Dracula Untold

By: Robert Murphy

Everyone at one time or another has heard the story and the legend of Dracula, a fearful vampire who strikes fear into the hearts of men and woman and a being who was a plague upon the Earth. However, Dracula Untold tells a different story though about the origins of Dracula and how he came to be and tells the story of the man who ended up becoming the monster for the sake of his people. Prince Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) is a man who has survived against Turkish fear of invasion and sovereignty over his land but it is a constant struggle for him. This struggle finally reaches it's peak when the current Turkish sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper) orders mass conscription and take one thousand young Transylvanias to fight including Vlad's son (Art Parkinson). Prince Vlad though does not stand for this and he begins an all out war on the Turks but he does not have the strength to win and seeks the power that will lead him to victory but at great risk to his humanity and the world. 

Up until this point most stories about Dracula have involved him being a bad guy, someone who can play the villain while the hero swoops in and saves the day by figuring out how to defeat him. In this interpretation though Dracula or rather Prince Vlad is somewhat of an brooding anti-hero, he is a man who is trying his best to save his people and protect them at all cost, a man who loves his family and wants to protect them. Why the Turks choose to once again ask for one thousand Translyvania boys again is something I can't be sure of but it stirs the pot to the point where Vlad can no longer stand things anymore. The other interpretation for the story comes from Vlad becoming Dracula, where he goes and seeks out the vampire who turns him into the monstrous creature we fear. The Master Vampire (Charles Dance) has been living in a mountain cave in Transylvania waiting for the day a worthy man would appear to free him from his imprisonment and when Vlad comes seeking his help he finally finds what he has waited centuries for.  

From here a deal is formed and for a short time Vlad gains all the legendary powers that we know vampires to have control over, super speed and strength, dominion over the dark, the ability to transform and a few other handy tools. The downsides are also present though such as a weakness against sun light and in the movie Vlads flesh tears away in a spectacular work of CGI, other weaknesses are present such as silver affliction and not being able to face a cross. These powers and flaws will be present for three days while Vlad defeats the Turkish army and as long as he resists the urge to feed, he will return to flesh and our Master Vampire stays imprisoned. This interesting sub plot tickled me as Charles Dance plays a man with secrets and schemes quite well but it never develops in any way. 

The main focus for the story is simple, watching Vlad the Impaler prove his skills and show off the powers he's attained while still trying to keep his humanity and protect his family and country. But Dracula Untold tries to squeeze too many stories in that never develop such as Vlad's estranged relationship with his father, the fact that our Master Vampire is clearly a threat to the world once he is free but humanity is still trudging along by the end of the movie and a few other stories that don't pan out. Funny to me how the most unrealistic part of the movie doesn't revolve around the legendary myth of Dracula but rather the fault lies with everything else. Sometimes the story just doesn't make sense like how no one questions how Vlad kills an entire battalion of Turkish soldiers by himself or why when the truth is revealed about him being Dracula comes out, why don't they kill him and why do they still follow him? What's more is Dracula Untold almost feels like it's setting up for a sequel, not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just the question of why and for what reason, I just felt left in the dark about a lot of plot items. 

What impressed me about Dracula Untold was what I already expected to be really impressed by and that was the powers and the story about Dracula. Luke Evans plays a fantastic Vlad/Dracula character and makes you feel the anguish that he goes through in deciding to except the power of the vampire. Everything else though just doesn't work out though, there are plenty of interesting points that come up in the story and different sub plots to follow but they do not go anywhere. If you go see the movie for anything it would honestly be for the action and seeing the incredible power of Dracula. 

Good:

- Luke Evans plays an excellent Vlad/Dracula character

- The legendary power that Dracula releases is spectacular 

Bad:

- Not many other character prove to be interesting outside of Charles Dance and Luke Evans

- Outside of the action appeal of the main story not much else pans out

- All the big moments you probably already saw in the commercials for the movie

- A very confusing ending

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10