Dracula Untold (2014)

Ever since I was a kid, Dracula was the definition of vampire. He also meant vampires are evil. That's why I was somehow interested in seeing Dracula Untold because instead of doing yet another Dracula film, Gary Shore was going on a different road, the origin story.

And that's what we got. It's the 13th Century and a young prince, Vlad (Luke Evans), is living peacefully with his family while ruling the Transylvania. One day though, a group of Turkish soldiers comes to his castle to collect the taxes with one awful news, their Sultan (Dominic Cooper) is demanding a thousand boys to create an army. Vlad refuses to do because his son (Art Parkinson) would be one of the boys; he instead goes meet a vampire (Charles Dance) on the mountains to obtain the power to protect his family and kingdom.

The story is original and it's quite interesting to see how it unfolds. But it's got a problem, the depth. It could have done with more of that. It isn't historically accurate, some parts feel rushed, and there probably are more holes in it than in Swiss cheese. Which brings me to the fact that the film is pretty cheesy. Also, it tries to be more of a dramatic story rather than a horror story (which I loved), but there isn't enough drama in it and I simply wasn't emotionally invested. The characters are also to be blamed as they are pretty weak. 

However, there are things to enjoy, starting from the acting. In spite of the flawed script, Luke Evans did really a good job portraying the inner struggle of Vlad, who is slowly transitioning from loving father to monster because that's what he has to do to save his people. A fine performance also comes from Charles Dance who plays the Master Vampire, easily the most interesting characters which was not exploited as he should have.

At last, the visuals effects are pretty good too. They are dark and atmospheric and fits the story. Still, I enjoyed more the action. It is stylish and very entertaining, and it's not as violent as it could have been.

Ultimately, Dracula Untold isn't as good as I was hoping, but it isn't a complete waste of time either.