Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: A Review

It's been a long time since I've written on here and my apologies for that. I have been extremely busy with the business of surviving. 2012 has been extremely unkind to me and I've been trying to get myself back on my feet...without much success as of yet. At some point, things will turn around for me but it hasn't happened yet. Anyway, I wanted to at least have some new writing on here (I'm unable to sleep) so I figured that a review of the last movie I saw would be a good start. I originally read the mash-up novel Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter back in 2010 in paperback and I couldn't put it down. It was such a strange idea and it was extremely well-done. I'm a history geek in general and a Lincoln fan in particular so when I saw the book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble, I had to pick it up. The cover and the very premise intrigued me. It was a book that grabbed me right from the beginning. Abraham Lincoln, despite all the lionizing and adoration he's received since his assassination in 1865, was a mortal man who was forced to make impossible choices in service to his country, while serving as the 16th President of the United States. Having said that, he earned the esteem that he's received since he was killed. I could tell that the book was written with real respect for the man, though with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. As is usually the case, the novel was far better than the film. Having said that, the film was pretty enjoyable in its own right and on its own merits. As a Lincoln buff, I could tell what historical details were totally wrong and that did pull me out of the story the movie was telling. However, as an action movie and a way to pass a couple of hours, I can think of worse films to see. Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln did a solid job with the material he was presented with. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is probably the most attractive woman to have ever portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln. If you didn't know the depths to which Mary Lincoln would sink after her husband's murder, you would think of her as a great spouse to a great man. Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturges, Lincoln's ally and friend who happens to be a vampire was very different from how he was shown in the novel,which I think is one of this film's great weaknesses. In the novel, he was far more willing to engage other vampires in an effort to help living men. He also didn't tell Lincoln not to form any attachments as he did in the film. I just wish the screenwriter (who happened to write the novel the film was based on) didn't feel the need to change so many details. Timur Bekmambetov, the director of Wanted directed this film and did a decent job. Some of the special effects were just jarring, really taking you out of the film. At times, the images looked washed out. There was a fight scene between Lincoln and a vampire in the middle of a stampede of horses that was either very thrilling or made you cringe because the CGI was so painfully obvious. The lack of humor in this film was one of the biggest surprises I discovered. I couldn't stop laughing when I read the novel. It was twisted and had a slightly skewed perspective on the story being told. The movie played it pretty straight and I think it hurt the film. The vampires looked scary, which I am all for...especially after the Twilight and TrueBlood craze that's been going on for the past few years. I want to see vampires that look and act dangerous again. The vampires in this film were shown that way and I appreciate that. Overall, I recommend this film, flaws and all. It was a good way to spend a couple of hours in the theater, it had lots of action and some uplifting moments when Lincoln was delivering the Gettysburg Address, though I won't give out any spoilers. Mostly, I recommend this movie because it mashed up two of my favorite things: Abraham Lincoln and vampires.