Strange movie, the critics got it right.
This felt like a bizarre mismash of a dumb, 3D action-horror and a serious historical picture with some heavy themes.
Looking at the critic reception and many of them note the same oddity. The movie is stuck in no mans land, not quite sure of what it wants to be. Probably would have been better had it a firm idea of what it wanted to be. Either go all out on the dumb action or remove the silly parts, tame the CGI and make a serious historical movie with a smattering of dark and gritty vampirism on the side.
has visual style to spare, but its overly serious tone doesn't jibe with its decidedly silly central premise, leaving filmgoers with an unfulfilling blend of clashing ingredients.
Though original, this is a strenuous effort to combine the conventions of two genres.
The historical epic and the monster movie run on parallel tracks, occasionally colliding but never forming a coherent whole.
Someone forgot to tell the filmmakers ... that the movie was supposed to be fun. Or at least smart.
This insipid mashup of history lesson and monster flick takes itself semi-seriously, which is truly deadly.
You have some solid actors here, a 6 time Academy Award nominee as the cinematographer, a respectable composer and film editor. This movie has some things going for it and in the end is quite decent but it undermines itself. The silliness makes the more serious aspects lack a bit of bite and the serious aspects dull out the fun and entertainment. share