Films featuring the supernatural have been in a slump for a while now. If it’s not about sad-sack vampires or the living dead taking over the Earth than audiences don’t seem to be asking for it. Enter The Last Witch Hunter and a little up and coming actor named Vin Diesel, he’s done some movies about cars or something. No stranger to action though and a fantasy geek at heart, Diesel serves as more than the star of this mystical movie, but also as Executive Producer. Word is that the main character of Kaulder is largely based on an old D&D character of Diesel’s.
Witches, secrets hidden in plain site, and The Deez doing what he does best! What’s not to love!?
Love would be a strong word for this fall filler film. Dropped here in October because it’s the closest fit, being close to Halloween and witches already on our minds, but it’s also steering clear of the mind field that is now any given year. Between April to August and November to December it’s all about the blockbusters. Not that there’s anything wrong with those movies, but unfortunately they’ve raised the bar on the smaller action films like The Last Witch Hunter, here. If they can’t compete with the spectacle of Avengers or Jurassic Park then they need to come strong with compelling plots and compassionate characters, and unfortunately this movies just falls in between.
There’s nothing really wrong with being in the middle, but it can leave an audience wanting more. Going into this movie I was expecting something more along the lines of Underworld but with witches and wizards. There was hope of seeing a world where magic was all around us but always occurring just in the very corner of our eyes. While the movie does give us some of that in the history of witches being decedents of an old race that could control the elements and The Axe and Cross, a religious sect that’s charged with keeping witches in line through force. It’s only through Kaulder, an immortal witch hunter, that we really experience the world. The two best examples of what life is like on the magical down-low are in an underground magic bar and some mystical fashion show for the witchy elite, but through the lens of Diesel’s portrayal everything just comes off as kind of dull.
The Deez is doing what he doesn’t best and no one should fault him for it. Over the years we’ve come to expect a particular type of flavor from him and he always delivers, in an ensemble cast. Alone though he’s your favorite action figure, he’s got sweet moves but you have to put in all the emotion yourself. Diesel’s screen time overshadows nearly every other actor, this means that the world we see is through the eyes of someone who’s kinda bored all the time or at least acts like it. Only Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones), Kaulder’s plucky sidekick that he picks up along the way, gets near as much screen time but she’s also so familiar with the magical world that she’s not surprised by anything either. I hate to break it to you now, but don’t expect too much from both Michael Caine and Elijah Wood. Although both deliver excellent performances that they could do their sleep, they’re both under utilized and almost serve more as plot points than characters with purpose or ethos.
As cliché as it may sound the film suffers for not having someone new to magic and is freaked out or is asking questions. A Charlie Day type could have infused the film with some needed jokes and he would have also served as the audience’s portal into a strange new world. The film needs someone inside of it to be excited, otherwise it’s left with what its left with; a straight forward, nothing fancy, action flick.
Speaking of the action, it’s what you’d expect from a film staring Vin Diesel. Lots of heavy hitting and the occasional brief shoot outs are littered through the movie as Kaulder moves from set piece to set piece unraveling a centuries old mystery and beating up colorful characters along the way. Come to think of it there’s only about two characters that don’t get ruffed up by the bald bruiser. The action scenes are filmed well, not too choppy but not with any particular flair. The most creative fights are usually when Kaulder faces off against one of his main adversaries, Belial (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson). Here there is a little more magic worked into the fight scenes, still not enough though to make them particularly impressive.
Overall, The Last Witch Hunter isn’t a bad movie, but conceptually it gave fantasy fans the hopes of a better movie. On paper Vin Diesel wielding a firey sword and fighting against witches under the guidance of the Catholic church should make for a pretty good time. Include Michael Caine, Elijah Wood, and “You know nothing, Jon Snow” (Rose Leslie) and I would have thought that this movie would have enough backing it up to make up for any other areas that are lacking. Instead Diesel comes across as lifeless and unimpressed, spreading the same vibe across the rest of the film. It makes for a an experience that isn’t awful but leaves audiences looking for a magical spell to make it better.