Last night I went to see the newly released film Blood: The Last Vampire. A live action adaptation of the original anime short of the same name from 2000.
This is the latest in a series of reimaginings, sequels, and adaptations that have emerged since the award winning original. These have been of mixed quality: the manga sequel Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 (or 2002 as it was for the Western release) was pretty darn dreadful; while the anime reimagining, Blood+, was a truly breathtaking success. Part of the problem for this stream of additions to the fanchise is living up to the masterpiece that was the original. Although short, and not having a particularly challenging storyline, it mixes a gloriously captivating kernel idea with intreguing characters and mesmerisingly beautiful animation. I was blown away for the entire 48 minutes of runtime the first time I saw it (and have been ever since, to be honest).
With this in mind I was naturally quite nervous when I went to see this latest offering. However, I need not have been. Although it can't live up to the originality (by definition it never was) and stunning beauty of the original, it is a thoroughly enjoyable romp of a film that also contributes something meaningful to the franchise. While (as with everything else so far) the storyline won't trouble those little grey cells overly, the action is pretty much non-stop and heavily stylized in a manner that excellently suites the feel of the film. Additionally, for anyone who's watched or read anything else in the series, it also fleshes out some more of the myth behind Blood.
My one gripe would be the CGI, which at times is god awful. In the modern film and TV industries I don't think there is an excuse for having poor CGI. My take has always been; do it good, or don't do it at all. I just wish Chris Nahon would have stuck to that adage.
Otherwise, if you're a fan of the original I think it's well worth seeing. If you haven't seen the original, you could do far worse than choose this as your introduction to the franchise, just make sure you check out the original and Blood+ afterwards.
This is the latest in a series of reimaginings, sequels, and adaptations that have emerged since the award winning original. These have been of mixed quality: the manga sequel Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 (or 2002 as it was for the Western release) was pretty darn dreadful; while the anime reimagining, Blood+, was a truly breathtaking success. Part of the problem for this stream of additions to the fanchise is living up to the masterpiece that was the original. Although short, and not having a particularly challenging storyline, it mixes a gloriously captivating kernel idea with intreguing characters and mesmerisingly beautiful animation. I was blown away for the entire 48 minutes of runtime the first time I saw it (and have been ever since, to be honest).
With this in mind I was naturally quite nervous when I went to see this latest offering. However, I need not have been. Although it can't live up to the originality (by definition it never was) and stunning beauty of the original, it is a thoroughly enjoyable romp of a film that also contributes something meaningful to the franchise. While (as with everything else so far) the storyline won't trouble those little grey cells overly, the action is pretty much non-stop and heavily stylized in a manner that excellently suites the feel of the film. Additionally, for anyone who's watched or read anything else in the series, it also fleshes out some more of the myth behind Blood.
My one gripe would be the CGI, which at times is god awful. In the modern film and TV industries I don't think there is an excuse for having poor CGI. My take has always been; do it good, or don't do it at all. I just wish Chris Nahon would have stuck to that adage.
Otherwise, if you're a fan of the original I think it's well worth seeing. If you haven't seen the original, you could do far worse than choose this as your introduction to the franchise, just make sure you check out the original and Blood+ afterwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment