This movie was surprisingly entertaining, which I doubted when I saw the trailer. It begins slow but steadily gains speed throughout the film. Though it doesn't get as good as a good vampire film should, it offers a fictional story with a non-fictional setting and characters. Benjamin Walker gives a good performance as the president who believes in vampires. Dominic Cooper as Henry was OK but could of been better. Mary Elizabeth Winstead I believe was miscast in her role as Mary Todd, she was too young for me too believe her as an older Mary Todd. Other than that the film was generally entertaining if leading away to boring conversation parts. The fight scenes are done well and the weapon of choice: An Axe, which is well used in this film. If you like Abraham Lincoln and you like Vampires then you will love this movie!. Thanks for reading and enjoy the Film.
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piranha-army18 October 2012
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udoricht22 October 2012If you take this movie so serious you'll be disappointed 'cause it's not. But if you take it as fun movie, fulled of action/fantasy/horror scenes and as what it is then you can give it a chance. Maybe, the character of Abraham Lincoln defined as vampire slayer is naive and childish and is not what you expected to see for historical important figure. Maybe someone thinks that this is disgrace for the character. And finally maybe someone thinks there is a storyline abstraction 'cause the book is better and I don't doubt that even I haven't read it. All this defects are not so important if you like movies in this kind of genre like Underworld, Resident Evil etc. This was a movie that deserves attention and give it a try.
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bob-rutzel-125 October 2012Supposedly, the beginnings of Vampires in America and a story about Honest Abe (Benjamin Walker) as he hunts them down before becoming our 16th president.
I had no idea who Benjamin Walker is. Anyone? Yes, I suspected, but had never heard the truth that Abraham Lincoln was a Vampire Hunter ..until now. And, now you will too, if you watch this movie. I can hear you asking, "is it all true" Well, of course, it is. Hollywood wouldn't make up something if it weren't true now, would they? And, yes, they are finally admitting the truth about Edgar Allen Poe being a detective who wrote poems on his stake-outs. But, on to Abe ..as a Vampire Hunter.
But first, before you turn away from this one, let me tell you of 2-scenes that are worth your time. The first one is a battle between Abe and Vampire Jack Barts (Marton Csokas) on horses in a horse stampede. Yes, that's right. In a horse stampede. The way this was done was nothing short of fantastic and you will ask yourself " how in the world did they do this?" The second one is near the end on a burning bridge the train is crossing. Unbelievable how they did this. Again, you will ask yourself "how in the world did they do this?" They took CGI to a new level. You will be talking about these two scenes for a long time. Kudos, kudos and kudos again.
The entire production, photography, dialogues were all first rate as were the actors within. The music was spot on especially with the train near the end chug-chugging in time with the beat. Excellent.
Yes, there is some gore as Abe settles in to become the Vampire Hunter we know and love, and his weapon of choice is an Axe. Hey, he was a rail-splitter at one time. Keep up.
Abe is befriended by Henry (Dominic Cooper) who teaches him how to kill Vampires. But, wait Henry has a secret.
The main villain Vampire is Adam played by Rufus Sewell and he is always good. And, we learn how the battle for Gettysburg was really won. Yes, the North won but now you will learn how they did it. Never before told.
One more thing: finally, someone decided on a Mary Todd Lincoln (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is easy on the eyes. Good choice. And, yes, Benjamin Walker makes a good Lincoln especially with the beard later on in the movie.
It's true, I didn't want to see this movie much less do a review on it. A friend I won't name (Russ) recommended it and thanks to him I discovered the truth and it set me free. Now, I know all. Will you? (7/10)
Violence: Throughout Sex: No. Gore: Yes, there is some. Nudity: Yes, quick shot of a dead woman with a breast exposed. Language: Only two f-bombs were heard. Otherwise no language at all. (7/10) -
Prismark103 April 2014This is what a comedy-action-horror should be like. A preposterous idea mixed with some drama, wit, scares and decent enough CGI. Because of events he saw as a child Lincoln trains to become a vampire hunter with the assistance of Dominic Cooper.
He wants to hunt down Rufus Sewell who is the leader of the pack and before long Sewell plans to lead the South against Lincoln who is now President but not before inflicting another personal tragedy on the Lincoln family.
At least Benjamin Walker did not have to go through some faux type Daniel Day Lewis authenticity for his version of Lincoln. It was wielding axes, swords and other instruments of vampire death.
The action mixes historical fact and fiction with cartoon like action. Its fun although the movie makers might have taken things a tad too seriously in light of the fact that a Spielberg epic on Lincoln was around the corner. -
SnoopyStyle1 September 2013The title says it all. You get not just the plot, but the style and the tone. Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) is not only a vampire hunter, but his life has been defined by vampires for a long time. His mother was killed by a vampire. As a young man, he tries to seek revenge but fails. But in the process, he meets Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper) who teaches him how to kill a vampire. During the Civil War as President of the United States, he comes to realize that vampires are fighting with the Confederate forces. As a result he mounts his own campaign to defeat them.
