Like the book-better than the title would suggest

Rating: 6/10 (28 November 2012)

Seth Graheme-Smith's central premise - that slavery represented a boon for vampires and one that they were willing to fight for on the confederate side of the U.S. civil war - works unexpectedly well. The movie plays out the more goofy part of the notion - that Abraham Lincoln fought them individually and later collectively as President - as a straight-up action movie in line with "Air Force One" and the like. Some reviewers have faulted the film for an overly serious tone but given the campy nature of the concept itself, this taking itself seriously also works well. Basically, adding to the camp factor would have produced an annoying trifle rather than a watchable, if limited, American action picture. While the protagonists (Benjamin Walker as Old Abe and others) come across as fairly bland and serious, the vampire characters come across as menacing and, pardon the pun, bloody-thirsty particularly Erin Wasson as an evil seductress. (where was she when they were casting Catwoman?). The battles they fight although implausible (including on top of a train falling into a canyon) do make for some entertaining action sequences. In short, a popcorn movie worth a discount rental, just try not to think about how fighting something with the ability to turn invisible would pretty much be a non-starter (unless they had a really powerful smell).