Dracula Untold Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Warfare, Vampire Attacks, Disturbing Images, and Some Sensuality)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 32 Minutes

Cast-

Luke Evans-Vlad III Țepeș/Dracula

Sarah Gadon-Mirena/Mina

Dominic Cooper-Mehmed II

Art Parkinson-Ingeras

Charles Dance-Master Vampire

Diarmaid Murtagh-Dumitru

Paul Kaye-Brother Lucian

William Houston-Cazan

Noah Huntley-Captain Petru

Ronan Vibert-Simion

Zach McGowan-Shkelgim

Ferdinand Kingsley-Hamza Bey

Joseph Long-General Omer

Thor Kristjansson-Bright Eyes

Jakub Gierszal-Acemi

Joe Benjamin-Mihai

Paul Bullion-Nicolae

Mish Boyko-Andrei

Dilan Gwyn-Governess

Arkie Reece-General Ismail

Directed by Gary Shore

Luke Evans stars as Dracula in Gary Shore's "Dracula Untold."

Note: Screened on Thursday, September 25, 2014 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14. This review is late due to my prior commitments at New York Comic Con.

Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and of course, who could forgot the ones that started it all—the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera. In the early days of American cinema, Universal made their name by focusing on monsters. Jack Pierce's critically-acclaimed makeup work and actors like Lon Chaney (as well as his son), Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff transformed these celluloid creatures into icons that have continued to withstand the test of time. It's a cinematic legacy that Universal is clearly proud of but you can't make lightning strike twice. While the lucrative "Mummy" films starring Brendan Fraser were fun, frivolous romps (the first two entries anyway, definitely not the third), they're hardly classics. The studio tried to turn Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's Dracula novel into a hunky action hero in 2004—with Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman in the title role—but the film received largely negative reviews (23% on Rotten Tomatoes), quashing Universal's dreams of a new franchise despite its $300 million worldwide gross. Joe Johnston's 2010 remake of George Waggner's 1941 film "The Wolf Man" fared little better with critics (34% on Rotten Tomatoes), even with the aid of an all-star cast.

Monsters used to be Universal's bread and butter but now they've been replaced with "The Fast and the Furious" series, Jason Bourne, and the adorable yellow Minions from the "Despicable Me" films. The only thing missing are superheroes (they had the Hulk but Marvel reacquired the rights to the character following the mixed reception to Ang Lee's film in 2003). Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony, 20th Century Fox…they've all got superheroes and they're all doing their own little shared universes after Marvel's "The Avengers" made over $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office in 2012. What's a movie studio to do?! Why, start their own shared universe, of course! Since Universal owns no superhero properties, they're going back and rebooting their iconic monsters. The first entry to arrive is "Dracula Untold" from first-time director Gary Shore. I have to say, I don't see this shared universe lasting very long if this is type of quality we're going to be getting. "Dracula Untold" isn't a horrible film but it strips out everything that made Bram Stoker's character so timeless and replaces it with a cookie-cutter superhero origin story.

Sarah Gadon is wasted as Dracula's wife.

In the early fifteenth century, the Turkish Sultan sought to acquire young boys and turn them into perfect killing machines on the battlefield. One such boy was Vlad III Țepeș (Luke Evans), whose father was forced to give him up to the Sultan. Vlad becomes known as 'The Impaler' due to his use of wooden pikes to impale and display those he killed. Following a series of bloody, brutal campaigns, Vlad is allowed to return home to Transylvania, where he rules as it's prince with his beloved wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon). However, the country remains a tribute territory to the Turkish—or Ottoman—Empire. During Transylvania's Easter celebrations, a Turkish emissary named Hamza Bey (Ferdinand Kingsley) arrives with a message from Sultan Mehmed II (Dominic Cooper). In addition to their usual monetary tribute, he demands one thousand boys to be given over for service in his army. Vlad attempts to negotiate with Mehmed and even offers himself in exchange but the Sultan refuses, ordering the prince to hand over the boys as well as his son, Ingeras (Art Parkinson). Not wanting his son to suffer the same brutal upbringing he faced, Vlad tries to find a way to defend his family and kingdom. His desperate journey leads him to Broken Tooth Mountain, where he encounters a master vampire (Charles Dance). Exchanging his humanity for power, Vlad becomes 'Dracula' but his noble intentions may lead him to eternal damnation.

'Pretty on the outside, empty on the inside' is the best way to sum up Gary Shore's "Dracula Untold." Although every penny of its $70 million production budget is reflected on-screen, you'll be hard-pressed to recall anything distinctive once the film is over due to Shore's pedestrian, by-the-numbers direction. Written by first-timers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the script contains cherry-picked elements from the life of the 'real' Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and blends it with the mythological beast that Bram Stoker created in his 1897 novel. The historical Vlad had quite a reputation for cruelty but the one in the film is a loving father and a brave warrior-prince. Despite his gentler temperament, his propensity for impalement remains, but its part of a violent past that he'd just as soon forget. With a brisk running time of only ninety-two minutes, it doesn't take long for the titular character to gain his vampiric abilities via a Faustian bargain with a 'master vampire' (a heavily made-up Charles Dance) who resides in a dank cave at Broken Tooth Mountain. Vlad is informed that he'll turn back into his human self if he can resist the thirst for blood for three whole days, which is rather convenient. Of course, we all know how this is going to end and it doesn't help that the whole 'tragic monster' angle has been done before in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film. Much of the passion and sensuality that is often associated with vampires has also been drained away (no pun intended), an aspect that Coppola perfectly captured. At least John Schwartzman's cinematography is nice to look at and Shore has a good eye for visuals with the action scenes. Unfortunately, they're virtually indistinguishable from each other and are rendered bloodless by heavy editing in order to obtain a teen-friendly PG-13 rating. To increase the scope, the visual effects team just adds more CG bats to the screen. There's a modicum of originality with the final showdown between Vlad and Mehmed but ultimately, "Dracula Untold" should've been left…untold.

With his spray-on tan, Dominic Cooper is completely miscast as main antagonist Mehmed II.

As Dracula, Luke Evans broods and glowers like the best of them, and genuinely tries to do the character justice. His performance is certainly better than the material he's working with and is compelling enough to hold our attention, even if it's not particularly memorable at the end of the day. Sarah Gadon (from "Cosmopolis" and "Enemy") is wasted as Vlad's wife Mirena while Dominic Cooper—with his obvious spray-on tan—is completely miscast as Mehmed II. Not once did I feel he was a threat to Vlad. Finally, there's Charles Dance, slumming for a paycheck as a vampire like in 2012's "Underworld: Awakening."

Released on October 10, 2014, "Dracula Untold" has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that it was 'neither awful enough to suck nor sharp enough to bite, [the film] misses the point of its iconic character's deathless appeal.' Despite its less-than-favorable reception, "Dracula Untold" had a solid second-place debut with $23.5 million and has grossed over $117 million thanks to international receipts. However, I don't see this boding well for Universal's Marvel-style shared universe if all the films are simply going to be generic action flicks with flashy CG effects. Still, the studio is moving full-steam ahead, with a reboot of "The Mummy" arriving in 2016 directed by Alex Kurtzman. Another reboot, "Van Helsing," is expected to follow shortly after, with Tom Cruise starring and producing. The action offers some mild thrills but "Dracula Untold" is just another cookie-cutter superhero origin story made entirely by committee. The only thing that's surprising is that it's not in 3D.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

"Sometimes the world no longer needs a hero. Sometimes what it needs…is a monster."