Benjamin Walker is not big enough to anchor this movie. For the lead, they really should have gotten a bigger name and a more compelling actor. There was some really slow moments in the middle, but a vampire threw a horse.... A HORSE. That's worth the money to see for the right audience. This is a ridiculous concept. It could have more fun moments like the horse. -
tempeltonpeckateam16 June 2012****Spoilers**** I just saw this and it was really entertaining. The way that the filmmaker brings the viewer almost into the action was amazing, and his use of visuals was a real treat. The lead actor was really above average, and the rest of the cast was honestly just as good. I don't know what else to say but this is a "Bloody Good Time" at the movies if you just suspend your disbelief at the door. This movie is very fast paced, and the action was plentiful. Now this is a story that is a fantasy, but just like the novel incorporates many true aspects of history (but once again it is about vampires). The villains are also ugly, creepy, scary, and not like the beauties from "Twilight". Well I'm no expert, but I hope that this helps someone someplace. Thanks!
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thecinnamonkid8522 June 2012It's funny how I created an account for this website just to tell people how awful this movie was. I had the benefit of seeing this movie before it came out last night at my work, and even I felt like I was being cheated out of time and money. I can't imagine paying to see this film.
Now, obviously I wasn't expecting a serious film. With the title, I expected an entertaining film with a lot of blood, gore, and action sequences. This movie however, tried to be so much more, while retaining a ridiculous plot and ludicrous action sequences. Every fight scene was either poorly crafted or so unbelievably stupid I almost walked out of a movie I didn't even have to pay for. The plot itself was also terrible. Characters barely introduced somehow become relevant, and acting was so bad at parts I laughed at the actors/actresses. It seemed like the only character who aged was Abe, characters such as Mary Todd's fiancé just disappear, and every single one liner from the beginning of the film is repeated. You know, that can work. Spider-Man's classic "With great power comes great responsibility" was okay. But when the characters repeat 6 or 7 different lines it gets old. fast.
If you can't help yourself, then go see this film. I was intrigued by the title and hoped to see Abe kick some ass. But this film is just so outright ridiculous. I feel like I've said that word way too many times, but it's the only word to describe it. Abe goes from a frail and tall guy to an axe swinging backflipping badass without anymore training than chopping down a tree (which was also a poorly done scene). I don't even think I can say something good about this film, other than the idea. This movie could have been very entertaining had it not lost total sense of reality and human capability. I found myself yelling "as if" multiple times during the film. If you don't believe me, see it for yourself. -
aaronjbong20 June 2012When I discovered this movie, skepticism washed over me. I mean, Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter? Having one of the greatest presidents of all time as the character of a vampire hunter would be the last thing anyone would expect. When I entered the theater, my initial thought was that this movie would bring me disappointment. But it turned out to be much better than expected and a fun film filled with lots of violence, blood, gore, and vampire decapitations.
So, in the film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's fantasy novel, Abraham Lincoln is a vampire hunter. But before he becomes that, he's just an ordinary boy living in a world consumed by slavery. One night, his mom died from an undiscovered disease and from then on, he's waited and searched for his mom's killer, only to discover a new large world of vampires. There he becomes a vampire hunter under the guidance of Henry Sturges (who has a secret).
However, his vampire hunting career reaches a hiatus in the middle of a movie where Abraham is now interested in pursuing a career in politics. In the end, he becomes the President of the United States, only to have his career troubled by the devastating Civil War where vampires play a part in it somehow. In the 20 or so minutes that focus on his presidency, I felt there was an issue with it as it shifted the focus of vampire hunting and focused on politics and the Civil War instead as nothing about vampires was stated during this 20 minutes.
The vampires are led by a leader named Adam. Although he might appear to be the strongest, I felt that the vampire John Barts (killer of Abraham's mother) was actually the main antagonist of the film and represented a bigger threat. While Adam had a lengthy climax, the fight with John Barts was much longer and was more personal as only the two of them were involved and more engaging. The scene also displayed more of the abilities possessed by a vampire.
Talking about action scenes, they were all great and fantastic. They were energetic, full of blood, full of gore, extremely violent, and dead brutal. Most of them feature decapitations of the vampires and anyone seeking brutality, deadliness, blood, gore, and violence should be satisfied with the action scenes provided here. But what I noticed in the action scenes, particularly the Lincoln-Barts fight and parts of the climax, was that it was quite unclear. In the Lincoln-Barts fight, the two were in a sandy place with many horses galloping. I felt that there was too much sand flying around and the fight became unclear and a bit brownish. This made it hard to see what was going on. It might intentionally done like that to give it more of an old feeling but it may also be a distraction because you don't know what's going on. The same happened in parts of the climax but this time, smoke and sparks caused it.
