The movie “Dracula Untold” recasts the life’s history of Vlad the Impaler, the man who inspired the historical Count Dracula. Set during the 15th century, the movie depicts Vlad III Tepes (Luke Evans), here prince of Wallachia, struggling to hold peace in his country which has been ravaged by war for a long time.
However, this peaceful life only lasts for so long, as the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Mehmed II (Dominic Cooper) requires sustenance towards their army asking for 1000 Wallachian boys including Vlad’s son, Ingeras. In a fit of rage unwilling to give up not only his people but also his son, Vlad seeks for a more sinister approach. He travels up to the ominous Broken Tooth Mountain and there he meets with a timeless vampire (Charles Dance) who offers him to turn into a vampire and take unimaginable power, refusing to pay the price.
Vlad agrees enabling him to become a powerful vampire especially with the abilities to take on the super human form. While he literally beats the forces to keep his empire in tact he needs to make a balance at the same time as he tries to withhold the rage of bloodlust enabling him to think rationally. The movie ends with a concrete climax in which Vlad has to sacrifice everything he has in order to save his people and son.
The cast and crew of ‘Dracula Untold’ includes:
Luke Evans as Vlad III Tešpeš / Dracula Sarah Gadon as Mira (Wife to Vlad) Dominik Cooper as Sultan Mehmed II Charles Dance as the Master Vampire Art Parkinson as Ingeras (The son of Vlad) Director: Gary Shore Screenwriters: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless Producers: Michael De Lucia, Alicia Vikander. Themes and Analysis: 1. Authority and Obedience At most, and for the most revenue earning, Dracula Untold appears as a tale of how power comes with its price and how better is it to fight than to make people suffer by taking so many innocent lives. Decision made by Vlad to take on the dark appeal of a vampire is taken in the hope of safeguarding his family, people and country. The movie raises the question of whether we should be able to make a case for giving up parts of our personal humanity for the greater good and whether the ends justify the means. The inner mafia Vlad’s bloodthirst traces Vlad’s struggle of being in possession of monstrous powers and defeating his enemies without ever wanting to lose all the humanity he had.
Fatherhood and Legacy:
The reader can feel the significance of Vlad’s relationship with his son Ingeras as where they have been surrendered, there are complex emotions that come into play. This relationship cements his fear of failing the protector and father. This father-son relation therefore explains and justifies the legacy of honor and selflessness that stands to juxtapose Sultan Mehmed’s exploitative and selfish tendencies to use little boys as soldiers. Vlad’s paternal love makes him more relatable and, this sympathy makes it even more heart-wrenching when he turns into Dracula.
Destiny and the Price of Immortality:
Ages old vampire warns Vlad that if he is to tread the path he chooses, darkness will be his final residence and he will pay the price but this price will be irreversible. This theme is interlaced with the notion of ‘destiny’ which pervades the movie, after all the choice Vlad makes ensures him shackled to the fate he determines. Forever being cursed is presented here as being cursed rather than a gift so this stark period is one such trend that is common in vampiric legends and thus is able to assist the film make the audience feel tragic.
Hero or Monster:
Dracula Untold tries to cast its curtains and finish off one side by claiming to continue once again by touching on the most intriguing areas of the story where boundaries of heroism and monstrosity seem porous at the edges. Vlad wishes to save his family and people which is a righteous cause, but he’s a figure that people don’t fear so much. To the residents of the town, he is a hope and a nightmare. This duality makes his character even more complex especially when one takes note that he is meant to be seen as a vampire who is evil; a portrayal all too often associated with Dracula.
Visual and cinematography:
The style of the film is a harmony of a historical period and supernatural period pieces, the film is dark and filled with drama. The battles are grand, enhanced even further by the well done camera work. As Vlad turns into a swarm of bats mid fight, this whole scene serves as a reminder to the audience in case they forget about his super powers.
In the movie Broken Tooth Mountain, the Master Vampire sets a scary atmosphere with its lighting and architecture combined with the caves, this makes the movie more intense. Further adding to the narrative of light and dark, Vlav’s castle looks beatific while the mountain has a more rugged and darker look to it.
Critical Reception:
The film Dracula Untold was met with mixed reception at the time of its release. A consensus was reached in regards to Vlad’s character played by Luke Evans, he was complimented on his performance for during it he showcased charisma. He ensured that character was not portrayed as overbearing, the character had certain vulnerabilities to him which made him a great character.
But there were some critics who believed that elements of historical inactions should have been removed. It was 92 minutes long and there was complexity within the themes which should have been expanded on.
Dracula Untold has a low 25% rating with viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, although critics had a slightly more favourable rating of 58% for the movie. A strong positive point of this movie for the viewership was its different perspective on Dracula’s origin along with having a good amount of toned action scenes.
Taking a look at the movie from a box-office perspective and its economics:
Rotten tomatoes had a slightly mixed response towards the movie yet the box office earnings tell a different story. It managed to get around a whopping $217 billion for the worldwide gross production. It indeed has raised a red flag on many viewers and sceptics as it had a production cost of around $70 million only and reaping in around thrice that amount vividly shows that a sympathetic view of the vampire was quite engaging to the audience.
Also, the effort made by universal’s film studios in an attempt to deep dive into the dark universe cinematic empire with the release of The Mummy abruptly affected the taking off of Dracula Untold as they seem to have huge plans for that realm. Overtime, it became clear that it had a sheer connection with the movie alone and didn’t fuse into the universe with anything else. That is the fact that is used as the bone of contention between million other factors of mysteries of the universe.
Dracula’s mythos in itself is quite rich and two dimensional in theme and context and though this specific movie didn’t live up to its expectations there are multifaceted doors it opened for a variety of good things. The action scenes coupled with Luke Evans’s character’s tragedy alongside Vlad the Impaler allows it to unfortunately be a great movie for dark yet imaginative lovers as drama and fantasy together is always a recipe for success.
The film maintains the ever-present themes of moral contradiction, power dynamics and self-sacrifice but inscribes them in new ways. It presents Dracula in a new light, emotionally connecting to the audience in a way by humanizing the Prince and his choice of monstrosity which now feels reluctant. The legend of Dracula now feels entirely new, given an emotional depth and caused the audience to see one of the most popular characters in literature in a fresh light.
Conclusion:
Dracula Untold (2014) alongside retaining key aspects of the vampire lore brings forth a new story of the priests battle with the heart of the demonic and super natural. The plot is very interesting and action packed, but, yes, it has quite big flaws to be a conventional future of the movies. The movie is a good amalgamation of sacrifice, collaterals, survival, and good graphics and enticing magic. It only makes sense that Luke Evan’s Vlad Tepes makes the film more memorable amongst the vampire movies and sets the standard for vampire movies to come.
Watch Free Movies on Fmovies