Blade meets Neo meets Buffy meets Gavin's Dad! (Blood - The Last Vampire [2009] (DVD))

Member Name: dididave

Product:	Blood - The Last Vampire [2009] (DVD)
Date:	04/08/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Action scenes are entertaining, Gaina is a great martial artist.

Disadvantages: Some terrible, terrible acting, a re-hash of loads of films, very confused.

Vampire human hybrid Saya looks sixteen but is in fact four hundred years old. Working for a government agency she has but one goal in life, to destroy Onigen the matriachal vampire who leaves death in her wake. However, to do this she might have to rely on something in her she hasn't utilised in a long time...her humanity.

"Blood: The Last Vampire" has a terribly confusing nonsense of a plot. It is clearly nothing more than a vehicle to maximise the bloodshed and action in the movie. However, to be fair, in this respect it is hugely successful. Based on a comic series and then a 2001 film, the filmmakers have clearly decided to use the basic idea and nothing more. Instead of getting a sophisticated martial arts film akin to "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" what we are left with is a re-hash of every Hollywood action movie in recent years. This leaves a film that sits uncomfortably between Western blockbuster and Korean martial arts flick.

Undoubtedly entertaining this is still one weird mixed up movie from start to finish. Every single set piece seems to be stolen from or, to put it more kindly be influenced by other films. So we get bullet time effects very similar to "The Matrix", a car chase blatantly stolen from "Underworld" and even a rooftop chase a la "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". The whole film is almost like a parody of everything else out there with Saya so obviously a female "Blade/Buffy" impersonation I am surprised they haven't been sued for copyright.

The acting is also somewhat bizarre and the choice of cast eclectic to say the least. Saya is the films only saving grace acting wise, played with intensity if a little lacking in humour by Gianna who is apparently a Korean megastar. Considering her performance and obviously impressive martial arts ability it is easy to see why. Unfortunately, nearly all of the rest of the cast are out of place. Award for strangest casting and acting ever perhaps goes to Larry Lamb as American General Mc Kee. This is the bloke whose recent roles include Gavin's dad in "Gavin and Stacey" and "Archie" in Eastenders for God's sake! His mock American accent and scenes with the equally wooden Alison Miller as his daughter are nothing short of unintentionally hilarious. Add to this a bizarre Government agent/father figure played like Obi Wan Kenobi and you have possibly the most conflicting acting in any film you will ever see.

Indeed at times I felt like the whole thing had been dubbed into English. The film has all the explosions and appeal of a Hollywood film but then watches very much like a chop socky martial arts movie. Parts of it looked like it had been lifted from eighties martial arts programme "Monkey Magic"!

Despite all this I reluctantly enjoyed it. The action sequences despite being contrived were very well done. There is plenty of gore, and the decapitations and loss of limbs as I would expect from any eighteen certificate with vampires and a samurai sword wielding sixteen-year-old. It is all very exciting stuff if you can get past the woeful dialogue and just chew popcorn through to the end. The end is a major disappointment though, after some great fight scenes it is very rushed and has a "there might or might not be a sequel" vibe to it.

All in all "Blood: The Last Vampire" is very much a DVD rental at best. I enjoyed it but I am still confused by what exactly it was supposed to be. As an action film it flies by quick enough but don't expect to be drawn in by the story or the characters. You will certainly not remember them an hour later.

Summary: Strangely wonderful?