Dracula Untold (2014)

It's always intriguing with an origin story, because it allows viewers to experience the change, in this case the man who will then become the monster we know as Dracula. This film did just enough on that part, while being sufficiently entertaining as an action flick. But it came with many minor flaws, one that culminates in a less overall dramatic experience.

On the good part, the action sequences were great, supported by some well worked visual effects. The cast is also brilliant, most notably Luke Evans and Charles Dance. Dominic Cooper portrayed a bad guy for the second time this year, and though he can perform, he never really looked the menacing villain. He never felt like a threat and neither was his men, so there was little suspense throughout the film. There was more suspense towards the very end, but it did not culminate in a fight, promptly ending the movie in it's rather short running time.

As an untold story, it's good to see the reasons and the set up as to how this man had to become the monster, yet it was not properly explored. The case was that Vlad was supposed to resist the temptation of human blood, but it was never explored in depth except for one initial moment. It could have been more dramatic if more scenes show of his struggle, and then maybe along with the repercussions that he may be hurting his own family because of this, which will ultimately be way more dramatic. Several other details like this were not properly explored, which made it a rather straightforward story, enough to make the plot move, but not to make it a dramatic experience.

VERDICT:

Good: Great action sequences, Decent visual effects, Excellent cast

Bad: Many minor flaws in the plot, Little suspense

SCORE: 6.5

(blockbusted9.blogspot.com)

Fmovies: Thrilling as well as frightening horror movie containing terrifying scenes , chills loads of gore and guts with a lot of C.G. effects . It is set in Transylvany , fifteenth-century , a new legend is born with a creepy Dracula to fight evil , a hero will turn to darkness .Everyone Bloodline has a beginning and an ending .It deals with a young prince called Vlad Tepes , Luke Evans , also named Vlad the Impaler. When Sultán Mehmet II , Dominic Cooper , who is executing the Vienna siege , demands one thousand children to become into Jenizaros for the Turkish Army , the prince Vlad has two choices , whether carry out this wrong order or to rebel against Turks . Vlad Tepes chooses the latter one , as he joins his officers and forms a feared army . Later on , Vlad reluctantly agrees with a monstrousing creature , Charles Dance , to vanquish the Turk enemy . As in order to achieve power to protect his wife , Sarah Gadon , child : Art Parkinson, and inhabitants his Kingdom , he turns an eerie creature of the night , becoming forever a doomed being .

Horror movie with violent fights , noisy action , impressive battles with extreme use of computer generator images and a few historical events about the Vienna siege by Sultan Mehmet II . This thrilling as well as terrifying movie packs horrifying scnes , chills , gore and breathtaking war scenes . It is not based on Bram Stoker 1897 classic novel of the same title and one of the biggest differences with original novel is that this Dracula recounting takes place entirely in a scary Transylvania , as Stoker's moves the action to England . This is a ghastly terror drama about sinister happenings with an interesting and engaging premise : Will Vlad Tepes lose his soul becoming a monster feared by his own people to save his wife , child and kingdom ¿ . It displays a shading and dark cinematography by John Schwartzman . As well as an evocative and moving musical score by Rami Djawadi of Game of Thrones . Being well and professionally made by Gary Shore, though it has some failures , gaps and excessive frames in 3D.

This one is one of the uncountable renditíon about this legendary personage , freely based on the Bram Stoker character , though here is more related to historic prince Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler . Other films retelling the known legend based as originally concerned on Stoker's novel are the following ones : Dracula by Terence Fisher with Christopher Lee , Peter Cushing and its sequels . Dracula by Dan Curtis with Jack Palance , Simon Ward , Nigel Davenport . Count Dracula by Jess Frank with Chistopher Lee , Herbert Lom , Soledad Miranda , Klaus Kinski . Bram Stoker's Dracula with David Suchet as Van Helsing , Marc Warren as Count Dracula and Sophia Miles as Lucy . Dracula 3D by Dario Argento with Thomas Ktretschmann , Rutger Hauer, Unax Ugalde, Marta Gastoni . The best results to be Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula with Gary Oldman , Winona Ryder , Anthony Hopkins , Gary Elwes, Keanu Reeves .

I remember the 1992 version of Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola and thinking that the best part of that version was the anti-heroic Prince Vlad defending Europe against the Ottoman invasion . I do believe there is a market for a historical epic featuring the true life story of Vlad the impaler . This version from 2014 does come close to it in some ways but let's be honest and say no one is going to watch any movie with Dracula in the title unless it features a vampire in the title role and one wonders how many people might have been disappointed by the marketing if not the title alone ?

