Should Have And Could Have!

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2012)

Yep, I did enjoy parts of this movie, which makes its viewing all the more maddening! I liked the narration a lot, especially Lincoln's words about the nature of life, remembrance, history and what people choose to believe or not believe. That was a fantastic set-up for what should have been one of the more original movies of this summer! Unfortunately the movie proved to be soo unequal in its nature and content, in that it resembled watching a car wreck unfolding before your very eyes. I liked most of the cast, the acting was non-too-shabby, and the story, ah the story, it made for an interesting premise.
But the movie veers in and out of reason, continuity and even clarity. Sometimes the characters say and do things, and I cannot really understand how they got to that point or when the story shifted.
Like the Twilight vampires, these vampires can also walk in daylight, and lo and behold join the Confederate cause-celebre, slavery, though the vampires don't want slaves to cook their food, they want them to be their food...which puts an interesting slant on the whole bloody episode that was the Civil War. The vamps in this movie resemble a bunch of southern dandies, bored out of their skulls by the many years of a meaningless existence...oh yeah and apparently they also don't heal fast, can't glamour anyone etc...their superhuman abilities seem to manifest themselves in some instances, in others they seem to mysteriously vanish...
If I had to choose, I prefer the vampires from "True Blood", "Interview With A Vampire", "Blade" and even "Underworld", those are the ones I know and am more familiar with.
The vampire trend has netted some interesting projects, ranging from good to just plain awful.
"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" falls somewhere in-between, as does its equally disappointing compadre from before "Priest"...
I really wish this was a more positive review, because there are things to like in this movie, which perhaps under the hand of a more able director, could have been (and should have been) a much better movie!