Post by GL on Nov 12, 2006 10:49:16 GMT -5
"Bloodrayne" isn't all that bad when it's really looked at objectively.
**SPOILERS**
Deep in the heart of Romania, vampire slayers Vladimir, (Michael Madsen) Katarin, (Michelle Rodriguez) and Sebastian, (Matthew Davis) hear a story about Rayne, (Kristanna Loken) a woman believed to be a monster of some sort. When she escapes capture and leaves the carnival, she learns of her fate to acquire a special amulet to battle the vampire master Kagan, (Ben Kingsley) who is Rayne's father. After reluctantly meeting with Vladimir, Katarin and Sebastien, she agrees to help them in their fight to overcome Kagan and his army of vampires.
The Good News: There's actually a lot more than what would seem to indicate. The setting is one of the best features, as it's such a welcome change from what is normally given to us about vampires and is a nice addition. It also plays a part of it being a nice sweeping epic-look to it with the sweeping vistas and swelling orchestral scores and the general overall look and feel to it. It's a real pleasant change to see a film go for a feel like that, and this one scores it right. Perhaps the best aspect to this is at times the blood and gore. Heads are chopped off, torsos ripped in half, throats exposed to red geysers, chests slashed, arrows shot into eyes, blades plunged into mouths, limbs severed, corpses hacked apart, and much, much more. This is a really nice and bloody film, and is kept to the forefront as much as possible, resulting in a pleasing film to gore-hounds. There's also several really impressive individual scenes spread throughout the film. Near the beginning, a carnival man drags her out who's under his control and spills water on her arm, resulting in severe burns and then slices her other arm. He then slices a farm animal and gives her the resultant blood, who drinks it and her wounds instantly heal back to normal. A sequence where one character is trapped inside a quickly flooding cavern is nicely suspenseful, as is a similar underwater brawl that lasts for quite a while. The carnival massacre is a nice set-piece, as are any of the various battles that take place. Those are the best sequences, as there are several well-choreographed extended battles here that wouldn't seem out of place in a medieval movie. The story is nice and easy to understand without the side-plots coming in, and the pace is utterly frantic. This is far better than what is said about it.
The Bad News: There is very little in here that didn't work. The main thing that hurts this is the side-plots that are thrown in from now and then to add more to the story but actually take away from it. The main gist is good enough and serves the film well since there's only a single thread that covers the action. When a new idea is brought up, it only confuses rather than explain. There are some moments of stupidity present, mostly in the third act that doesn't require any explanations. The capture and eventual escape from the cell is the biggest one, and is groan-inducing. That's really all that bothered me with this one.
The Final Verdict: It's not as bad as what's been said about it, and really should be given an objective viewing. It's far better than the usual films of the type, and it has some nice scenes to go along with it. Give it a fair shot with an open mind, and you'll find yourself liking it.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Nudity and a mild sex scene