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The kind of densely over-plotted action-fantasy that director Breck Eisner (“The Crazies,” “Sahara”) nails in “The Last Witch Hunter” is something that many films attempt to pull off but are unsuccessful in doing so. Eisner’s success can be attributed to two things: his self-assurance and his patience, both of which compensate for the film’s script whenever it becomes embarrassingly thin (especially during its rushed finale). Still, if nothing else, “The Last Witch Hunter” is so much more adept than other recent convoluted post-“The Matrix” adventure films about a superhuman men-of-action (Vin Diesel, in this case) who see the world for what it really is, and are humanity’s last hope of maintaining a peaceful status quo. In “The Last Witch Hunter,” Vin Diesel plays a man who sees the world for what it really is, and is humanity’s last hope of maintaining “The Last Witch Hunter” is measured enough to make you want to suspend your disbelief, in contrast to most other films, which rush through expository dialogue and bluster their way through action scenes.
In the film, Diesel gives a particularly charismatic performance as Kaulder, a witch-slayer who, in the days of ye olde vikings, was cursed to live forever by the Witch Queen, played by Julie Engelbrecht. After centuries of wandering the Earth without being confronted by another living being, Kaulder has become conceited as a result of his involvement in the witch-hunting organization Axe and Cross, which is led by mortals. But when Kaulder’s sidekick and the chronicler of his stories, Ellic (Michael Caine), passes away on the day he is set to retire, Kaulder investigates and uncovers a plot to bring back the Witch Queen, who has been dead for hundreds of years.
Because “The Last Witch Hunter” is about to get so corny from this point on, you might want to give yourself a wedgie for enjoying it up until this point. Kaulder, in order to put an end to the reign of the Witch Queen, must “remember [his] death,” which is a clue that Ellic has left for him in the form of smudged fingerprints all over one of Ellic’s most prized books. On his bumpy path to remembering, Kaulder compiles an embarrassingly absurd Rolodex of adversaries and acquaintances with whom he has only a passing acquaintanceship. Their ranks include Max Schlesinger (Isaach De Bankolé), a blind pastry chef-cum-magician who makes cupcakes out of psychedelic moths, butterflies, and maggots; and Belilal (lafur Darri lafsson), a squat, curse-slinging warlock whose bushy beard and barrel chest make him look like one of ZZ Top’s touring bassists. Both of these characters are played by Isaach
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What makes this scenario work is the periodic flashes of intelligence that prove that the three screenwriters behind this movie thought about what motivates Kaulder. These flashes of intelligence occur at random intervals throughout the film. The arrogance that Diesel typically displays is appropriate for his character. There is nothing that he hasn’t experienced, something that he makes sure to point out to Dolan the 37th (Elijah Wood), Ellic’s successor at Axe and Cross. Diesel is utilized effectively in this sense, demonstrating that he is more than just a blunt instrument in the scenes in which he huskily broods and sweet-talks his way around the film’s most unwieldy exposition. Diesel is utilized effectively in this sense. Very few action stars have the acting chops to convincingly mansplain their way through a scene in which mystic rune stones that control the elements are used to start and stop a thunderstorm. Diesel is one of the finalists in the race.
The Last Witch Hunter Quiz
Even fewer directors have the level of sensitivity required to sell scenes that are as conceptually all over the place as the ones that are displayed here. But thanks to Eisner, there are thankfully very few moments in “The Last Witch Hunter” that have the impression that they were shot in a hurry (could we please get this guy to direct the upcoming film sequel to “Doctor Strange?”). Scenes such as the one in which Kaulder and Chloe (Rose Leslie), a young witch, flirt at Chloe’s hookah bar, feature romantic banter that has a genuinely playful feel to it. There aren’t nearly enough scenes in which Eisner can flex his muscles and demonstrate that he’s a stronger storyteller than the script with which he’s working; the best is probably when Chloe comes home and silently tries to ward off a menacing spirit with an array of light bulbs. There aren’t nearly enough scenes in which Eisner can flex his muscles and demonstrate that he’s a stronger storyteller than the script with which he’s working. This scene will instruct you on how to watch the show. No other character needs to point out that the light from the bulbs is Chloe’s only line of defense against whoever or whatever is trying to break into her house. Simply observing Eisner at work is sufficient to impart that knowledge.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this The Last Witch Hunter quiz.
During large set pieces that are driven by special effects, Eisner’s direction is just as thoughtful as before. He is a reliable choreographer, but none of the significant action sequences in “The Last Witch Hunter” are as good as those from his surprisingly atmospheric remake of George Romero’s “The Crazies,” which he directed not too long ago. But the flashbacks to Diesel’s “Dungeons and Dragons”-worthy encounters with the Witch Queen and modern-day skirmishes with Belial do look good, and it’s not just because Eisner has such a keen eye for composition. Also, Simply put, “The Last Witch Hunter” is poised in a manner that the vast majority of fantasies ought to be, but aren’t. There is some wiggle room in the scenes in which the characters are required to act as though they are living with the decisions they made a couple of scenes earlier. When poor Michael Caine has to explain to viewers the Witch Queen’s plan to spread a human-decimating plague using the various witches that Kaulder locked up over the years in the Axe and Cross’s “witch prison,” you know you’re watching an atypically dopey but consummately well-assembled fantasy. Caine’s explanation is one of the telltale signs that you’re watching a well-assembled fantasy, despite the film’s atypical It’s possible that “The Last Witch Hunter” is corny at its core, but it’s cool enough to make you believe that it’s not, even as its creators try to sell you a story that you’ve seen in some form or another a great many times before.
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