Writers: Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless
Starring: Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood, and Michael Caine
The Last Witch Hunter opens with, what seems like, a finale as a small army treks through the icy wilderness and descends towards a giant, evil tree. Whilst there, they explore the snake-like passages and entwined wooden walkways to eventually be ripped apart by, I’m assuming, fantasy witch-like demons who kill the majority until a showdown with Vin Diesel’s lead character Kaulder. Before we know what’s happening, he’s face to face with the lead demon/witch and kills her with fire but not before she enacts a curse through his very existence which is to live forever.
Cue titles of the film and cut to an Abu Dhabi flight with Vin’s character watching the thunderous sky and people around him sleeping, which I did not see coming. It feels like the weirdest, most trippy, Fast & Furious spin-off ever. He then finds a modern witch on the plane who has been carrying ancient runes, takes them off her, and does some super witch hunter stuff to stop the storm and save the plane. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the film as Vin saves people, while sometimes forgetting to save himself.
Next up is Michael Caine, who turns up early on to give a ‘witches live among us in secret….’ voiceover and we quickly learn that he’s some kind of priest explaining that witches and people have lived together for years but have an agreement so that both live and neither fight each other in order to keep the balance. It turns out that Vin and Michael are friends; he’s basically been his Alfred in some sense for 50 years but without the charm of that connection from Nolan’s trilogy.
Next up in a strange cast is Elijah Wood, who’s the younger religious generation to Michael Caine’s older chap and before you know it, Caine is out and Wood takes over as Vin’s new companion. In reflection to this change, Vin talks about the building of the city and I like its heart, its idea but I’m not sure Vin has the full package to bring it to life in the normal-looking world. He’s decent, as are the cast, but the film lacks in connection at this point. Ironically, there’s not a lot of spirit.
The film does offer up a rather exciting bar sequence where things get interesting and start to kick off. The additional of Rose Leslie brings some gravitas to the situation but there’s still too much plot explaining and The Last Witch Hunter tries to be too clever instead of revelling in its escapism. Where there should be energy, it gets a little dull and self-explanatory. I wanted more from this and ended up feeling that a game version of this would be more enticing. However, if you’re happy to delve into a fantasy world of real-life magical witches and hunters that live alongside humans, then this is for you. But, on the other plain of reality, if you’re after something a little deeper and one that connects more intensely, there’s a lot better out there already that’s smarter, snappier and less clichéd.
The Last Witch Hunter is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD on March 7.
Dan loves writing, film, music and photography. Originally from Devon, he did London for 4 years and now resides in Exeter. He also has a mild obsession with squirrels and cake. The latter being more of a hobby. Favourite movies include HIGH FIDELITY, ALMOST FAMOUS, ROXANNE, GOOD WILL HUNTING, JURASSIC PARK, too many Steve Martin films and Nolan's BATMAN universe. He can also be found on www.twitter.com/danbullock
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