Dumb and overdone

Rating: 6/10 (24 May 2013)

There are 2 things I really dislike about this film. First, it's one of the dumbest plots in cinematic history. Second, there is so much CGI here that you are tempted to spend more time speculating what is real and what is CGI, that you may forget to pay attention to the story.
That's not to say it's a bad film, because it is very entertaining.
One of the things I liked was how cleverly they wove real history into this ridiculous plot. For example, the death of Lincoln's son and the alliance between the vampires and Jefferson Davis. It's really quite clever.
Now, about the CGI. Too much, too much, too much. In some spots it became little more than a kung fu movie. And the scene where Lincoln and his nemesis are jumping across the backs of stampeding horses...dumb, dumb, dumb. Perhaps the most notorious overdone CGI here are the sequences on the train! But, CGI did its magic in some good ways to -- when it put us in historical settings; that was quite impressive.
In terms of the acting, I won't dwell long here. I thought Benjamin Wilaker, as Lincoln did quite a good job. But the standout here is Anthony Mackie...and considering the number of films he's recently appeared in, currently appearing in, or working on...well, I guess lots of people are as impressed as I am.
Although in some ways the film is cleverly crafted, in other ways it is just so damn dumb. I walked away with an overall negative feeling toward the film, although not as totally negative as I expected to. Glad I waited for it on cable; wouldn't have wanted to waste my money on a ticket.