The script was a bit uneven. While the second half of the film was a bit better, I felt that the first half of the film was a bit lacking in dialog. There was little talk and there was too many decapitations, blood, and gore. I felt that the scenes progressed too fast and they should have taken it more patiently. In fact, most of the talk in the first part of the film comes from Abraham, due in part to the narration of fragments of his diary. The others rarely talk and probably only talk so little and it's only by the second half that they talk more. However, the performances by the actors were okay, not too terrible to burden the overall movie experience.
I also felt there was a bit of a disaster with the make-up. Since the time in the story spans from Abraham's early adulthood to his fifties, we could clearly see a change in his facial appearance (a beard). We can also see this change with Abraham's friend Joshua Speed. The same cannot be said with Abraham's wife Mary Todd, and Abraham's other friend Will Johnson. Mary Todd doesn't appear to change with the exception of very few creases on her face whereas Will Johnson doesn't have a change in appearance at all. His face is exactly the same his hair didn't even turn white.
However, the 3D was excellent. It takes you and makes you part of the scenes and is recommended although some of the scenes would make the 3D a nuisance. But other scenes where there is blood will be enhanced by the 3D and some of the blood may even squirt out to your face. And the visual effects! Oh they're such a wonder. But of course, impressive visual effects and eye-catching stunts would be what you would expect from a movie directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
Overall, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a film that offers moviegoers a fun time with plenty of bloody and gory action sequences filled with eye-catching stunts, impressive visual effects and excellent 3D effects. Despite the interesting plot, the film is downed by some poor unclear shots, an uneven script that mostly focused on action, not on dialog, and poor make-up. Regardless, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a movie you should see if you want a bloody fun time.
Rating: 7/10
Final Verdict: Despite the uneven script, some poor unclear shots, and poor make-up, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" promises moviegoers a bloody fun time with gory action scenes, eye-catching stunts, impressive visual effects, and excellent 3D effects with an interesting and somehow peculiar plot line. -
starwolf28 June 2012I was really looking forward to seeing this movie after reading the book. Sadly, instead of any story approximating the book, I got a mess of not-so-special effects with a way over the top story.
During the sequence with the burning trestle bridge (I don't want to be any more specific because I don't like posting spoilers) I actually turned to my wife and said, "This is stupid." She agreed.
My 11 year old daughter liked the movie so maybe grownups weren't the target audience for this mess.
If you liked the book, keep away. If you want any kind of thought or story internally consistent story, keep away. If you want mindless depictions of the 16th president acting like a super hero, leaping tall buildings in a single bound, felling giant trees with a single stroke, performing moves that would make Jet Li proud, this is your movie. -
hitchcockthelegend13 July 2018It is what it is, a nutty premise made in nutty fashion, but for the undemanding horror fan there's a good time to be had here. Action choreography is of a very good standard, as is, perhaps surprisingly, the CGI. The history aspects of the story, one Abraham Lincoln's accent into justifiable legendary status, are of course a mixture of the based on fact and chaotic popcorn, but it's always interesting, exciting and bloody!
I imagine most horror fans have seen it by now, but if like me you are late to it, and like me you go in with low expectation levels, you could well find yourself having a blast and not hating yourself in the morning . All that and Rufus Sewell looks suspiciously like Adam Ant! 7/10 -
H_Spengler1 July 2012I didn't go to this movie expecting Oscar winning caliber, I did want to be entertained, even in a "turn your brain off" way. I understand that more often than not when books are adapted into movies, things are changed, cut for time/story, etc. Preserving the main idea of a story can be done even implementing this method without the nuclear meltdown that occurred with this adaptation.
I LOVED the book. I loved the way time was taken to carefully develop the characters & story, & weave them into coordination with true historical facts, & events.
I'm not saying this needed to be "Batman Begins", i'm willing to accept the fact that studios aren't willing to provide unlimited funds for films they might consider "going out on a limb."
This movie would've been great if it had gone one of two ways: A goofy, campy, slaying story in the spirit of Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" series (which I thoroughly enjoy). Or, if it had closely followed the tone & story of the novel. This movie did neither of those. The ONLY resemblance to the book are some character's names.
Here are my quarrels:
1.) A completely changed & rushed back story. What was so carefully plotted out in the book & gradually developed both story & character wise (so you can feel for Abe, his plight, motivations, feelings, & destiny) is now a completely different story with omissions of important characters, events, situations, mindsets, emotions, etc. & the addition of characters & situations not in the book.
It's rushed through in approximately 5 minutes, leaving you wondering why you should give a crap at all. You have no connection with Abe, or any other character for that matter. I was actually stunned.
