076 4 Crappy Acting . Crappy Effects . Crappy story line . Hardly any action , That looks like crap . And its just not worth your 2 hrs .
053 4 Liked this movie . A lot of action . maybe a little gorey for some
075 4 If you liked the anime movie or series this live action is a huge waste of time .
The Last Vampire from Production I.G . and Aniplex attracted audiences for its digital animation . The film won many awards , sold many copies on DVD and even received praise by Titanic Academy Award winning director James Cameron for its superb animation .
With a manga sequel , a video game and an anime television series titled Blood + having been released , in May 2009 the live-action film made its debut .
The plan for a film began in 2006 with Bill Kong , producer of Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon leading the forefront for a live action film to be made . But in the end , Ronny Yu became the producer , French film production company Pathe would be responsible for the production , popular HK martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen would direct the action sequences and Chris Nahon ( Kiss of the Dragon , Empire of the Wolves ) would be directing the film and Chris Chow ( Fearless , Missing ) would be responsible for the screenplay . Joining the crew would be composer Clint Mansell ( The Wrestler , Doom and Sahara ) and cinematography by Hang-Sang Poo ( Fearless , Kung Fu Hustle and Dry Wood , Fierce Fire ) .
The live-action film Blood : The Last Vampire revolves around a 400 - year old human / vampire named Saya ( played by popular Korean actress Gianna / Jeon Ji-Hyun , My Sassy Girl , Il Mare , Windstruck and Daisy ) who is motivated by revenge to find the oldest demon known as Onigen who killed her father . A secret American agency known as The Council led by Michael ( played by Liam Cunningham , The Mummy : Tomb of the Emperor ) who utilizes Saya to seek out the vampires and kill them . Despite her tactics which some of members of The Council question , Saya is the last and only vampire that is willing to fight against vampires .
For Saya , her father was a samurai who fought hard against the vampires but since his death due to Onigen ( who is played by Japanese actress Koyuki , The Last Samurai , Kitaro , Always Sunset on Third Street ) , Saya has been raised and trained by her father's retainer Kato ( played by Yasuaki Kurata , Shinjiku Incident , Legend of the Seven Monks , Fist of Hero , Conman in Tokyo ) . Kato helps keep Saya focused on her goal of avenging her father but most of all , reminding her that she is human and not a monster .
Meanwhile , The Council dispatches Saya to a high school where the General's daughter Alice Mckee ( played by Allison Miller , 17 Again , Boston Legal , Kings ) attends . Alice is a loner and because her father is the General , many of the high school students think that she gets preferential treatment and thus she is seen as an outcast . And is often teased by two bullies : Sharon and Linda played by Masiela Lusha ( The George Lopez Show ) and Ailish O'Connor ( Wasted ) who Saya immediately suspects that they are vampires .
When Saya easily defeats the two vampires and saves Alice ( who watches Saya killing them ) , Alice goes nuts and tells her father of what has happened . With The Council way ahead of the US military and doing a quick cleanup of the area , Alice's father General McKee ( Larry Lamb ) starts to suspect something is going on at his base that the government are working on and he will do what he can to undercover what is happening behind-the-scenes .
Needless to say , with the General and his men trying to investigate , it causes problems with The Council leading to betrayal and tragedy . This leads to Alice and Saya teaming up to survive against not only the vampires but also any other challenge that come their way and eventually will lead to Saya's final battle with Onigen .
VIDEO & AUDIO :
Blood : The Last Vampire is featured in 1080p High Definition ( 2 : 35 : 1 aspect ratio ) . The film looks extremely vibrant at times , with film grain intact . For the most part , there are scenes that look absolutely beautiful ( especially scenes that showcase the lush scenery of Japan ) and the set design of Saya fighting over this grungy city in Japan looks very cool . But what hurts the film is its over reliance towards CG . Each time Saya strikes a vampire , CG blood splatters . But unlike a film such as Zatoichi which did the same thing but made the blood look artistic , the blood on Blood : The Last Vampire looks as if its a black , globular mess . Even the CG monsters look as if they were created in the early 2000 ' s , not 2009 . Also , because Gianna is not a martial artist ( she's known for her dramatic acting ) , the battles use a lot of editing to make things look stylish and artistic but somehow , makes the fight scenes seem disjointed at times .
