Overall It Comes At Hit or Miss

Rating: 6/10 (19 October 2010)

It must say that I was impressed with the tagline in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" one that will grab your attention and will keep you at the edge of your seat like any love story that includes tragedy and horror mixed in for good measure.
This movie breaks all barriers that stands in the way as we embark on viewing two lovers able to overcome their betrayals no matter how big the consequences are. And unlike some other vampire movies that are not worth mentioning, this one delivers what it promises as it adapts to one of the greatest vampire novels of all time and one novel that you can absorb to while reading it.
Set in Romania in 1462, nobleman Vlad Dracula (Gary Oldman) has come home from his victory over the Ottoman Turks to be the victim of bad news as word comes on that his wife Elisabeta (Winona Ryder) has took her own life and her soul can't seek redemption because of her Catholic faith. Angrily, Vlad condemns God, and gains an obsession out of drinking blood that penetrates through the walls.
A few centuries later we go back to 1897, London, a young British gentleman named Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) is set to marry his young lover Mina Murray (Ryder) until words come out that his accomplice Mr. Renfield (Tom Waits) has gone loony and has an appetite of eating insects. Harker leaves merry old England to Transylvania to take over Renfield's place as Vlad's client who has a profound interest in real-estate. Dracula has taken interest in the Carfax Abbey and asks Harker for help in the acquisition. Harker feels uncomfortable with the Count and the whole situation as his anxiety goes from bad to worst. But everything was taken care of smoothly and successfully and Harker couldn't have been more relieved.
However, Dracula sees a portrait of Mina and believes that she is the incarnate of his lover and now his focus is on taking her back. In return, Vlad makes Jonathan pay by falling prey to the four lady vampires who almost drink out all his blood but keeps him alive due to food shortage. Vlad goes off to London and changes his appearance from a decaying old man to a young man like he was three centuries ago.
In London, while passing the time away, Mina awaits for her lover to come back as she spends some quality time with her friend Lucy Westerna (Sadie Frost).Lucy is quite popular with the men as three guys have proposed to her a Texan (Bill Campbell), a physician (Richard E. Grant) and a nobleman (Cary Elwes) whom she chose. When Dracula makes his way to London, he sexually lures Lucy into his trap and takes her off to the living dead. Seeing her strange behavior, that Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) is called on to see what's ailing her. Vlad thinks now's the time to get his hands on Mina manipulating her into forgetting about Jonathan.
I for one thought the Van Helsing character was the most interesting one because he cries out for some much needed humor in this pretty melancholy story which lack in charisma or passion that makes this movie kind of dry at times. The lines given to Vlad and Mina feel like a love scene from "Dark Shadows" and the relationship between them seem held back. And they never fully reconcile. Once she hears that Jonathan is still alive, they go off to Hungary to get married and coldly gives him a Dear John letter. Who's the bad guy here? The evil blood-sucking vampire or the deceitful ex-lover?
I must admit some of the dramatic scenes helped improve Stoker's novel. Mina as Elisabeth's incarnate was very effective to the movie and was handled with care and her being romantically involved with Jonathan and it should have kept that story that way instead of killing them off in the realms of English propriety.
Reeves and Ryder were really good in their roles, I'm saddened to say the Oldman fails to impress as the Impaler himself. Sure he looks good for the role, but the lines given to him were pedestrian and not very provocative. Ryder is also guilty in this conviction, but not as bad as Oldman.
It's a shame the leads lacked the panache given to the characters, but the supporting players were beyond excellent and it was them who held my interest throughout, though they weren't given much to do. Which is sad because to me this story was like a car that is nice to look at on the outside, but doesn't have that steam to carry on through.