2.) There's a training sequence that's laughable, & approximately 3 minutes long, with some of the worst CGI ever.
3.) Henry. His back story is unfortunately butchered & laughably unbelievable. As is his initial meeting (and ensuing friendship) with Abe. Gone is his meticulous nature, and important contributions to the story, and left is a husk of the character from the book.
4.) And what's this crap about vampires can't kill their own? And how vampires are made vampires? The explanation for how vampires are made vampires is so ridiculous, you'll want to puncture your own eardrums for having heard it.
5.) Continuing omission of key characters & events which continually leave you detached from any characters or the story. Adam, & the female vampire (? name) are a prime example of additional made up characters shoe horned in the movie. If they had followed the original story they would have had more than enough material without needing to invent these two silly, cardboard characters,
6.) Continuous, unemotional, passionless, mind numbingly repetitive "Matrix" like slow motion vampire killing scenes. Silly fight in a herd of wild running horses....horse "tossing".
7.) Silly subplot about silver. It's not ever in the book as being harmful, or the making of weapons from them. (PS: writers...stop putting silver in vampire movies, save it for the werewolves.)
8.) Mary Todd was never savvy to what her husband was up to. But here, less believably, distributing silver weapons out in the battlefield, where she could then have a stupid scene where she shoots the female (name?) vampire, who is running at her with full "Ahhhhhhh!!" battle cry.
But I guess the "writers" figured they needed to amp it up & give her a scene where she does something.
9.) I'm confused as to what happened at the end. Who is it in the bar? Why couldn't they just have had the ending they had in the book? The ending in the film reminds me of that ending from "Interview with the Vampire" with Tom Cruise telling Christian Slater he's going to give him the choice he never had. Cheesy.
Imagine my shock to find out that Seth Grahame-Smith was involved with the screenplay. SHAME ON YOU SETH! Did you have little creative control, or did you not care & sell out completely??!!
Tim Burton should hang his head in shame too (even though he hasn't been involved with a quality flick since "Sleepy Hollow")(with the "possible" exception of "Sweeney Todd".)
In my showing there was a group of gabby tweens who literally burst into giggles every time something happened on screen. Most of the time it was something that wasn't meant to be funny, but due to the nature of this "film" -was. Normally this behavior annoys me, but I couldn't even get annoyed with them, as it was justified.
So what did I like you might ask? If you're still reading. Well, I liked Benjamin Walker as I thought he looked the part, especially in Abe's later years, & he tried. But due to poor writing, and equally poor direction, his performance throughout the film is uneven and shockingly wooden as Abe in his younger years.
I liked Dominic Cooper as Henry, who like Walker, did the best he could with the crappy material and direction, at least he had a little more passion in his performance. It's not his fault the script sucked.
I liked that the vampires didn't sparkle.
If you enjoyed or have any respect for the book this is "based" on, I urge you to refrain from spending your hard earned money on a vastly overpriced ticket. You have been warned. -
EmmeCHammer20 May 2021I saw this movie when it first came out not in the theater, but on my HiDef 72inch brand spanking new TV. I avoided it in the theater because I said to myself that sounds like a stupidly named movie, but I do watch them all eventually on DVD or demand or some way or another, a movie addiction, a healthy addiction at that. Boy was I wrong I fell in love with this flick, and have seen it many many times and have it in my collection. It's cinematography, its acting, action, and story is great. I watched it this afternoon and thought I never reviewed it and gave it a 10 to help raise its rating a little, this is definitely not for everyone but for a great 2 hour ride of action and beautiful made movie its a hidden gem for me. Great cast and cuts no corners, don't be off put by the title, if you like vampire movies it's a must!
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chatterboxsrb25 June 2012Summary: The movie has horrible plot holes and inconsistencies but it makes for a good "popcorn" movie. It can be very entertaining and funny but outside of that, there's really not much. 6/10
Characters: About 3 of the characters develop (slightly) and the rest are left to rot in their horrible cliché state of blandness and stereotypes. 4/10
Effects: This is one of the better parts of the film. The effects are good and at some points great. They fit well with the action scenes. At one point in the movie, I remember it didn't feel like I was watching a movie due to the amount of action and great effects. But it was short-lived due to the silly plot. 8/10
Plot: PFFFFFFT. It's bad. Really bad. But funny. Very funny. 5/10
Should I see it?: But if you're bored one night and have some dough to waste for a couple of cheap laughs and good action scenes, this movie is fine for you.
