The Last Witch Hunter

clyde e collins 6/23/2021 3:57:50 PM 8.4

**The initial tableaux:** **Initial, part I**: We're in the black plague era in Europe, say 13th century. The spread of the plague is attributed to the spellcasting of evil witches. Vin Diesel's character, Kaulder, is one of the witch hunters who finds the Witch Queen. Kaulder and company put an end to the plague, but at the cost of Kaulder's wife, his only child, and most of his hunter friends. While dying, the Witch Queen curses Kaulder. **Initial, part II**: In current New York City, Kaulder is still hunting witches. Yes, the same Kaulder. He's allied with an old group within the church, the Axe and Cross, which tries and imprisons witches. They also keep secrets. Kaulder's main contact with Axe and Cross is Dolan the 36th, played by Michael Caine, in one of those short roles that he does so well. Dolan is quite old, and Dolan the 37th seems ready to take over being contact with the immortal Kaulder. **Delineation of conflicts:** In the present, witch activity seems to be picking up. Something large is brewing. Kaulder suffers a number of reverses, and his list of allies shrinks. The film began in apocalyptic mode, and near the end it is almost there again. Kaulder must face what he did not face the first time, 800 years ago. **Resolution:** Will Kaulder find new allies, or must he carry the day himself? **One line summary:** Attempt at another Vin Diesel movie franchise. **_Statistics:_** **Cinematography:** 8/10 Well done on the whole; the visuals kept my attention. **Sound:** 8/10 Dialog is clear. Music seemed appropriate. **Acting:** 5/10 Michael Caine was fine in his short role as noted above. Vin Diesel is convincing as an action hero, even here with swords, magic, fists, and intention instead of cars, guns, and explosives. Julie Engelbrecht had her fine moments as Kaulder's arch nemesis, the Witch Queen, at the very beginning, and at the very end. Olafur Darri Olafsson was a blast as Belial, an in-your-face opponent for Kaulder. Elijah Wood's performance sucked rocks. Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, 17 episodes) was almost interesting as Kaulder's on-again, off-again witch ally. That was a bit weak, since she was supposed to be the female lead. **Screenplay:** 5/10 Violence and threat moves the plot along, so the 106 minutes runtime does not drag too badly. I'm glad I saw the film, but would not watch it again. Why not? The narrative is not well-constructed. It seemed like every five minutes there was some change or rules, or some impressive (?) artifact to consider. At the end of the film, I felt that I should have been happier for the protagonist, but just could not be. Would there be major challenges for him in the centuries to come? Would Chloe be a reliable ally? By this time I did not care, and I felt this to be a major failing of the film. **_Final Rating:_** 6/10 I liked it better than most people did, but I would be hard pressed to say, 'you must see this one.'

Reno 5/16/2024 3:18:30 PM 8.4

> Fighting the same witch twice in the 800 years! I have seen Vin Diesel in many avatars, from the sci-fi to action, adventure and thriller, they all suits him better, but this supernatural theme seems weird. There was lots of action, so it does not feel like a fantasy film, which is merely the idea of film concept. From the director of 'Sahara', the story of an cursed with eternal life witch hunter named Kaulder. Except the opening, the remaining film sets in the present New York city where he has to stop a witch who is trying to bring back the witch queen from the dead. It was just another those films where the ancient meets the modern world. Okay, I agree a few films did impacted from the last two decades since the evolution of the CGI. Even though, they were not considered the greatest, in the meantime, I don't know where did this one come from. It was not based on any book, but I think just to make a few quick bucks using the star power. Other than that this film offers nothing new. Yes, I liked the Diesel's presence in this, but he should not do films like this, except if the screenplay and role developed to his caliber. It was not a big box office hit, but merely survived and critically didn't. Even the film fanatics and fans of the star disappointed with it. Now I can't believe the sequel is announced, but I hope it won't take off. Anyway, it could become a decent television series rather than a film franchise. Diesel is the reason for this film to look okay and the story was maybe the hundredth time used. Come on we all know this story, but with a new cast and the settings, it looks different. So for me the film was an average, other than that, I don't think it is worth recommending to the others. If you still want to see it, then pick the digital 3D version where you can at least enjoy some special effects. 5/10

Gimly 6/23/2021 3:58:13 PM 8.4

Arguably the coolest poster a movie's ever had. Vin & Co. lay the cheese on **thick** in this one. I'm talking slab of fried haloumi thick. But that's not exactly the end of the world. It's kind of like if _Constantine_ was way worse, or if _Seventh Son_ was way better. With a little 2004's _Van Helsing_ thrown in for good measure. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._