As for the lossless audio , the film's soundtrack is presented is presented in English DTS-HD MA . I was actually impressed because the action sequences utilized not just my surrounds but also rear surrounds and although not reference quality , there is good utilization of audio throughout all channels including LFE usage . With that being said , many may be wondering how is the English between Korean actress Gianna and Japanese actress Koyuki . Well , first . . . this Blu-ray does not include the original track with Koyuki speaking English . Her English was very difficult to understand in the original cut and thus , her voice was dubbed . Gianna's English was fine but her conversation in Japanese with Yasuaki Kurata's character was OK ( I know that this will probably not even bother those who are not familiar with the Japanese language ) .
Sometimes I do feel that when foreign talent are made to speak English , it sometimes forced and doesn't work out all that well but for Blood : The Last Vampire , I felt that Gianna did a pretty good job and definitely great to see her make her major International debut .
As for subtitles , subtitles are presented in English , French and English SDH .
SPECIAL FEATURES
Blood the Last Vampire comes with the following special features ( all presented in standard definition and in English stereo ) :
*
* Storyboard Gallery - Exclusive to this Blu-ray release is a storyboard gallery for the Gym Fight Sequence , Powell Chase Sequence and Monk Fight sequence . Using your remote , you can cycle through the many storyboard images .
* The Making of Blood : The Last Vampire - ( 19 : 06 ) Interviews with the cast and crew of Blood the Last Vampire . The cast talk about working with each other , working with crew and vice versa .
* Battling Demons : Behind the Stunts - ( 16 : 48 ) Interviews with Gianna about the extensive training and wirework that she had to undergo and making the action scenes look real . Interviews with action director Cory Yuen and also Allison Miller . Definitely an interesting featurette as you saw how difficult the work was and showing Gianna getting injured and also in one instance , actually injuring another person during the fighting sequence . Definitely an eye-opening featurette in realizing how much she had to go through .
JUDGMENT CALL :
I enjoyed Blood : The Last Vampire and for a live-action film adaptation from an anime series , considering how other live action films based on an anime series ( or even video games ) have been , suffice to say that I enjoyed the film way more than the other following 2009 - released films Dragon Ball Evolution and Street Fighter : The Legend of Chun Li .
I loved the film when it focused on Saya but when it focused on Alice Mckee , it just didn't work for me . In fact , it seems that some of the other talent , the overacting kind of made the film seem very campy at times . The screenplay could have been tightened up and characters intentions were best utilized through a few extra scenes with dialogue in order to explain motivation . Because there are scenes that will easily make one think . . . WTF ? Also , with the other international release of Blood : The Last Vampire having a cool cover featuring both Gianna and Koyuki , I found it interesting that for the US release , for the cover , alongside Gianna , instead of Koyuki they put actress Masiela Lusha ( who played Carmen on the The George Lopez Show ) on the cover and Masiela's part in the film was very , very short .
Granted , the film has its problems within its screenplay and also its CG utilization but it really helps that the film has Gianna as its lead star because for those familiar with her Korean films , she's one actress that is known for her dramatic moments . Despite the film being an action film , it calls upon her to do some major emotional scenes and she pulls it off .
I have to admit that after watching the special feature Battling Demons : Behind the Stunts Featurette , I had more appreciation for Gianna's determination to make the action scenes seem fluid . Despite her fighting scenes were edited to be like a blur , as you will see from the special features , she literally took some major bumps ( at one time while in the air , ramming her head into the crane ) and probably many bruises for this role . Gianna is not an action-star but she was determined to train and go through a lot of pain while wearing that harness in order to make certain scenes happen . Needless to say , I've appreciated her previous work in My Sassy Girl , Il Mare and Windstruck that to see her determination for the action scenes was wonderful .
