Synopsis (courtesy of imdb.com):
At the age of 9, Abraham Lincoln witnesses his mother being killed by a vampire, Jack Barts. Some 10 years later, he unsuccessfully tries to eliminate Barts but in the process makes the acquaintance of Henry Sturgess who teaches him how to fight and what is required to kill a vampire. The quid pro quo is that Abe will kill only those vampires that Henry directs him to. Abe relocates to Springfield where he gets a job as a store clerk while he studies the law and kills vampires by night. He also meets and eventually marries the pretty Mary Todd. Many years later 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.
My Take:
I like alternate history, I like vampires and I like zombies. Based on the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is narrated by Lincoln as he recounts the events of his life via his journal. So don’t expect real history here. This is an alternate theory with vampires (alas, no zombies).
Going in I knew not to look at it from a literal perspective and was curious as to how the narrative would play out in terms of any historical significance. I wholeheartedly find that this is a very decent action horror flick, ignoring the fact that the main character is the sixteenth president honest Abe who, as we all know, set the bar as high as they come. At the same time, the movie incorporates many of the factual events in Lincoln’s life but altered to include the narrative theme of the vampire presence.
As such the movie periodically returning to an historical point to explain a particular event and how the vampires played a part in it. There is so much to enjoy here especially for action/horror fans. The production values are high and the action is nicely choreographed and visceral. From a conceptual standpoint, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is silly, tongue-in-cheek story, but as a mindless, kick ass, bloodletting action flick, it gets the job done. And it was done really well.
The 3D is converted from 2D and is gimmicky. However, the gimmicky effect is perfect for this movie and it brings The Matrix feel into the action and I find it to be the best 3D converted movie yet. Any viewer can truly tell that this entire movie have been created with 3D-demo in mind. Yes, just like Prometheus (that is shot natively in 3D), it actually adds more depth both to the visual and to the story telling (but not the storyline, this time). No ghosting or any headache inducing artefact was found while watching this movie.
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is yet another reference quality from Fox. Incorporating elements of horror and action a film like this relies heavily on its soundtrack to elicit the intended effect upon the audience and this surround mix does just that. This is a fairly aggressive surround sound mix that features an array of well-placed sound effects that engage the listening position. The room is illuminated with an array of sounds that are both directional and ambient in nature. So much attention to details that went into creating the surround mix as it effectively replicates the environments is featured in the film. Bass reproduction is clean, extended and hard hitting as it accentuates the audio’s excellent dynamic range with rich, kick-in-the-gut impact. Dialogue intelligibility is never a problem even during the film’s active moments. This is a great surround sound experience that made this film a whole lot more enjoyable.
Equipment used for this review:
Anthem MRX-700 Receiver
Grandviewscreen 96” 21:9 matte-white 1.0-gain screen
Kimber Kable 19e HDMI cables
PSB Century 300i (front and surround speakers)
PSB Image C5 (centre speaker)
PSB Subseries 300 (subwoofer)
Panasonic PT-AE7000U projector
Pioneer BDP-62FD BD player
Ultralink Ambiance MKII speaker wires
Viewing room is as per THX and SMPTE recommendation with 45-degree Field of View
Audio: 9/10
Video (3D): 9/10
Video (2D): 9/10
Storyline: 6/10 (I would give it an 8/10 if they incorporate zombies into the movie)
GENERAL INFORMATION
Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox – 2012
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 105 minutes
Genre: Action/Horror
Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: MVC/AVC
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio, English/Spanish/French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Martin Csokas
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Music by: Henry Jackman
Written by: Seth Grahame-Smith
Region Code: A
Blu-ray Disc release Date: October 23, 2012
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