A few new notes to an old story

Rating: 7/10 (19 September 2003)

The movie isn't bad, which is also to say it isn't great. Somewhat better than the average offering in the sub-genre. Maybe it's that it tries too much to blend the gritty-city sets of the Nicholson-Keaton Batman, with the sexy vampires of the Anne Rice trend, with all the cool gadgetry of the Blade series. The story does add some nice twists to the usual bland perspectives on the beasties, and it certainly doesn't hurt to have Kate Beckinsale running around in patent leather, butt-hugging pants. So it's down to goth/s&m vampires versus the lycans (simply because it is too much effort to say "Lycanthropes"). I sided with the Werewolves early on, and it was nice to see them lauded for technological inventiveness, even thought they managed to do their fair share of dumb things. The casting had some shiners and a few stinkers. The costumes and sets were great. The script may have *ahem* bitten off too much for a standard movie length. Worth seeing, but only once. So the real question becomes: Will this movie make it trendy~cool to be a werewolf now? Gothlings and vamp-wanna-bees beware, there's a new big dog in town.