But with that being said , with the film featuring a crew that has worked on major Hong Kong action films before , I expected more from the final battle . I wanted to see a major final battle and I suppose it made me wonder if Koyuki was willing to undergo the same amount of battle training and wire work that Gianna put herself through .
And I think that was part of the problem where Hong Kong films , we are used to seeing a Michelle Yeoh , Zhang Ziyi or other actresses willing to brave the challenges of wirework in order to make a final battles seem impressive . Similar to Gianna , Koyuki is a dramatic actress and as much I love watching her in film and Japanese dramas , I just don't see her willing to undergo the painful and challenging training for major wirework , Gianna since she is the main character braved the torturous training ( her words ) and was willing to take a few bumps and bruises . Koyuki is a model / actress known for being attractive continuously in Panasonic and Shiseido commercials which air monthly in Japan . It was obvious the film was created in attracting International audiences and in Japan , needless to say , Koyuki in an action role definitely raised eyebrows and drew curiosity .
With that being said , I did enjoy the film and when it comes to action anime or even video game adaptations , it's easy to come to the film with low expectations and just hope somehow , the film was better than you expected . With the release of Dragon Ball Evolution and Street Fighter : The Legend of Chun Li not exactly being the best adaptations in 2009 , at least with Blood : The Last Vampire , the violent essence of the original anime series and the look and feel of the character Saya is retained in this live action adaptation .
001 4 Currently movie vampires are beautiful , seductive , and opulent . Well , most of them , anyway .
Things are a bit different in Blood : The Last Vampire , adapted from a gorgeously animated , plot-thin anime . It's a fast-moving , gory flick with plenty of vampires and swords , but it also suffers from a cluttered storyline ( what's the point of the Elder again ? ) and a predictable plot twist at the end . Jeon Ji-hyun makes a brilliant dhampiric anti-heroine , though .
As the movie opens , we see a mysterious young girl , Saya ( Jun ) , on a train . When the lights go out , she savagely attacks a man at the other end of the train with a sword . Turns out he's a bloodsucker .
Half-vampire Saya works for the mysterious Council , and a kindly man-in-black named Michael - - but only until they find the vampire overlord Onigen . When people start dying on an American army base , she has to go undercover at the base high school . Unfortunately the general's daughter Alice ( Allison Miller ) sees Saya slaughtering a couple of vampires in the school gym , and later wanders into a vampire bar . She's as bright as a smashed lightbulb .
And some of the people working for the Council are determined to kill anyone who interferes in their work - - including Alice's father , General McKee . Alice ends up on a desperate road trip with Saya , trying to dodge the malevolent vampires that are tracking her new buddy . But Onigen is tracking them now , and it's becoming very personal . Cue a Big Reveal of epic clicheness about Onigen and Saya .
Blood : The Last Vampire is changed in many ways from the original OAV , such as Saya's background and her being a dhampir . The whole second half is basically invented by writer Chris Chow - - complete with a rosy-eyed look at Saya's youth - - while preserving the bleak , dimly-lit look that the anime had .
Unfortunately , the first half is messy - - there are too many characters ( the Elder doesn't DO anything ! ) and plot elements ( Vietnam war criticism from a VAMPIRE ? ) that feel randomly inserted . Fortunately director Chris Nahon chops away all the deadwood in the latter half of the movie , and gives the visuals a surreal beauty - - bleak rainy streets , misty forests , and a wuxia-style climax full of fire , water , blood and floating veils .
While the first action scene almost gave me a seizure ( slow-mo ! FAST ! Slow-mo ! FAST ! ) , the splattery fight scenes become cooler later on : Saya smashing through buildings , slicing enemies apart , and dueling with a flying vampire on a rickety bridge . And the vampires are wonderfully ghastly - - bat-winged , fanged , slimy-skinned monstrosities who splatter dark blobby blood . Also , two words : Vampire . NINJAS .
Jeon Ji-hyun / Gianna Jun is absolutely stunning in this role - - she jumps , kicks , spins , slashes , and infuses her character with a sense of hollow loneliness that nothing can heal . And she plays a very different Saya in the flashbacks from four hundred years ago , when her innocence was shattered by her own vampiric nature . Miller does a decent performance as the whiny Alison , and the stunning Koyuki does a pretty good job as the malevolent Onigen .
Blood : The Last Vampire suffers from a ragged first half , but it tightens up into a much more beautiful and memorable movie in the second . If nothing else , watch it for Jeon Ji-hyun .
002 4 When the animated version of this film first came out on DVD in 2002 , I bought it right away . The animation at the time was amazing and beautiful compared to other anime released around the same time . The only gripe I had about it was that it was short , left us with a HUGE cliffhanger at the end and many questions unanswered . For years I had been waiting for them to make at least a sequel . My prayers were answered with the 50 - episode series , Blood + . Instead of continuing the movie , Blood + was revamped to fit a thicker story and plot . Needless to say , I was very happy with it .
So what was going through my mind when I saw a bootleg version of this live-action movie ? Nah , dont expect too much but just watch it since you have nothing better to do today . I'm an anime lover and infatuated with the Japanese culture as a whole , but 95% of their action movies have disappointed me , so I didnt expect much to begin with . As soon as I popped this in and saw the first few minutes , I thought Wow , when was this made ? Early 90 ' s ? . As the movie went along , I noticed a number of scenes from the animated version were integrated into the movie . I was very impressed that they did that on top of expanding on the story and action .
The action was absolutely great , but you have to either appreciate the anime versions or kung-fu movies to begin with . If you're not into this genre , don't bother wasting your time looking for a deep , twisting plot . This is purely entertainment . Especially now that the Twilight series has taken the world by storm ( at least in America ) , you wont find any Vampire / Horror movie with an original plot anymore . I'm also a fan of horror movies , but the genre has become dull .
Bottom line : Watch this movie if you have somewhat interest in ANIME or KUNG-FU type films . If not , don't waste your time .
003 4 Vampires and Samurai action ; a great combination . Such as the case with Blood the Last Vampire , an anime film made in 2000 . It garnered a cult following that several interpretations were made in different mediums . The one-shot ( sequel to the anime film ) manga by Benkyo Tamaoki was published in 2001 , that was also inspired by the anime cult classic film directed by Kitakubo Hiroyuki which has also spawned a Japanese TV series called Blood + . BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE is the live-action treatment of the anime film which was released in 2008 in Japan under the title Last Blood ( aka . Rasuto Buraddo ) . Directed by Chris Nohan ( Kiss of the Dragon ) with screenplay written by Chris Chow , the film focuses on a half-human , half vampire girl named Saya who hunts and kills full-blooded vampires and shape-shifting demons in alliance with the humans . It stars Korean bombshell Jeon Ji-Hyeon ( My Sassy Girl ) in the lead , who is credited as Gianna Jun in this film . I was fortunate that the film is playing on a limited engagement in San Francisco .
Saya ( Jeon Ji-Hyeon ) is a 400 year old half human , half-vampire who was sired by a human demon / vampire hunter and a vampire mother . Raised and trained to become a hunter by a man called Kato , Saya is now the chief operative of a secret organization who hunts vampires called the ' Council ' , in her quest to seek out the most powerful vampire , Onigen - - also said to be one of the oldest of the vampires . Saya is sent to go undercover at a U.S . air force base located in Japan . Saya is a loner and likes to work alone , but as fate would have it , she forms an uneasy friendship with a girl named Alice after she saved her from other demons . Saya is determined to kill her way to find Onigen , but now it seems like the hunter has become the hunted . . .
When Bill Kong announced the live-action rendition of Blood the Last Vampire and decided to shoot the film primarily in English rather than Japanese , I was excited . The film had experienced several hurdles before it went to production , but hey , I guess this is what happens when American filmmakers invest in the making of a film . The film's backdrop takes place during the 1970 ' s with the shadow of the Vietnam War looming in Japan . The film follows the plot and tone set by the anime series , as shape-shifting demons and vampires are living among the human population , they are everywhere and Saya is on the road for vengeance as the most powerful vampire , Onigen ( played by Koyuki , Last Samurai ) is the one who had killed her father centuries ago . The film is a story of vengeance and redemption , and the script by Chris Chow does remember to explore the depths of Saya's soul ; yes , Saya is a vampire with a conscience , raised by humans with some very human emotions and sensibilities .
