A story as old as time… Witches roaming the Earth, some are good, most are bad and the struggle to keep the peace in a imaginary scale. When one strays from the path, there’s always someone there to right the wrong. In this case that someone is Vin Diesel (Kaulder), The Last Witch Hunter.
Synopsis:
The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches are still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including Kaulder, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful Queen Witch, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen curses Kaulder with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved. Today Kaulder is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to Kaulder, the Queen Witch is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.
For being a movie about a witch hunter, there’s not much witch hunting going on but The Last Witch Hunter is a fun movie to watch. The storyline is not too far fetched that will distract from what you are seeing on the screen. Assuming, of course, that at this point you submerge yourself in the idea that witches and witch hunters do exist. Without that assumption the film would fall flat on your lap. If you ever find yourself reading a graphic novel and loving it, this movie is for you.
In the beginning we first meet Kaulder in what appears to be medieval times. There’s not much of a back story to get to know him but we know that he is a man with integrity and morals. This is apparent by the way Vin Diesel portrays his character from the very beginning. Helping his army of brothers out and finishing what he started. Sound familiar? Well, it should.
Vin Diesel seems to play these roles over and over again from, Saving Private Ryan, Pitch Black, Riddick and Fast & Furious just to name a few. As much as how “One Dimensional” you may think his acting is, this is not by accident, it is a way of life. This is the way Vin Diesel is off screen. The guy is an all around good person with much integrity and morals as the characters he plays. Family is what’s most important to him and tries to keep his personal life off magazines and tabloids. And you have to give him credit for that.
Kaulder is in Diesel’s wheelhouse, an immortal man who outlived what he treasures most, Family… Instead of dwelling in the past, he decides to join the Order and clean the world of bad witches. But you can’t make the world a better place on your own. He acquires the help of Dolan 36th & 37th (Sir Michael Caine / Elijah Woods). Following Diesel, Caine and Woods were phenomenal in their roles. These two performances are what makes the movie worth watching. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the female protagonist.
Rose Leslie as Chloe was not able to breathe life into her character and her performance was less than lackluster. Her accent was so thick that at times I could not understand what she was saying.
I think that the special effects of the film were ok. I thought the Queen Witch was completely CGI but apparently it was played by actress Julie Engelbrecht though there was CGI on it.
I think The Last Witch Hunter will not do good at the Box Office but for those who are brave enough to wander in to this film, will be pleasantly surprised. Keep in mind that this film is not going to change your life or be nominated for any academy awards but it will take you away from your normal life and make you forget about bills, work, school and everything else… for about 106min. then back to your life. At least you don’t have to go and hunt for witches.
