Full Review: Twilight this is not. Instead, we have a simple story of boy meets girl, boy's next door neighbor is a vampire, boy has to fight and kill said vampire with a surly and foul-mouthed David Tennant. It's a fun movie with all the vampire killing you could want, but don't expect anything with the depth of Let Me In. This is about fighting and killing Colin Farrell, and that's a movie I can get behind.
True, this is a remake, but I never saw the original, and this version worked for me. Thus, I'll only address what I saw in this one and not make any comparisons. I also only saw the 2D version. I have an aversion to post-production 3D, and I'm fairly certain that the "3D" only subtracted from the experience.
There is some depth to the main character Charley Brewster. Played by Anton Yelchin (who you may remember from Star Trek), our character is a former geek who managed to slide into the popular crowd. When his former best friend, an unapologetic geek who's been ranting about vampires, goes missing, it doesn't take him long to realize that his neighbor Jerry (Farrell) is a vampire. As he slowly goes insane knowing what he wished he didn't, he alienates his girlfriend; since this is a vampire film, you know what's probably going to happen to her, but that doesn't really ruin this film.
We can't forget David Tennant. (What do you mean who? He's the tenth Doctor...oh, I see what you did there.) He plays a Chris-Angel style Vegas magician with a cheesy vampire-themed stage show. But beneath all the accessories, and it's funny to see just how many, he knows a thing or two and proves to be a great foil. He's not a nice man, definitely not someone you'd want to spend Thanksgiving dinner with, but he's your go-to guy in an action movie.
How's our vampire? He's an undead Terminator, and that's the way it should be. While this vamp is no stranger to seduction, when it comes to a brawl, he's fast, strong, and deadly. There's also no moral ambiguity about our main villain; he's not going to spend his days pining for a girl with a total of three facial expressions, he's going to drain you, turn you, or kill you.
Is it predictable? Yes. Is there a deus ex machina? Tiny bit. It is still a great flick when you aren't interested in Oscar Bait and just want to see vamps get dusted? Absolutely. I had fun, and for me, that's important. I can forgive a lot if it's fun.
I can do more than review movies. Check out the book I wrote.
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