[Movie Review] The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Director: Breck Eisner

Writers: Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama

Runtime: 106 min

Main Cast:

Vin Diesel as Kaulder
Rose Leslie as Chloe
Elijah Wood as Dolan 37th

Review: by Erika T

I’m a big fan of Vin Diesel. I also like Elijah Wood and often run into him in person at Comic Con (SDCC’s anyway). So that made it a little easier to want to give this new potential franchise a chance. I attended the panel for this at New York Comic Con, which hyped up my interest even more. They even gave out free tickets to this film. Of course as a critic that doesn’t make a big difference for me, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have an extra if I found it enjoyable enough to warrant a second viewing.

Witches have lived among humans for centuries in secret. Kaulder (played by Vin Diesel) slayed the Witch Queen long ago, gaining immortality in the process. Overseeing that witches keep up their end of the bargain to not use magic against humans, Kaulder learns that humans may have their own secrets and motivations.

Either way, new threats are arising that only he can stop, but he can’t do it alone.

What I Liked:

I thought the story was entertaining and there were funny lines. As someone that enjoys urban fantasy and paranormal works this is right up my alley. I thought the character designs and CGI were cool at times. Vin gets plenty of action as the central character, which should satisfy fans. The story isn’t going to win any awards but I was engaged from beginning to end, though very little surprised me. Michael Cain’s presence definitely didn’t hurt either. I always enjoy him on screen.

What I Didn’t Like:

While I liked the CGI at times, there were other times where it was very badly executed. I was thinking a few of them might as well have been cartoons. The chemistry between Vin Diesel and Rose Leslie is way off. I was cringing at all of their scenes together, which came off as contrived. Dom and Letty (of Fast and Furious if you’re living under a rock) is an OTP of mine and it’s like night and day to compare them. I actually thought the film was brought down a little when she came into the picture. Screen time is split time between Vin being with Elijah and then being with her so I think that severely limited opportunities for a good ensemble cast chemistry.

Summary

While it’s mildly entertaining, The Last Witch Hunter isn’t really a must see. At the NYCC panel Vin expressed that they wanted to start working on a sequel. If the money is there I suppose it could happen, but they would need to improve on the storytelling. Building a super successful critic-proof franchise like Fast and Furious is not easy to replicate but I can’t blame him for trying.

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