Synopsis –The last witch hunter is all that stands between humanity and the combined forces of the most horrifying witches in history.

My Take – Its really hard to remember the last time I saw Vin Diesel in a non franchise film (Riddick and the Fast & Furious series). Yea, it was back in 2008 in the awful Babylon A.D. a film which even Diesel disowned right before the release. Somehow right from the 1st look of this film, I knew this film would not be anything original. The poster was generic, almost reminiscent to a poster of one of Vin Diesel‘s “Riddick” films. Even the title was generic, “Witch Hunter” having been just recently in the very delightful Jeremy Renner- Gemma Arterton film called “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.” Despite all that I decided to watch this film, mainly because it is a Vin Diesel film! As consistently one-note his tough guy roles are, at least Diesel certainly knows how to entertain his audience. It is perhaps difficult to adjust to, but there was a time when Vin Diesel was in a position to turn down sequels. After a fresh breakthrough with The Fast and the Furious and xXx, he refused sequels to both the films as in his mind because he had already put a show in Pitch Black (followed The Chronicles of Riddick & Riddick). One franchise on his resume he felt well enough. Fast forward to the present, we are now five Fast & Furious movies beyond which Diesel was indeed poked (with at least three new sections in the planning) and his return to the xXx series on the horizon. Original films with Vin Diesel are today the exception and judging from his latest is perhaps just as well. The film may not be a sequel, remake or (comic) book adaptation, but that does not mean that it’s full of scenes and plot elements that have been collected from a variety of films of the same genre. Especially characters like Blade and Constantine who quickly come to mind. During an age in which mainstream Hollywood entertainment seems fueled wholly by endless comic-book franchises and nostalgic resurrections of old television shows and even novels, one is almost tempted to embrace this film simply for not being based on preexisting material—for being able to express itself without having to be too weighed down by audience expectation. The surprise of the film, is that it succeeds, especially during its first half, in enveloping audiences in a world that’s intriguing in its uniqueness, creating as it does a mythological universe from the ground up and filling it with enough colorful detail to make it feel truly immersive.

Yes, it not perfect! Especially the pacing is a little off in the second half, but the film as a whole is very entertaining & superior especially when compared to films like Seventh Son (released in Feb 2015) & The Season of the Witch (2011)  which had a very similar themes. The story follows a witch hunter Kaulder (Vin Diesel), who during ancient times managed to kill the Queen Witch (Julie Engelbrecht) & got cursed with immortality. Eight hundred years later, Kaulder is the last witch hunter of his kind. A congregation of priests called the Axe and Cross were commissioned to help Kaulder over the centuries in his sworn mission to incapacitate and incarcerate all the evil witches. Tragedy strikes just as Dolan the 36th (Michael Caine) is handing off the gig of supporting & handling Kaulder to Dolan the 37th (Elijah Wood), and Kaulder vows to find and punish whoever is responsible. It doesn’t take long for Kaulder to find the culprits: the followers of his number one enemy, the Witch Queen who cursed him with immortality, are behind this dark magic. Some witches are good, some are bad, there’s a witch council and a witch jail, and Kaulder is around to make sure everyone stays within the guidelines — no black magic, like the kind that the 14th-level warlock known as Max Schlesinger (Isaach De Bankolé) is hustling to some bakery that makes cupcakes with bugs or something. There’s an entire world of witches who pass for human; they hang out at this bar owned by a cheeky redhead named Chloe (Rose Leslie). He enlists the help of Chloe, a dream walker witch to hunt down the loyalists who are working feverishly to resurrect her, setting up a major confrontation between good and evil to decide the fate of mankind. The film start off with a solid introduction into the dark age battling an ancient evil witch that has the power of the elements & earth were throw into a 10min scene of them hunting her down, This is whats good about the film, it doesn’t just throw you into a story leaving plot holes at the beginning like not knowing why Kaulder became immortal, it actually explains this & also give’s the film something to work with as the story progresses. Directed by Breck Eisner (The Crazies), we get slivers of the franchise building when Kaulder clicks into his witch-hunting mode — he can breathe on windows to reveal Icelandic sigils that indicate magic is nearby, for instance, or use unexplained powders and potions to reveal messages and symbols. He can use random items to dowse for the witch that’s causing turbulence on his international flight; some young dummy just threw her runes together in her bag, not knowing they would combine to create a crazy electrical storm! The film gets points in my mind just for being a fantasy film, something we see very little of these days. And director Breck Eisner has conjured up an attractive looking blockbuster with some fun creature designs and a world which seems to have some kind of depth to it. Even though it is just another rushed up generic movie, but to be entirely honest, it is not that bad. It’s Vin Diesel’s dream, and the fact that it exists is deeply strange and somehow satisfying. There’s a neat twist or two that I didn’t see coming. Even Wood gets a few enjoyable throw-away lines, like “I’ll get a receipt!” when Kaulder gives him $20 for a cab. The only thing really that lets this film down is its pacing. It tends to jump from an action to slow portions especially in the 2nd half which kinda drags down the film, (in my opinion) a film like this should never do that considering the story line. Then there’s Vin Diesel, playing Vin Diesel.

As predicted, Vin Diesel‘s acting was as one-dimensional as ever. His look was as unchanging as ever too. He looks the same whoever character he played — Riddick, Toretto, now Kaulder. They should have kept the ancient Kaulder look which would have set the character apart. As predicted also, Vin Diesel‘s pervasive good guy vibes are very apparent no matter how tough or violent he gets. He’s hulking, a little stiff and sounds like he chews ball bearings for breakfast. Mostly he reminds me of a charming, monosyllabic potato, there’s just something likable about him. The unlikeliest Dungeons & Dragons fan in the world somehow convinced a studio to finance a film partially inspired by his favorite characters. It’s hard not to marvel at Diesel’s determination while watching this film, because it’s clear he’s just following his bliss. Michael Caine and Elijah Wood play priests of the Axe and Cross, who were Kaulder’s personal assistants, advisers and bodyguards, Dolan 36th and Dolan 37th respectively. However, their roles were not as big as their names would make you expect. Caine was as cool as you’d expect, acting like he was Alfred or any of the recent Caine roles you can recall. His performance is like always a respectable effort even though he may only be just phoning this one in, being so short. Elijah Wood looked very wrong in this role. The way he looked with a priest’s collar was very awkward. Being a very likable actor, he tried his best to stick to whatever he was handed with. Rose Leslie, who gained popularity as the wildling Ygritte in TV’s “Game of Thrones,” is a polarizing actress, either you will like her or you won’t. Well, I do like her, so I liked that she has moved onto Hollywood, and she gives a strong feisty performance as her TV character did. On the whole, ‘The Last Witch Hunter‘ is an entertaining popcorn film with decent actors, reasonably well established atmosphere and interesting events resulting in a movie that is surely worth a watch. The Last Witch Hunter wants to position itself as the start of a new franchise but I can’t see that happening, mostly because it already feels a little limp and leaden after a single entry. Although it’s doubtful that The Last Witch Hunter will become a cult favorite like The Chronicles of Riddick to green lit a sequel, it’s still a fairly enjoyable way to spend 106 minutes.

Director – Breck Eisner

Starring – Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood

Rated – PG13

Run Time – 106 minutes