DRACULA UNTOLD

Legendary Picture

Directed by: Gary Shore

Starring by: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance

“What do you think if we go out and see the Dracula?"

She smiles and nodded and we go out tonight to see the movie. It’s a date….only two of us…father-daughter date. It’s not common for us to go along just both, usually there are four of us but this moment was special and the moment of our date would be last in my memories.

It’s not pure horror movie, I know, but it’s good for her because I’ve promise not to take her to watch horror movie till she’s twenty years old…ddooogghhh…what an old fashion father…and you may asked, how come you recommended other people to watch horror while your daughter couldn’t. Well, I said it’s my part being a good and descent father but I know my heart was trembling and pounding to ask her out to watch good movies like Conjuring or Insidious…but kids always astonished you, right? And she also done it when she say, I already watched Final Destination, and you know daddy, my friend that can’t stand to watched asked me how the characters got killed.

My ooo my…ok, stop for the moment and I shall write my opinion for Dracula Untold…

As we know the first story of Dracula was spread  by Bram Stoker. And I admire unfinished love tale behind the story between Count Vlad and his wife, which from that he chase Mina who’s engaged with Jonathan Harker, his notary’s fiancé.

Dracula Untold takes same character which is Count Vlad and same location on Transylvania. The kingdom of Translyvania lies between Turkey and Europe so when the Turkish want to spread their empire to the land of Europe they have to pass Vlad’s country. Actually, Vlad is close friend to Mehmet, the Sultan of Turkish, but ambition made Mehmet put away their relationship and pushed Count Vlad to provide him 1.000 boys of Transylvania to be Mehmed’s troops, includes Vlad’s son.

Vlad against Mehmet’s command and murder Mehmet’s man in brutal fight, so he realized that he need more power to battle the Turkish that has large number of troops. During his searched he finds Vampire, the curse human that being manipulated and deceives by Evil which changes him into horrible looks but has tremendous power for the Vampire could defeat one battalion of Turkish soldier alone. The deal with vampire is made and Vlad gets the power he seeks. He crushed thousand men that send by Mehmet to destroy Vlad’s castle and it was then I see visualization of “The Strength of a Thousand Men” from the song I’ve always play when I writes.

The difference from Stoker, Vlad in this film get his power from other Vampire while Stoker clearly said that Count Vlad was the first Vampire on earth when he’s blasphemy God for losing his wife that make suicide because she thought Vlad was killed on battle. So there’s another vampire before him…hmmm…I think it’s ok…so be it…

The scene increase by tension when Transylvanian were mobilize to safer place and Vlad had to battles the Turkish that comes in bigger amount of troops, this time with Mehmet with them. The visualization was awesome. I’d like the scene when Vlad control thousand of bats and make them to fight Turkish in such demonic ways. Though Mehmet told to close the eye of his troops but bat attacks was surely something that couldn’t handle normally. But the best scene for me is when Vlad jump down to chase Mirena that fall from high tower. And dramatically he failed to save his queen though he got inhuman power that makes him capable to do anything most man can’t do.

Full with rage, Vlad raising Vampire troops from Transylvania’s people who were dying and gave them blood of he’s to drink. I’m not quite happy to find how easily Vlad control the sky and nature in order to hold the sun from rising just to make his troops invaded the Turkish. One hundred thousand Turkish troops against ten hungry Vampires, you’d sure know who wins.

And the last scene, again, make me unhappy to find that Transylvanian troops of Vampires disobey Vlad. The Count can’t control his own people from eagerness to dessert his son. Contrary from Stoker, Count Vlad has total dominion over his follower and found out how three vampirellas on Dracula Castle had not killed Jonathan Harker because the Count said them so and it happened when Count Dracula was not around because he’s on his journey to England to find Mina Harker.

Overall I think this film was OK. It’s good to watched if you want to know more about heroic side of a Vampire before he turns into pure evil, and Hollywood was a master to make something grouch turns nice…the evolution of a Vampire from Bram Stoker Dracula to Twilight and now to Dracula Untold has prove it. Cheeks surely couldn’t resist the handsomeness of Luke Evans, are they? But I’d found out single mistake of continuity on the scene when Mehmet falls to the ground after Vlad defeated him and bites him, there’s no blood or puncture wounds on his throat, just take a good look at it…