If you're looking for something deep or for a classic movie you can remember for this summer, this movie isn't it. -
savaget29 June 2012I fully expect the movie not to be as good as the book. that being said. Wow did this one fall short. I was hoping since the screenwriter and the Author of the book is the same person a fan of the book may become a fan of the movie. I doubt I would have seen this otherwise, and now after seeing this movie I wish I hadn't. I was at first disappointed but after milling it around for a day I am actually a little upset. Mr. Seth Grahme-Smith. why when you have such an opportunity to do a film from book justice did you totally screw this one up? The only character that slightly resembles a character from a fantastically written book is Abraham Lincoln. Henry comes off as weak when he tried to talk president Lincoln out of fighting the civil war He was actually a driving force for the civil war. And Adam where did he come from? where was Edgar Allen Poe? and vampires could kill other vampires. in the end of the book when Abraham Lincoln is still around during the JFK presidency he is still killing vampires. and in the movie Lincoln is supernatural. but in the book he trained very hard and still was only able to kill one vampire at a time and usually with help and the element of surprise. but yet now he is able to hack them down while running on the backs of horses I know vampires aren't real so I shouldn't expect too much realism, but how is it a vampire can grab a horse running full speed and toss him at a mortal man and not kill said man. and then when they are grappling how is it that this same horse heaving vampire should struggle at all to bite Abraham's head off, just ridiculous. you never understand why Abraham Lincoln has such a hatred for vampires it would help if you could add that vampires killed is grandfather, his mother his sister, his first love, his boys, and were responsible for missing children all up and down the Mississippi river all of those things happened before Lincoln even knew about them harvesting slaves. I could go on for days. suffice th to say if you like a good slasher film. put this one down on your list with the likes of all the scream movies, chainsaw massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th nightmare on elm street etc...
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nogodnomasters17 August 2018I had trouble believing Lincoln's mom (Robin McLeavy) was killed by a vampire when I am pretty sure it was a zombie infestation. Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) vows revenge and is taken under the tutoring of Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper) a backwoods Van Helsing. In spite of the vampire's brute strength, our rail splitter is able to keep pace. These are not real vampires, but those new Hollywood "Twilight" vampires that can go out into the sunlight.
The events of Lincoln's life is at times out of sequence and incorrect. They put a disclaimer at the beginning of the film saying history isn't always recorded correctly. That is all fine and well, but they should have made it a little closer to demonstrate the writer took some time to do some research. As a vampire film, this has a few good special effects, but nothing we haven't seen before. There are plenty of vampire films out there I thought were vastly superior to this one.
The unique aspect of this film is the addition of Lincoln which frankly wasn't integrated into the film that well from an historical point of view. I thought Asylum (Lincoln vs Zombies)did a better job at integrating history. They spent a lot of money for special effects and a substandard script. Sadly, this has been become the blockbuster norm this summer.
PARENTAL GUIDE: Infrequent f-bomb, brief sex scene, -
billygoat10716 July 2012Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter sounds like a strange silly title. Some might find it stupid while some will find it peculiarly interesting. People would expect it as a ridiculously fun bloody action film starring one of America's greatest Presidents. Since it's directed by Timur Bekmambetov, one of the most insane action movie directors ever, it suppose to be enjoyably crazy throughout. The film is fun when Abe is killing vampires with his axe, but it gets really different to the biography moments. While everybody is expecting for some awesome ridiculousness, we instead get a lot of serious biography that would take a lot of time to get to the vampire killing. It's entertaining but it could have been a lot more fun.
With that kind of title, people would expect it as a campy horror action film with a different version of Abraham Lincoln that has a potential to be a movie icon. It sounds absurd, but that is acceptable to its title. Unfortunately, its absurdity is limited by the seriousness of the biographical parts. Both elements are strangely mismatch. Made this film a lot more awkward than you would thought. There is nothing wrong with having an accurate history to it. It just feels a lot different when you compare Lincoln's rise to Presidency to the whole vampire slaying sequences. It gets interesting when Henry Strugess distracts at Lincoln's personal life. Every time he appears, it makes you ready for some vampire action.
Thankfully, it has Timur Bekmambetov as the director. He's also a vampire movie expert by his Night Watch films. He can make his action scenes impossibly crazy that makes the whole experience a none stop entertainment. Too bad there isn't any glass for him to break in a ridiculously stylish way like he did in his other films. At least we still get to see something interesting, like Abe's axe spinning, throwing a vampire up to the sky, and turning that horse stampede chase into a large scale sequence. The rest is not quite inspired, but it still makes a pretty awesome action film. Like I wish it has more that. It's still entertaining for some reason. The WETA visuals look obvious. It fits well to the director's crazy vision.
