Plot: What’s it about?
Vin Diesel stars as Kaulder. He is immortal and has set his goal on exterminating witches. The film begins with a somewhat convoluted backstory as we see Kaulder some 800 years before the present time. He is able to defeat the black witch, but she cursed him with eternal life.In the present time, he’s assigned a priest to assist him. This time, he’s paired with Dolan 37th (Elijah Wood). Michael Caine is also given a small role, but it’s nothing new. Despite a lot of exposition, the film is fairly simple as it’s really just Kaulder trying to save humanity from the queen witch. She has been resurrected, and Kaulder knows the ins and outs of how they operate.
I admit to being a bit surprised with the film. I was expecting to despise it, but it does have some qualities to it. Never does it become a must-see, but there are some fun moments scattered throughout. It would appear that Diesel chose this role largely out of interest as he’s a big star who can pretty much choose any role he wants. This wouldn’t have been my first pick, but more power to the guy. The film does lose steam towards the end as it feels like it’s just going through the motions. The effects are solid overall, but at times the film is a bit too dark to really see what’s going on. With that being said, I think the film earns a mild recommendation.
Video: How’s it look?
Lions gate continues to do wonderful work as this disc is quite pleasing to the eyes. It’s not the best transfer I’ve seen from them, but there’s little to nitpick as well. Colors appeared sharp and well defined. The print used showed no visible flaws or any kind. All in all, this transfer should please fans. The image is AVC encoded with a 2.40:1 ratio.
Audio: How’s it sound?
We get a DTS:X track that when downmixed is A DTS 7.1 track. It’s quite impressive as all the channels are given plenty to work with. It’ll likely rattle some items in the room. We get a good deal of LFE and feel really immersed in this world. Vocals are equally as strong as well. So even if you don’t have the latest capabilities, you won’t be disappointed either way.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Crafting the Magic – is a pretty lengthy, but still standard making of. Expect plenty of interviews with the cast and crew talking about the project. It’s nothing too in depth, but worth a look once, I suppose.
- Deleted Scenes – Only two here. Neither of which are worthwhile.
- Audio Commentary – the director sits down to provide his thoughts. There’s pretty much no stone that’s left unturned as this track provides plenty of details on multiple topics.
- Animated short films: The Origins of the Axe and Cross – We get four very brief clips, but they’re mildly interesting to see.
- Sizzle reel – This shows us film clips from the film featuring the song found during the closing credits. It did little for me.
The Bottom Line
Far from great, The Last Witch Hunter is still not the disaster you might’ve feared. At no time does it turn into a great film, but it at least entertains through much of its running time. It has a bit of humor to it, and moves at a nice pace to earn a mild recommendation. Rent it.
