year 5 Day 108

movie: The Last Witch Hunter
starring: Vin Diesel, Michael Caine
genre: Action, Sci-fi, Thriller,
year; 2015
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: An immortal must relive his original death in order to unlock the secret to killing a reincarnated witch.

This felt more like the beginning chapter of something then the whole thing, which made me think that maybe it was based on a book; but I didn't see any credits listing it as so.
It's fairly typical in the idea that there is a group of bad guys who answer to bigger badder guys, who in turn are part of a secret society who are trying to raise the dead. That had me thinking about the old Hammer film Taste the Blood of Dracula. and about a dozen or so other "they're in a cult" type of movies from the 1970's.   There were also elements that made me think of Blade  and Highlander.

Elijah Wood plays a priest who is next in line to look after the Diesel character, which was one of the most misused roles I've seen in awhile. It was almost like he was thrown in for the sake of having another recognizable name.
I've heard a lot of grief about this movie, and there were moments when it was nothing but CGI. Which, I felt was a total let down. The idea though of the witch bar was cool.

We open with a flashback of the 1200's showing us the original battle between the Diesel character and the witch. This is the thread that anchors the movie as we progress, as he needs to remember what happened in that battle. And the bad guys keep trying to keep him from learning what he needs to learn. I almost wanted to watch it without the big action scenes. I think this could have been just a few centimeters better if it had some more character/dialogue plot and less slice and dice. At the very lest, more magick, as all the actual witchy stuff seemed to be clumped together in the same fifteen minutes of air time.

I know there was talk of a sequel, and I for one hope they actually do have one, as this feels more like an introduction then a completed piece.

what did I learn? Too much CGI these days, not enough practical props/effects being taught.