Not the best, but a night of decent fun.

Rating: 6/10 (21 June 2012)

I saw a pre-screening with minimal expectations, and I must say it exceeded them, so that was good.
To get things straight, I did not go into this thinking I was in for an amazing story or amazingly fleshed out characters. I don't see any reason these kinds of films can't be 10/10s when you take them in their proper context but it definitely leaves you wanting more out of what you watched, regardless of genre or expectations. There is a faint sense of something lacking in the film...okay maybe more like a molding cheese on a rotten apple stench, but that doesn't mean there still aren't more delicious snacks in this film's refrigerator!
I would say the movie is simply flawed in small areas, nothing on a grand scale. There's lack of exposition on why certain things are the way they are, and essentially you have to suspend your disbelief further and further with every scene. There is a consistent lack of consistency in how the action scenes play out. This constantly leaving you wondering why characters didn't die amidst what you just saw on screen, or asking yourself "how the f*ck did this black dude learn to flip around and fight vamps?", not to mention a few cheap set-ups with even cheaper payoffs. Even though you're not suppose to be looking too far into the action sequences for something like that, because they're made to look cool, and they do, but it definitely takes you out of the experience at moments because what you're seeing just completely defies logic, even within the universe they've created for this film. As I said, each new action scene requires you to expand your bandwidth of disbelief, and you can't help but notice that you're kind of accommodating the film's need for you to do that. Like a Russian Doll that never ends, you keep having to remind yourself, "well the way this scene is playing out is f*cking retarded, but then again it is Abe Lincoln fighting vampires". You shouldn't have to say that to yourself in a well done film, even of this genre. But this film is far from poorly done either.
To get a little more picky, I'd say the first act of the film runs a little too fast, kind of rushing the development for Abe's vampire slaying character, which is unfortunate because the set up in the beginning was decent. So yeah things are a little speedy at first, especially after the inciting incident and first act turning point.
Overall, a solid 6/10. Entertaining, over the top, and a little ridiculous for reasons other than the obvious. I put this one on the level of "21 Jump Street" in that even though it fulfilled many of the genre expectations, was decently entertaining, and had a lot of heart to it, both films still fall a little short because both seemed to forget what really matters to keep your audience curious, a decent story that we can get lost in as a viewer.
I'm only giving the negative critiques I have of the film because you will still get what you want and expect from this film, fun visuals, a few laughs, some legitimately cool action scenes (and not just in the traditional sense, but something that actually seems a little fresh in style. Do I dare to claim after the 70 minute point or so the action gets a little too absurd?). The only thing that really stands out to me in the end is that it seems like there was no significant need for Honest Abe to be the protagonist. This could have worked just as well and been just as much fun with any other host of characters. The historical context wasn't really necessary for me. Maybe I'll scope the book and see how it works there.
If you liked "300" and can deal with a story as coherent as "21 Jump Street" you will get some fun out of this. History buffs and Vampire buffs, stay away, I don't even know where to begin with the accuracy and lack of explanation issues for both American history and why it needs to tie into this story, and the lack of exposition on what may or may not have been altered in the vampire mythos.
Watch this baked out of your mind and I can essentially assure a great time. Sober? Well I can't say I'd recommend it but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone curious to check it out. If you actually wanna see this movie, I think based on that alone you will likely enjoy yourself!
I came out feeling like I could have used a little more in certain areas of the film, but also felt like I had been entertained, but just not nearly as much as I should have been. I dunno, maybe compare it to Pauly Shore's best movie or something, minus his voice appearances in Disney films. Easily forgettable but potentially memorable. Overall, I think it's worth taking a risk on if you're pondering forking out the cash for it, but I'd recommend cheap Tuesday or a paid date.