Much of Saya's background is told in the form of her own narration . I was quite pleased that although Saya looks like someone in her early twenties , she acts like a mature , experience-rich woman . Nicely portrayed by Jeon Ji-Hyeon , Saya is a vampire whose soul is torn between the human world and the demon world . She is at odds with herself , and one may say that her hatred for Onigen is the one catalyst for her to hunt down her own kind . Saya is half human , therefore she can walk under the sunlight , all the more having the same strengths and weaknesses as her full-blooded brethren . Saya still feeds on blood , but she hasn't murdered anyone for them . It does open a small plot hole as to how and when she stopped aging , or if she ages rather slowly but I was willing to overlook this minor gap . The direction by Chris Nohan does also capture the mood , the tone and the atmosphere of the Japanese anime . The film also features several scenes that are reminiscent of the anime film ; the film's opening act carries a lot of nostalgia for its fans as well as the scene in the file room . Some kill scenes and death scenes look like they came from the anime .
Now , granted , this is an action-fantasy film ; so does Blood the Last Vampire deliver in the action sequences ? Yes and No . Yes : There is a lot of action and the fight choreography by Corey Yuen is pretty stylish , cool and intense at times . The use of the usual wire-fu is inherent in the film's fights . There is a lot of slashing and dicing done by lovely Jeon Ji-Hyeon . The film's fights are full of cool posturing complete with moody stares ; it does have a similar attitude to its source material . The fights have that usual bone-crushing impact and stylish swordplay . No : As cool as the film's fight sequences were , they aren't really very different from those seen before and offers very little that is fresh or inventive . The camerawork needed to hang back a little so the viewer can see the moves ; I don't mind the occasional slow-motion as long as it is done right , but the editing had a few missteps that there was a scene with a truck on the cliff that Saya is seen with her sword then Alice tosses it to her - - Flawed editing truly hurts an action film .
The film has its share of blood and gore , but most of them were CGI-enhanced . I thought this ruined the film's tone , the anime had the signature Japanese arterial spray-blood splattering effects , why did the filmmakers resort to cheap CGI ? The film's fights would have felt more faithful to the anime if it utilized red ink and prosthetics . Also , the CGI-generated monsters look very cheap and rather fake ; a clear indication of its limited budget . The final encounter between Saya and Onigen may also seems a little underwhelming , but keep in mind that there is an implied twist ; Onigen wants Saya to embrace her demonic background . The encounter does look nifty , that seems to take place in a dream-like plane of existence but I thought it was a little too short . Koyuki is so beautiful as the evil Onigen .
The film does have its share of weaknesses in the screenplay , it may prove to be downright predictable . The film does establish the links between Saya and Onigen , and you can see the twist from a mile away . I suppose that the direction didn't put too much foreshadowing in its delivery ; that any secrets is meant to be as such . I just found it a little hard to believe that the so-called twist wasn't found out within 400 years . Also , Saya's friendship with Alice felt a little too forced . Alice ( played by Allison Miller ) obviously was only meant as a plot device to establish some human friendship . Saya is handled by an elder named Michael ( Liam Cunningham ) and he was a little underused , but I thought Kato ( Yasuaki Kurata ) added a lot of needed depth to the film ` s story . The ` council ' itself is a bit more fleshed out as a group of different individuals with different beliefs . The question does become asked ; after Saya has killed most of the demons and vampires - - what is to become of her ? She is what she hunts , although she isn't without a conscience and a soul .
