Hauntingly Beautiful Story!

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2019)

Everything from the passionate encounters between Ryder and Oldman's characters, Mina and Count, to the eye-catching, enchanting gothic scenery had me absolutely mystified and my eyes glued to the screen.
The story follows somewhat closely in comparison to the novel, giving life to the classic in quite a splendid retelling (if you will). Everyone is familiar with the story, or at least the character, Dracula, so going into this film I'm sure everyone has their own set of expectations. What I didn't expect was to be as intrigued and truly interested as I wound up being. The (just over) two hours of film manages to fly right by as Coppola shows us his take on this beloved classic. Oh, boy, I cannot tell you truly just how much every little detail of this movie from the shadows, to the scene's setting, to the character chemistries and portrayals, and last but definitely not the least, the score of the film pieces together a striking visual that is hard to forget.
As many others stated on here in their reviews, Oldman sets the bar so high, giving the most untouchable performance as Dracula, that even the OG Dracula himself couldn't surpass nor could even wish to replicate it.
Another great portrayal that I feel must be noted is Hopkins' role as Van Helsing. Hopkins' delivers this character to us in such a way that's so "as a matter of fact" that you wind up rooting for him as much as you do Dracula himself.
So, why a 9? Why not a 10?
Simply enough: Keanu Reeve's misperformance. His attempt at playing Johnathon Harker is as stiff and underwhelming as it is painful to watch. Watching him play Harker makes me truly wonder what the everloving hell Mina Murray sees in him. Obviously it's not his personality because the character falls about as flat as a cardboard castle on a rainy day. Surely someone as in love with his fiance as Harker claims to be would show a little more expression if things went as south as they did in this film. As big of a Reeves' fan as I am, I wholeheartedly believe this movie could have truly benefited from a different actor as Harker, and then would be without a doubt worth rating a perfect 10.