The Last Witch Hunter. Rated M (supernatural themes and violence). 106 minutes. Directed by Breck Eisner. Screenplay by Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.
Cursed with
immortality for preventing the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht) from wiping out
humanity with a deadly plague during the Middle Ages, witch hunter Kaulder (Vin
Diesel) now tries to keep the peace between witches and humans in the modern
world.
Accompanied by
priests (known as Dolans) from a secret witch hunting organisation, Kaulder
realises that traces of dark magic are beginning to appear. When the 36th Dolan
(Michael Caine) suddenly vanishes in what was obviously a violent struggle, it
becomes clear that the Witch Queen and her followers are planning their
revenge.
On paper, The Last
Witch Hunter would have looked like a sure-fire hit. As he has proved with his
successful Fast and the Furious and The Chronicles of Riddick films, Diesel is
a capable and charismatic star. Even though his range as an actor is limited,
he always knows how to give his devoted fans everything they want.
The final result
on screen, however, is a different matter. It all begins promisingly, with a
great (if very dark) opening sequence in which Kaulder and the Witch Queen
fight to the ‘death’. But once we arrive in modern times, the script becomes jumbled
and confused. In Caine’s sudden absence, Elijah Wood (The Lord of The Rings) becomes
the 37th Dolan before he, too, is given less and less to do.
Apart from a
couple of well-staged sequences overloaded with CGI, the film’s real interest lies
in the character of Chloe (Rose Leslie), a ‘dream walker’, who accompanies Kaulder
into the dream state of his past. Leslie is a great match for the smouldering Diesel,
and in many of their scenes together, we get a real sense of the fascinating
film The Last Witch Hunter might have been.
This review was
commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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