by Erin Hatch, Reviewer
The Civil War may be the most traumatic event in American History, a bloody conflict that determined our national identity while leaving wounds that linger even in today’s contentious politics. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter turns this horrific crisis into a pulpy, over-the-top battle against the undead, and transforms our 16th president into an ax-wielding action hero.
It may be shallow to judge a Lincoln movie as historically inaccurate when the entire premise rotates around his imagined secret life as a vampire hunter, so let us just say that Vampire Hunter tackles history on its own terms, featuring frequent historical cameos without staying particularly true to the exact sequence of events. Otherwise, the film concerns itself less with history and more with special effects, of which there are many.
The action set-pieces are what sell the film, and they are legion. The film makes honest Abe a bad-ass, and put him in a number of situations where he destroys his undead prey with increasingly creative and entertaining methods. Unfortunately, the film is largely powered by CGI effects that do not pretend to be anything other than CGI effects. The obvious artificiality of the computer generated imagery does take some steam out of the action, but the blood-splattering still excites. The story is stilted and uneven, thrusting us into the action and jumping between events with little in the way of structure. The film stumbles through Lincoln’s life, visiting key points but skimming over vast sections.
If there is anything that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter tackles with nuance, it is its approach to 3D. The obvious emergent effects are present, but the 3D is just as effective in its depiction of depth, and especially its presentation of volume. The space in the film is not flat or empty, but filled with particles of dust or smoke that reflect or obscure light and give shape to the visuals both in the frantic action sequences and in quieter, dramatic moments. The filmmakers take this approach a little too far near the end, with the climatic battle sequence looking muddy with all the smoke in the air, but it is obvious that some thought was put into making this a 3D film and not just a flat movie where things sometimes jump out at you.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has more than its share of rough edges, but despite these shaky elements the film manages to be a lot of fun. The premise of one of our most worshiped national heroes being converted to an action superstar has a ludicrous quality that parodies America’s actual obsession with deifying its past, often with the same amount of historical accuracy provided by the film. Viewers will have ample opportunities to turn away from the film in disgust because of the perversion of history, the unbelievable CGI, and the shoddy storytelling, but if they get in on the joke and don’t take the film too seriously, the will find it provides an entertaining thrill ride through something resembling history. Also, killing vampires is cool.
ComicsOnline gives Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 3.5 out of 5 silver bullets to the eye.
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