Cast: Benjamin
Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell,
Marton Csokas Direction: Timur Bekmambetov
Story and Screenplay: Seth
Grahame-Smith; Cinematography: Caleb
Deschanel Editing: William Hoy Music: Henry Jackman Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, Tim
Burton, Jim Lemley; Genre: Action,
Sci-Fi; Running Time: 136 minutes Location: Old Americas; Distributor: 20th Century
Fox
Technical: 3.5
Moral:
3.5
CINEMA
Rating: V 14 (For viewers aged 14 and
above)
From the visionary collaboration of writer Seth Grahame-Smith at direction
of Timur Bekmambetov, the novel with the same title was transformed into a
silver screen adaptation of one of America’s greatest leaders. In the film, the young Abraham Lincoln was
both a witness to the sufferings of the African slaves and the death of his
gentle mother in the hands of Jack Barts (Marton Csokas), his parent’s employer
and one of the cruel slave owners. Although this incident affected the young
Abraham, he was held by a promise to his father that he will not retaliate. But after nine years, Abraham (Benjamin Walker),
now an orphan, considers himself free of that promise and makes it his lifetime
commitment to seek revenge for his mother’s murder. Unknown to him, Barts is one of the many
vampires slowly overtaking society. He
chances upon the murderer and attacks him, but he is utterly surprised when he
realizes that even bullets lodged in his eyes could not kill Barts. When Abraham is overpowered and is about to
kill him, Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper), a guy Abraham met in a bar,
intervenes and saves his life. Abraham
wakes up and discovers the truth about vampires. He pleads Henry to teach him how to defeat the
monsters and in turn agrees to be Henry’s protégé and do the vampire hunting
for him. Together, Henry and Abraham
defeat the most notorious monsters in the new Americas until the latter
discovers the truth about his mentor he almost could not handle.
Eventually, Abraham realizes a deeper struggle he has to fight and
decides to lay down his ax and use the power of words and ideas to free slaves,
save the people and unite his nation causing the vampires to retaliate by
killing his only son. Again, Abraham, now President of the United States must
fight but his fight is ignited not by vengeance but by the desire to free the
world of evil and horror.
One cannot deny the brilliance of the work on screen as real life
events in history are tightly woven in the imagination of Smith. The narrative is strong and clear and each
succeeding scene progressively heightens drama and excitement, not to mention several
quotable quotes from the protagonist. Visually,
the movie is stunning: high action, superb cinematography and unbelievable
computer-generated effects all coming together in the 3Dformat. The production design and artistic direction
is a work of genius. Henry Jackman’s
scoring is another element that easily stands out… not overpowering, not melodramatic
but just perfectly in synch with each scene’s emotional requirement. Abraham
LincolnVampire Hunter will be one of the movies you just need to watch.
As a movie, Abraham Lincoln easily stands out as a favorite but does it
deliver enough positive messages amidst the gruesome violent action sequences.
It does, but not for the young audiences. Some of the more salient messages
include the effect of parental care and idealism on the child’s
development. Because Abraham’s parents showed
love, respect and concern for others, the same values remained inculcated in
Abraham as an adult and as one of the most powerful man in the Americas.
Revenge seemed like a dominant theme at first as Abraham carried with
him the pain of his mother’s murder. This
may have fueled his valiance but through Henry’s mentorship, he realizes that
there is more to it than just getting even. Justice for one’s self is always superseded by
justice for the majority. As Abraham got
to live his vampire hunting career, his motivation transformed from his
mother’s death to a nation’s survival. Eventually,
this led him into a deeper issue—one that is real in our world as well—emancipation
of slaves. On the one hand, you can say that his foes and battles are in fact
symbols of his desire to unite a nation that respects all men as equal. At this point, not even the death of his only
son occasions another vendetta to push
him to wipe out vampires, only his desire to show that all men are equal—regardless of race or color.
Even the scene where Henry offers immortality to Abraham so they can
continue their mission against the vampires leaves us with a valuable lesson on
being a person. Abraham replies that there are more things that last longer
than immortality like living as a legend who has chosen to do good and protect the
welfare of men for the common good.