One group of people who will be bitterly disappointed will be Turks . While the Persians are still recovering from their portrayal in 300 and its sequel the Muslim Turks might have just been lured in to a sense of false security after MIDNIGHT EXPRESS but low and behold along comes DU . The Turks aren't painted in a good light and one wonders if there might be a rather dubious subtext when the Sultan demands a thousand boys for his army ? That said at least Vlad himself isn't a noble traditional type of nationalist hero and the film does show him struggling against internal dilemmas . It's not really an actors type of character driven cinema but Luke Evans is suitably brooding while best performance is Dominic Cooper as Mehmed who doesn't appear on screen often enough here and is probably the film's trump card

DU isn't a masterpiece and again it's very important that you go in to this film with the knowledge it's more of a dark sword and sorcery type tale rather than a horror movie . It wasn't until after I saw it that I found out Universal Pictures might be using it to do a reboot of their monster franchise from the 1930s and 40s which explains the ending that jars with the rest of the movie . Do we genuinely want another reboot series ? As it stands this version of Dracula is more than adequate and maybe we should let Eastern European vampires stay dead

Dracula Untold fmovies. In 1442, the Prince Vlad, the Impaler (Luke Evans) rules the Transylvania after serving the Turkish Sultan as a soldier since he was a child. Vlad is happily married with his beloved wife Mirena (Sarah Gadon) and their son, Ingeras (Art Parkinson), is their pride and joy. When Vlad and his soldiers find a Turkish helmet in the river, he goes with two men to a cave in the Broke Tooth Mountain expecting to find Turkish scouts. However they stumble upon a deadly creature (Charles Dance) that kills the two men, but Vlad succeeds to escape alive from the cave. He learns that the creature is a vampire.

On the next day, a Turkish group of soldiers come to the Castle Dracula to collect the taxes but the emissary tells to Vlad that the Turkish Sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper) is demanding one thousand boys to be trained for the Turkish army. Vlad unsuccessfully tries to negotiate with Mehmed and when the soldiers come back again to take his son, Vlad kills all of them. Then he goes to Broke Tooth Mountain and meets the vampire. He explains that he needs his power to defeat his enemies; otherwise his people will be slaughtered by the Turkish army. The vampire offers his blood to Vlad but explains what could happen. Vlad would temporarily have his power for three days and if he resists to the thirsty of blood, he would turn back to his human condition. But if he does not resist, he would turn into a vampire forever. Vlad accepts the offer and defeats the Turkish soldiers, but soon he understands the price he has to pay to acquire his power.

"Dracula Untold" is an underrated action movie with the story of the origin of Dracula. This movie has a dramatic and full of action story, disclosed through great screenplay, special effects and music score. Luke Evans is perfect in the role of a prince capable of an ultimate sacrifice to save his beloved family and people. It is funny to see the comment that a vampire action movie does not have historical accuracy. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Drácula: A História Nunca Contada" ("Dracula: The Untold Story")

Note: On 07 May 2018, I saw this film again on Blu-Ray.

If your looking for a good action flick with a decent plot this is the movie for you. With a 90min runtime I was expecting this movie to feel "rushed", it felt far from that. The action was great, it did not disappoint with all the cool vampire abilities you see in the trailer, especially transforming into a group of bats. Being a Dracula movie there are things you have to expect, yes he receives his power by drinking blood, having all the vulnerabilities as every vampire (which they do very good in this movie) but the way this movie makes you root for Vlad(Dracula) you actually find yourself engulfed in the movie wanting him to overcome the darkness and win. However if you are a history buff and it irks you when movies take real life people and change their history for a movie, you will not enjoy this because it is loosely based off Vlad the Impaler. My Review 8/10 Excellent

This movie is supposed to be entertaining, and because it succeeded in that regard as far as I am concerned, it's a very good movie.

This is the kind of movie you should watch with a glass of beer in your hand. Enjoy the story for what it is and drink your beer. If you approach this movie with an analytic mind, you're probably not going to enjoy it. The plot's got more holes in it than a Swiss cheese and it shouldn't be treated as a deep, psychological study of the human mind.

Who the heck has the patience for that?

Just enjoy it on a basic, emotional level and I'm sure you'll have a good time.

Enjoy!