The Last Witch Hunter

There was a time when the movie gods were treating audiences to the omnipresence of zombies. One could not swing a dead cat without running into zombie-related cinema. It was all the rage at the box office that was experiencing a certain celluloid renaissance with overloading narratives within the zombie zone. Sure, zombies are still the norm in pop cultural media on both the big and small screen (anybody not heard of The Walking Dead?). However, another iconic horror-induced symbolthe witchis making its way back into prominence in the cinema circles. Unfortunately, the twitch of the witch is explored in an over-the-top, messy and misplaced CGI-coated production of the outlandish The Last Witch Hunter.

So there are a number of reasons wh...

Fighting the same witch twice in the 800 years!

I have seen Vin Diesel in many avatars, from the sci-fi to action, adventure and thriller, they all suits him better, but this supernatural theme seems weird. There was lots of action, so it does not feel like a fantasy film, which is merely the idea of film concept. From the director of 'Sahara', the story of an cursed with eternal life witch hunter named Kaulder. Except the opening, the remaining film sets in the present New York city where he has to stop a witch who is trying to bring back the witch queen from the dead.

It was just another those films where the ancient meets the modern world. Okay, I agree a few films did impacted from the last two decades since the evolution of the...

The initial tableaux:

Initial, part I: We're in the black plague era in Europe, say 13th century. The spread of the plague is attributed to the spellcasting of evil witches. Vin Diesel's character, Kaulder, is one of the witch hunters who finds the Witch Queen. Kaulder and company put an end to the plague, but at the cost of Kaulder's wife, his only child, and most of his hunter friends. While dying, the Witch Queen curses Kaulder.

Initial, part II: In current New York City, Kaulder is still hunting witches. Yes, the same Kaulder. He's allied with an old group within the church, the Axe and Cross, which tries and imprisons witches. They also keep secrets. Kaulder's main contact with Axe and Cross is Dolan the 36th...

Arguably the coolest poster a movie's ever had.

Vin & Co. lay the cheese on thick in this one. I'm talking slab of fried haloumi thick. But that's not exactly the end of the world. It's kind of like if Constantine was way worse, or if Seventh Son was way better. With a little 2004's Van Helsing thrown in for good measure.

Final rating:½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didnt quite work as a whole.

You cling to your pathetic life, those closest to you betray you and those you claim to protect don't even know your name.

Hmm, okies. It feels like the studio execs sat around the big table and thought here's Vin Diesel lets build a boisterous popcorn franchise setting piece around him.

Plot has Diesel as the title character who here in the modern world is all that stands between humanity and the combined forces of the deadliest witches in history. Cue lots of crash bang and wallop, digital blitzkrieg and Vin with a glint in his eye in spite of not having the emotional paths required for the role. In support are Elijah Wood, Michael Caine and Rose Leslie, all of whom arguably come under the miscast banner.

There's some smart idea...

Pedestrian horror sorta-superhero starring Vin Diesel

An 800 year-old immortal Witch Hunter (Vin Diesel) now lives in swank New York City, still hunting malevolent witches with the help of two priests, an aged one (Michael Caine) and a novice (Elijah Wood). Rose Leslie plays a winsome witch with mettle while Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is on hand as a formidable evil warlock.

I thought Id like "The Last Witch Hunter" (2015) since it mixes End of Days (1999) with Van Helsing (2004) and elements of Ghost Rider (2007) and The Mummy (1999) but, while Vin Diesel towers in the lead role, the story is meh. The overblown intro with its CGI-laden witch grotto sequence wasnt a good first impression. By the halfway mark I wanted to turn it off, ...