It's hard to recommend Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It's not as ridiculous as the title. It connects to Lincoln's life in a serious way. They could have at least give a bit more campier and sillier tone to make this alternate version of Lincoln iconic. Even with an awesome director, energetic cast, and vampires that look scary and kill horrifyingly, it's still not a satisfying vampiric onslaught. It's not horrible or boring either. It just needs to be an endless crazy action movie. -
Michael_Elliott25 June 2012Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
*** (out of 4)
This horror/action film sets up to tell the true story of Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) who witnessed his mother getting killed by a vampire so he dedicates his life to stopping the bloodsucking creatures. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER might have a silly title but it's actually a fairly ambitious little movie that really took me by surprise. Going by the trailer you'd think that this film was just going to try and do a BUBBA HO TEP and takes a historical figure and make some cheap thrills out of him killing vampires. There's no doubt that the "cheap thrill" aspect is on full display here but the film actually goes a bit further by tying all of these events into common knowledge surrounding Lincoln's life. Not only do we get the vampire stuff but it's pretty well blended in with various historical truths like Lincoln becoming a lawyer, marrying Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and we go all the way up to the Civil War. The final thirty-minutes actually take place during the Civil War and the way the writers used slavery and the vampires was pretty interesting. With that said, I really hope no one goes into this movie expecting historical accuracies (they'd be crazy right?). Walker actually does a very good job at playing Lincoln. I thought he was very believable playing the good soul as well as the action hero. Dominic Cooper was excellent as his mentor and Anthony Mackie is also very good in his role as a black man who aids Lincoln. Even Winstead is good in her part even though the screenplay doesn't do her character much justice. The one major issue I had with the film was the incredibly bad CGI effects. I thought there were some that was so bad that you'd expect to be seeing them in a SyFy movie. Just take a look at the scene where Lincoln in chopping the tree or a really embarrassing sequence dealing with horses. The slow motion action scenes also weren't all that entertaining. With that said, I really liked the way director Timur Bekmambetov built up the atmosphere of the 1800's. I was really surprised how how authentic everything was and I think this is a reason why the CGI looks even worse. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER should have been a really, really bad movie but I think for the most part they got it right and those with a little knowledge of the real history around the war should find the touches interesting. -
I loved this book! The details in the book about Abraham's younger years, the historical facts and dates - loved it all. The characters around Abraham were very real and important to the story (in my opinion).
Spoilers follow:
The movie was NOTHING like the book. The characters were different except for their names and some didn't show up at all. The events that made it from the book to the move were out of order in the movie. The details mentioned above - non- existent in the movie. The story was so choppy, leaving out huge portions of events. I am aware that not everything can be translated to a movie in a timely manner; however, it can be done far better than it was done in this movie.
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this movie. Don't waste your time/money. Read the book - it is so much better. -
Chances are that you've already made up your mind about this film when you read its title. You'll either facepalm at the sacrilege of turning one of history's greatest men into something base and tasteless, or you'll laugh your behind off. Regardless of your reaction, the film may surprise you. Director Timur Bekmanbetov has proved himself to be a master of orchestrating scenes of absurdity and chaos, with beautiful and awe-inspiring action scenes, and with serious demeanor. He does the same here, orchestrating the absurdity with a straight face and plenty of style to satisfy.
After "Wanted," a film so loaded with fantastic action sequences, I was hoping Bekmanbetov would deliver a plethora of inspiring new setpieces. Such scenes are few and far-between in "AL:VH;" there are plenty of short fights with lots of style and lots of gnarly bloody mayhem, all captured in flowing slow-motion photography. The biggest standouts will be the horse stampede scene, which somewhat resembles a crazy car-chase scene that swaps out the cars with horses and sends horses flying off in all directions (a very clever and inspiring scene, in my opinion, which is sadly marred by some camera shake and lots of dust on the screen), and the climactic train battle, which will likely be compared to the train scene in "Wanted," but I feel it's a solid stand-alone setpiece. In terms of action, the film delivers; it's still the director's tamest and sanest work, but what we get would be something comparable to an "Underworld" movie.
The story for this madness is generally sound, believe it or not. Regardless of how you accept the idea that Abe slays the undead in his off-hours, the film does a fine job of weaving historical accounts and personal history in with the vampire storyline. I'm no Lincoln expert, so I don't really know how much of the film is accurate (I certainly don't know how well it adapts the original novel). Accepting it as its own little universe, I felt it was generally successful. Half of it does a good job of setting up the vampire story and the other half does a good job of playing out the period drama, all in an earnest manner.
If there is any problem with the story, it would be in its consistency; the opening scenes whiz by really fast, before settling into a steady and pleasing pace during Abe's youth. The story then zips through entire years of the story, lightly covering the Civil War aspect and speeding it up to the climax. It's very choppy, uneven pacing; I suspect that 30-60 more minutes of scenes would have allowed the story to breathe, allowing the pacing to flow naturally and make the film even more epic than it is. What we get feels like an abridged telling of the overall story.
