Dolan (Elijah Wood) to have to take over in his place. And given the stakes of Kaulder's latest mission, he's going to need all the help he can get ...
Fast-forward to the present and Kaulder is now working on behalf of the Axe & Cross, a Catholic-type of holy organization that oversees witches in the modern world. And while most like Chloe (Rose Leslie) are happy to live amongst and serve their own people unnoticed, there are others like Belial (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) that can't wait to cause chaos, bring the Witch Queen back to life and destroy mankind.
Fortunately for Kaulder, the 36th Dolan (Michael Caine) always has his back to help him out ... Unfortunately, however, the 36th Dolan has fallen victim to a spell, leading the 37th Dolan (Elijah Wood) to have to take over in his place. And given the stakes of Kaulder's latest mission, he's going to need all the help he can get ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Vin Diesel fans; people who wish witches and spells and magic were real; Rose Leslie fans; people who enjoy medieval times (and not just the restaurant chain)
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Anyone who doesn't like Vin Diesel and his iron jawed-method of acting; Elijah Wood fans; Wiccans who hate most depictions of witches on screen; people who dislike movies with certain plot points that feel glossed over instead of fully explained; anyone who dislikes a movie with a lackluster villain
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? The Last Witch Hunter is a "in" or "out" movie, meaning you are either "in" or "out" and will know which camp you fall into within the first 20 minutes. And even if you are "in," you might feel a bit "indifferent" since the film will either feel like a harmless bit of guilty fun or one in need of exorcism.
The Last Witch Hunter isn't the type of film you go to for dynamic acting, memorable dialogue or a pulsating soundtrack ... No, you go to a movie like The Last Witch Hunter for cool special effects, memorable fight scenes and memorable characters. Unfortunately, The Last Witch Hunter is pretty much devoid of those things. Instead, what you get is a fairly interesting story and some cool plot reveals that keep you interested enough in the story, mostly as Leslie steals Diesel spotlight as the film's true emotional center. And that's part of where the problem lies – Diesel isn't really the star of The Last Witch Hunter even though he is the title character.
Furthermore, Caine essentially plays Sleeping Beauty for most of the film while Wood's character comes off pretty much like the plant that is his surname. He's more annoying than compelling at each turn. While Wood seems like he's trying to do too much in his few scenes, Ólafsson feels limited in what he's allowed to do in the short amount of screen time he has when it seems he could do more. (Also, WWE fans will swear he would be perfect as a member of The Wyatt Family should he ever choose that route, but I digress ...)
All things considered, The Last Witch Hunter is a decent diversion from the norm, but it's certainly not worthy of being the last, definitive film of the witch genre or Diesel's post-Fast & Furious career.
The Last Witch Hunter isn't the type of film you go to for dynamic acting, memorable dialogue or a pulsating soundtrack ... No, you go to a movie like The Last Witch Hunter for cool special effects, memorable fight scenes and memorable characters. Unfortunately, The Last Witch Hunter is pretty much devoid of those things. Instead, what you get is a fairly interesting story and some cool plot reveals that keep you interested enough in the story, mostly as Leslie steals Diesel spotlight as the film's true emotional center. And that's part of where the problem lies – Diesel isn't really the star of The Last Witch Hunter even though he is the title character.
Furthermore, Caine essentially plays Sleeping Beauty for most of the film while Wood's character comes off pretty much like the plant that is his surname. He's more annoying than compelling at each turn. While Wood seems like he's trying to do too much in his few scenes, Ólafsson feels limited in what he's allowed to do in the short amount of screen time he has when it seems he could do more. (Also, WWE fans will swear he would be perfect as a member of The Wyatt Family should he ever choose that route, but I digress ...)
All things considered, The Last Witch Hunter is a decent diversion from the norm, but it's certainly not worthy of being the last, definitive film of the witch genre or Diesel's post-Fast & Furious career.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Comments
Post a Comment