Sharp

Rating: 8/10 (27 August 2009)

I have not had very much experience with the comics, so I cannot make many comparisons to them. When you unleash Snipes, it's pretty hard to mess it up. This manages to lift it beyond that, and while the action(which is never excessive, and always forwards the plot), cool and well-done shoot-outs and awesome, well-choreographed martial arts alike, is all intense, fun and exciting, it does marvelous on almost everything else, as well. From my understanding of the title character, this really nails it(and the gallery, including and beyond that, is magnificent, very colorful and imaginative). The psychology is accurate, and it's also communicated nicely to the audience, not talking down to us and not being too obvious. Design is excellent, the utilitarian approach to the weapons is spot-on. The casting is great, Dorff, Lords and Jover make such good vampires. So does Udo Kier, but A, this isn't the first time he portrays one, and B, everybody who's seen the man in anything could have told you that. For such a subject, this is somewhat different than the traditional movie about the creatures. It is rather bloody, violent and gory, and not everyone will have the stomach for it. The tone is brutal and gritty. There is convincing atmosphere and suspense in this. The acting is a tad mixed, though there are no downright poor performances. CGI isn't bad, it was done on not that huge of a budget considering the amount, and it certainly works. The music is kick-ass. This is nicely stylized, and it doesn't go overboard. The humor is genuinely funny, very natural, and doesn't try too hard. Script is well-written, dialog and story alike. This is paced well, very fast and smooth. The cinematography and editing are flawless and just a little bit creative, without this becoming an experimental film. There is plenty of strong language in this. The DVD comes with an informative commentary track of several people(cutting back and forth between them), two featurettes I will review on their respective entries here on the site, half a dozen minutes or so of random behind-the-scenes footage, and a few short, and spoiler-free, interviews. I recommend this to fans of those who made it, and anyone who enjoys Wesley fighting on-screen. 8/10