The film definitely has style. The camera work can be a little shaky in some scenes, but there are also a lot of moments with slick slow-motion photography. There are quite a few unique editing effects. Acting is generally not bad; I grew to accept Benjamin Walker as the title character, for he looked and acted the part very well. Writing is not terribly strong, but it gets the job done. This production has decent-looking sets, props, and costumes. As one other reviewer pointed out, however, the makeup department failed to make certain characters age the way Lincoln does, and it can be distracting. Music for this movie has some really awesome parts.
There could have been more to the film: more crazy action, more to the Civil War scenes, more consistency to the plot, etc. Still, if you're looking for stylish vampire-slaying action like I am, the film generally satisfies. I probably wouldn't recommend this to anybody looking for perfect cinema, or anybody who can't accept the premise of the film's title. For everybody else, I'd recommend checking it out as a rental.
3.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Average | Film: Pretty Good) -
xophr2 July 2012Warning: Contains some spoilers, but not anything that would ruin it for you. (This is not to say the movie wasn't ruined to begin with)
I don't even know where to begin with this movie. After wasting money a few years ago on another hyped up movie that turned out to be complete crap, I promised myself I would never spend full price on movies anymore until they came to my local $2 theater. There was one move in which I broke my promise which was The Dark Knight and I was satisfied, but for the most part I avoided movies particular new releases at all costs.
I did all of this until Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was released. I was familiar with the story ever since the book was released many months earlier, and I finally get around to getting the book the Saturday after the movie release and completed it the following Friday. I really loved the book and while a fictional story, the historical information in the book was accurate including Lincoln's family, his sons, birth and dates of death. In addition the Civil War accounts were also accurate in terms of dates and outcomes. The book did a really good job tying in the story of vampires into the real life of Abraham Lincoln and this nation.
I was real excited to see the movie after finishing the book, and while I expected the movie to not follow the book exactly, perhaps omitting some aspects and combining characters, I did at least expect it to be much better than it was. On the contrary I found this movie to be quite insulting and terribly done. Once again a Hollywood movie jumps the shark and completes an utter disaster of overdone action scenes, needless characters and an unbelievable story. Its one thing to deviate a little from the book, but its a complete other thing to throw all of the things that made the book great out of the window and replace it with a steaming pile of crap such as this. The book was tortured, butchered and beheaded just as the unfortunate vampires Lincoln would encounter and destroy during his life.
It only took 10 minutes into the movie to realize that this was going to be a disaster. The only thing they got sort of right was the death of Abraham's mother when he was a little boy, but from that point on, everything was completely different. I don't mind the story being changed somewhat, but if you are going to change something at least make it worthwhile. The producers were so preoccupied with creating needless and overdone action scenes, they completely threw historical accuracy out the window. Without giving away too many spoilers, I must point out that the date of death of Thomas Lincoln (Abe's father) was wrong in the movie, the movie also completely ignored Robert Todd, Eddie, and Thomas (Tad) Lincoln. (Lincoln's other 3 sons). Henry, who was Lincoln's mysterious and one of his strongest allies in the book was reduced so some young Tom Cruise like character who was weak, unconvincing and boring. Mary Todd Lincoln who was psychologically weak in the book (and in real life); and understandably so, due to the death of her sons, turned into some powerful Joan of Arc wanna be which was also unconvincing. The movie also added two completely unnecessary main antagonists who were not in the book. These characters were your typical Hollywood a-hole bada$$es and added NOTHING to the story except to make it even worse than it already was. The story itself jumped around so much and seemed the producers' only goal was to rush through the back stories just so they could get to more action scenes. I could go on all day of how many things I hated about this movie but I will end my many gripes here and only say that the final action scene was complete crap, but what should I expect I suppose.
I guess it was my fault for expecting a quality movie when I should know by now Hollywood treats us American viewers as mindless Neanderthals who can only respond to non-stop action and cheesy overdone special effects and constant violence. This is not to say that the book wasn't violent, but I found the violence in the book to be much more believable than the movie which would just splash CGI blood every time Lincoln encountered a vampire.
I guess if you are a teenager who hasn't read the book or one who can't yet appreciate what it takes to make a movie both exciting and thought provoking, will absolutely love this movie. Older people on the other hand I suspect will find this movie quite insulting not only to the book, but to American history in general. As the crowd sat in complete silence, probably as disappointed and shocked as I was on how bad this movie was, I saw on the screen that one of the executive producers was Seth Grahame-Smith the author of the book. Such irony and such a shame that he can write such a good book, but then contribute to a disaster like this. I'm going to try my best to wipe this movie completely out my mind and from this point on I will re-promise myself not watch another movie in the theater until it comes to the $2 theater.
I don't give out 1 star review for anything too often, but I really can't find any redeeming quality that would push it up to two stars. So I will leave it at one. Probably not the worst movie I've seen, but its pretty close. -
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is the new movie from director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) and Tim Burton, based upon the book by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote the film's screenplay. What if Abe Lincoln was not just a President of the United States, but a vampire hunter, and that history was actually clouded by a series of lies? Bear witness to the truth behind one of America's greatest Presidents that changed the course of history and the fate of humanity.
