The Lone Jedi of France has seen VAMPIRES, and he says it Rocks!!! I so hope this is true. It's been quite some time since I had my Carpenter film that blew me away. I think the last was THEY LIVE, which was a loooooooooooong time ago. I'm not saying everything since was bad, but I'm saying it didn't blow me away like Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Thing, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, etc... Now for a note for all of you. The following is written by someone not writing in his native tongue, so I don't want to hear anything about spelling or word usage, ok. He's doing the best he can, and I applaud him for doing his best. I know if I tried to write a review in french it would consist of terrible spellings of french foods put together in a string of nonsensical sentences. Besides, look at my paragraph, I can't even spell in my own language! Great work Lone Jedi, and to all others in France, this is your chance to shine, I'd love to hear what you think of the film vs Carpenter's best. Let's hear it!!!!
Don't ask How ! But I've seen it. Even we don't even know when the movie will be out in North America. Here goes my review....who will be Spoilers-free. Because I don't know how to describe a movie word-by-word....However...I can describe my feelings about the whole Carpenter's trip through hell.
I was expecting this flick, since I've heard that Carpenter had replaced Russell Mulcahy on the director's chair. This project could not have been cooler. John Carpenter (The Master of the Genre) meeting the Greatest Myth of the Genre( Vampire's story). Sounds a hell of a match-up. Obviously, like everyone elses, I was disappointed by Carpenter's last work (Escape >From LA). But I knew that this baby would be good. Any movie who got Woods kicking some ass, can't be a bomb. It must have something to look forward, at least.
Because you know, James Woods is one of the coolest actor around, and in this one we got the James Woods typical/Snake Plissken attitude coming from Jack Crow. Is that makes you drool ?
What makes Vampires so powerful and cool, it's the fact that this one is....Truely...a 100% Carpenter's ride. Jack Crow is a typical Carpenter's kind of hero. Jack is doing his little buisiness and he's not answering to anybody. And he's also a survivor, the only guy who see the whole BIG plan that others doesn't want to see. Jack will strand on his convictions 'till the end. Like John Carpenter's kind of atittude.In fact, Jack is an anti-hero, when he's slapping the face of a girl, it's how he is....Luke Skywalker would have never done that to Princess Leia....that's how he's so atypical....but a 100% Carpenter's character..YES. By the way, he's oftenly smoking a cigar, by this trademark he was reminding me the Comix character called Nick Fury. Same attitude, you understand what I mean.
This movie had another surprise too: Daniel Baldwin. The Unknown brother of the Baldwin's family. Frankly, I was not expecting much of him, but since he was playing Tony Montaya, I had to give him a chance. Surprise among all the surprises....you know what ?...he kick ass, like any other Baldwin did before him. He got a little, calm animals rage that will be loved by the fans. He's tough, but also a sentimental...another typical Carpenter's character. There's a scene between him and Sheryl Lee that will make
Sheryl Lee gives an honest performance, but I was not very attracted by his character. It's wrong, since I should have been attracted by her. I did not believe in his character, like I did not believe in the chicks seducing Keannu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
There's also Maximilian Schell (The Cardinal) who gives a Strong performance, full of ambiguity. The Villian is called Valek (played by Thomas Ian Griffith), an unknown for me. So I can't compare my opinion with this one and his previous performances. He's the REAL Christoper Lee's of the 90's, from a Vampire's Geek Point of view. He got a real Scary presence....but he's also a seductor. Wait to see him seduce Sheryl, you won't have seen a scene like this since....the old Lee's movies. He got a real Physical presence too, his scenes are almost the best scenes of the movie. Especially when he's fighting, a real barracuda hunting for more blood.
In fact, all the movie is based on a big Hunt. It's a team, working together , hunting Vampires. It's the simple storyline of the movie. From this notion, Carpenter is inventing some genious scenes that I had never seen on a Vampire's movies. Like you have Vampire's who are armed !!! Or that most of the scenes takes places during the day, not always by night and like the usual Darks rooms. The movie is really full of surprises, some of the characters that you will love ends up, others ends down. It's Maximum Carnage. The Scene on the motel is very an Anthological Piece, that will be remembered for a while. Graphic violence, Bloods everywhere, very gorish but also unconventionnal. The Vampires hunters are having so much funs, while killing those blood-suckers, that it's disturbing. They are like the ALIENS Team (from the director who did Pirahnas 2, I don't remember his name), but a team working for money, without any military ethics. After the Carnage of the motel, the guys are relaxing, happy to have get ridden of their preys and they are blowing away the whole motel in a final blaze of glory. Crow's team is a really cool. The film works because of them. The motel's scene is the Opening of the movie. You got the feel immediatly, and it doesn't stop from there.
The Religion takes a huge place here, but I won't talk about it. You will have to understand the whole thing by yourself, make your own opinion.
Warning for this movie. The Master is Back....with an attitude.
2 Toes Up !
The Lone Jedi......
