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Here's a look at the new movie I saw this week. June's been bleak...

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Rufus Sewell
Synopsis: Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most revered Presidents. His face is on our money, his likeness sits in the capitol, and his speeches continue to be recited years later. But a novel by Seth Grahame-Smith would have you believe that’s only part of the story. Grahame-Smith has earned fame as a writer by giving classic literature and U.S. history a bit of a facelift. He injected zombies into the world of “Pride and Prejudice,” and he added some vampires to the story of President Lincoln and the Civil War. It is his latter addition to history that is the subject of the latest summer blockbuster release, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” While the premise is intriguing, the movie is much less so. It’s another case of a possibly interesting idea that gets a little lost along the way. Of course this story is pure escapist fantasy, and has to be treated as such. As much as we’d like to blame supernatural evil such as vampires for the blight of slavery in the United States, it’s not going to happen. And as fun as it might be to think of honest Abe Lincoln out there beheading monsters in the night, that’s not realistic. Setting that aside, what a movie like this needs to be a success is a fun story, fun characters, and some action that seamlessly blends into the historical context. That doesn’t really happen here. Though it may be a fun concept in novel form, the film is dark, gritty, and mirthless. It’s more focused on splashes of blood than any bursts of excitement it might generate in the audience. That is where the film fails. The action sequences — which are plentiful — are ridiculously stylized and totally unbelievable. Director Timur Bekmambetov, who directed “Wanted,” goes way over-the-top with the action sequences here. They’re not interestingly shot, they’re too reliant on special effects, and they’re not remotely believable. Neither are the characters. Benjamin Walker does his best to breathe life into the Abraham Lincoln character, but too often it comes off as parody rather than an honest portrayal. And that might work if it weren’t for the wildly ridiculous world of the film. None of the other characters offer much depth or create any kind of connection with the audience either. This is just a film that goes through the motions, loosely using story and characters to connect lavishly unbelievable action sequences. That is an accusation that could be leveled as many summer films in the past, but in this case it is all in service of a boring production. This film feels a little too much like the supernatural action thriller “Priest,” which flopped last May. That movie was all about moving from one dark, violent sequence to the next in service of a grim story and even more grim characters. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” feels like that film’s cousin. There may be a little more levity and familiarity in the characters, but there is a similar absence of heart. It’s a labor to get through the film, which is the opposite of what audiences want during the heat of summer.
Rating: R for violence throughout and brief sexuality. Enter with caution.
Verdict: One star out of four.

Upcoming Releases:

Friday, June 29 — "Magic Mike," "Madea's Witness Protection," "Ted," and "People Like Us"