The script was well-written, bearing resemblance to the novel in ways, but never a 100% adaptation. The actors/actresses were fantastic and great for the roles they were given. Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln was fantastic; he was not only believable, but showed a certain determination and love for peace that no other actor could have shown in the role of this old President. Rufus Sewell was incredible as Adam, the main antagonist and leader of the vampires wanting to control America. Erin Wasson was just stunning as Vadoma, who never showed a single care in the world for anyone other than herself. The visual effects were not "Avatar"-standards, but were still fantastic to the point where they worked; the one scene where visuals were phenomenal was the train sequence. The music by Henry Jackman worked great, as it blended in with the film itself, cued in for the right moments when needed.
Overall, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was a fun, well-made film that could be considered an action masterpiece as it never let up on its impressive action or suspense. The downsides were that it should have been at least 20 minutes longer to fill in gaps and prolong the story, which went by WAY too fast, and the poor script -
anastasiaeb26 June 2012If you've read the book, you'll be completely disappointed with this movie. I've read articles about the movie (after reading the book) and knew they were adding characters, but I had no idea they would change EVERYTHING. I understand shortening the story to fit into a movie, but more than that has been done and now the movie is just stupid! I can't even say there's more action in the movie than the book, EVERY action scene had the super-fast-with-the-hands/weapons-dance-but-slow-down- just-when-a-blow-connects/misses; and the "bass drop" or BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWM sound (like Inception) during all the action scenes didn't help. Oh yeah, the excessive CGI and most of the acting sucked. It was like some of the actors just walked in front of the camera and said the lines like they really didn't want to be there. When I first heard about this movie I thought it was the dumbest thing ever, but then I read the book thoroughly enjoyed it and became excited about the movie...only to be let down and forced to stick with my initial thought. If someone else hadn't paid for the tickets I would've walked out and demanded a refund, even the person who took me thought it sucked and he never read the book but was also excited about the movie. Save your money and wait until it comes out on cable.
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This is a great, one of the best, vampire movies. It webs just enough history into it to keep it grounded besides being an obvious fictional movie.
This movie is a classic. A solid 7.5/10. The 5.9 rating is a joke. Ignore it and watch this film. You won't be sorry and you will end up watching it multiple times. -
jpwarton21 June 2012Leave it to a Russian to paint American history with such accuracy. This is not an historical drama, nor does it purport to be, but it bears more stinging truth then the whole of the History Channel.
The Southern Confederacy, desiring to hold on to the last vestiges of gentility lest they get their white hands dirty, declared itself free from the Union in order to retain the right to own people as if they were property. The parasitic white slave owners fed off of the blood of the workers like vampires. Bekmambetov simply takes this allusion to the next logical step. Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, did not merely take up arms against the act of slavery but against the very thought of it, the idea that it is somehow acceptable.
Abraham Lincoln, played by Benjamin Walker -- a young Gary Cooper who astoundingly triumphs in an iconic role that could have failed so easily -- learns quickly that his town of Springfield is rife with vampires: the pharmacist, the blacksmith... because you never know where your neighbours' loyalties lie. But where the metaphor that the southern states are best represented by the living damned is most outspoken is when the vampires take up the Confederate Gray and join the Civil War.
This not-so-subtle allusion will, no doubt, anger the staunchly southern states that fly the confederate flag with pride. But pride cometh before a fall, and Lincoln fells with one chop. -
claudio_carvalho21 October 2012In the Nineteenth Century, the nine-year-old boy Abraham Lincoln witness the vampire Jack Barts (Marton Csokas) sucking the blood and killing his mother. Years later, Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) seeks revenges against Jack Barts but he fails in his intent of killing the vampire. He is saved by Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper), who becomes his mentor and teaches how to hunt and kill vampires. Henry sends Abraham to Springfield to kill vampires. He gets a job and lodging in the store of Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson) where he meets his black friend Will Johnson (Anthony Mackie). Abraham also dates Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) but keeps his vampire hunter business in secret. After killing Jack Bart, he calls the attention of the powerful and ancient vampire Adam (Rufus Sewell). Abraham becomes a politician and the President of the United States, and soon the leader of the Secession War against the vampires.
"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a funny silliness with the President of US Abraham Lincoln. I do not understand the reason why the writer uses one prominent personality to write this non-sense story but the adventure is entertaining. I would never go to the movie theater to see this movie, but if the viewer has minimum expectations or curiosity like me, it can be watched on DVD. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Abraham Lincoln: Caçador de Vampiros" ("Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter")
Note; On 27 February 2021, I saw this film again on Blu-Ray.