The Last Witch Hunter

Starring: Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood, Michael Caine, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Rena Owen, Julie Engelbrecht, Joseph Gilgun
Directed by: Breck Eisner
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An immortal witch hunter (Vin Diesel) begins investigating the murder of his friend. He soon uncovers a plot to resurrect the long-dead witch queen.

Review:

Tim: It feels like no one has quite cracked the code on how to make really good movies like this. I genuinely believe Vin Diesel's heart was in the right place and he really wanted to make The Last Witch Hunter a good movie. Maybe it's just that special effects are still not good enough to make this feel believable. Maybe it's anything with magic has some built-in cynicism towards it. Maybe no great directors have tackled these modern fantasy films. Maybe the budget just wasn't big enough. Whatever the cause, this is yet another disappointing, average fantasy movie.

The idea of Vin Diesel being a witch hunter is a cool one. It gives him the opportunity to kick butt in a slightly different way that we're used to. The fantasy elements certainly differentiate this film. Some of the ideas here are interesting. I like the idea of a witch hunter cursed by a witch with eternal life. These characters who have been alive for centuries are always somewhat intriguing. Vin Diesel fighting a witch queen is certainly something I'm interested in seeing.

Speaking of Diesel, I suppose he did about as good as he could have done given the limitations of the script. He tackles the role with enthusiasm and energy, so it's easy to overlook some of the sillier moments. I was impressed the film got Michael Caine. He doesn't have a great deal to do, but he makes the movie better. I always enjoy Elijah Wood and he delivers a solid performance here. I'm a fan of Rose Leslie because of "Game of Thrones", so it was great fun seeing her here. She was fairly strong- I'm hoping she has a nice film career ahead of her. For a film like this, The Last Witch Hunter certainly boasts an above average cast.

The plot of the film doesn't give us a great deal to get excited about. Everything we see is okay and very little is above average. There are a few plot twists, but you can see them a mile away. I guessed one of the big twists in the first twenty minutes of the film. The script borrows from other movies and nothing feels especially fresh. It's just rearranging deck chairs. We might not have seen the elements arranged in this order, but we've seen them all before. This is a predictable film that feels like it has low stakes. We know Diesel will make it to the end and face off with his adversary and we know how it'll all turn out. The journey to that point isn't terrible, but it's not really going to get your blood pumping.

The Last Witch Hunter is a perfectly ordinary, generic action fantasy film. Even though Diesel clearly cares about it, there was never enough here to break away from that thick layer of lackluster films in this genre. This is an okay movie and nothing more.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: I, Frankenstein; Underworld, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters