Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

So, apparently, Abraham Lincoln; in addition to being one of America's best loved presidents, slave abolitionist and liberal, spent his nights hunting vampires (at least in the early part of his life). He gives it up to concentrate on getting elected but, like Arnie, can't stay away from his true vocation for too long. It's giving nothing away to tell you that as a yong man he witnesses his mother being murdered by a local vamp and goes out for revenge, not really knowing what he's going up against. Fortunately a friendly vampire hunter happens along to rescue him and take him under his wing. Cue 80's style training montage and then we're thrown into the thick of the story/action.  After my initial concerns Benjamin Walker settles into the big hat and actually improves as he has to play older and older, he makes a convincing later life Lincoln. If anyone was ever born to play a young Liam Neeson it's this fella I've never really got along with Dominic Cooper on screen but he's ok in this and for the most part the rest of the cast hold their own. The star of the show is the visual style, particularly when vampires abound. Director Timur Bekmambetov is the man that brought us the atoundingly good Nightwatch and the reasonably good Daywatch both films showcased his visual flair to an extent that he hasn't really been able to match since. This foray back into the world of the undead has brought him as close to that initial promise as we've seen. It also features one of the best set-pieces (on the train) I've seen in  along time. So the action is thrilling and stylishly done, the acting is exactly what you'd expect from this kind of thing. The pacing however is a problem. The opening third is good, the final reel steams through like the train most of it is based on, the middle is a little flabby. Unfortunately, as with real life, politics raises it's ugly head to ruin everything and all you can do is wait for the big man to pick up his axe again. The political angle is intrinsic to the storyline but what could have been another interesting montage to mirror the vamp hunting one form earlier is simply whitewashed over. This doesn't detract from the fact that I came out of the cinema with a big grin. It's not going to win many favours amongst the critics but, really, what do you expect from a film called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?