Overall , the film does have some missteps , but it did do a lot more things right than wrong . Blood the Last Vampire will no means become a classic ; I did believe that while it should have been better , I was very thankful that the film wasn't a failure . The action scenes does have its share of weaknesses , but they were acceptable and better compared to those done in Catwoman and other Hollywood action flicks with this type of budget . The CGI-enhanced monsters and blood effects hampered the film's fight sequences and I wished for the traditional red ink . The film does fulfill the needs of the main character's development that Saya became one compelling individual . Plus , Jeon Ji-Hyeon does look convincing as a vampire-hunting school girl . The film is aimed towards fans of the anime , it does capture the mood , the tone and the attitude of the source material .
I was just happy that U.S . filmmakers didn't massacre the anime's spirit , that this Americanized version carried enough of the Japanese style and attitude .
Recommended ! [ 3 ½ Stars ]
004 4 First of all , this movie has nothing to do with the newer anime series , BLOOD + , but is in fact a live action version of the older anime , BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE .
Secondly , where the anime relied more on stylized gore , the live action relies way more on stylized sword fighting and stunt work ( which you might think would be a bad thing , where in fact it adds a really cool new dimension to the story and visuals ) .
You have to keep in mind , when going into the live action movie , that the original anime was done as more of a visual test than a character piece , as the animators where more concerned with the stylized look of the anime ( an anime that blended 3D CGI elements and FX camera work with stylized 2D animation to achieve a bold looking , but story light , anime ; technically a studio show real , to use to impress future clients looking to have them do anime for them ) .
Now what the live action movie does is take the 48 minute stylized anime , and turn it into a more character driven 90 + minute movie ( which it does very well ) .
What we get with the live action film , is much more back story ( told through flash backs ) of the main character Saya and of her handlers ( who are played more like , Men In Black types in the anime , but are given bigger roles and more fleshed out characters in the live action version ) .
Also , the anime story is told in the first half of the film , leaving a second half that delves into a more personal story of the Saya character which ties into the first part , in part , and also ties more deeply into her past , and gives us some insight into her motivations in the present .
As for the sword play and stunt work , I'd liken it to that in movies such as , AZUMI , with lots of great stylized sword and wire work done by a very competent , kick butt , female lead .
If I had any qualms about the film , it would be the design and sometimes execution of the demon make up and CGI treatment of the fully realized demon characters . Where as the anime versions where quite elaborate and grotesque , the live action counterparts are much more subdued and even a tad bland in comparison , and at times the CGI versions are of a lower quality than the movie needed , but that is just one little problem that doesn't destroy the rest of the film , or lessen it in anyway .
So overall I'd say that anyone looking for a live action copy of the anime , should just stick with the anime , but for those who liked the anime and would like to see it expanded upon in a live action format , and / or would like to see some great sword action to boot , then this movie is for you .
006 4 Actually improving on the excellent 2002 anime , the new live-action Blood : The Last Vampire is a dynamic horror-action rocket ride through an ancient war of demons that still rages in the modern day . Ji-Hyun Jun of 2003 ' s
The Uninvited
( listed in Blood's credits simply as ' Gianna ' , allegedly because it was thought anglicizing the names of the film's Asian actors would make it go over better in English-speaking countries , which sounds kind of bizarre . . . ) plays Saya , the vampiric half-human ultimate weapon of The Council , an ancient organization dedicated to preventing a demonic takeover of the world . They've operated in secret over the ages and Saya is their assasin and most skilled combatant , a superhumanly strong , martial-arts trained immortal warrior armed with a sword charged up with ' dark energy ' from the legions of demons it's slain . In 1970s Japan , Saya is sent undercover into a high school for the children of military personell on an American army base that the demon shapeshifters have infiltrated . Saya finds an unlikely ally and friend in Alice McKee ( Allison Miller ) , the daughter of the base's commanding officer , and the two find themselves unexpectedly on the scene of a much larger demonic infiltration than The Council expected , and the cusp of a major demon uprising .
Saya has led a solitary life over the centuries , dedicated only to slaying demons , even though - and this is conveyed subtly rather than stated outright - she's inwardly torn . Her vampire half relates to the demons more than to humans . In one of the movie's most telling moments - happening fairly early on and so not a spoiler - Saya cuts herself and feeds her own blood to a demon she's just mortally wounded , apparantly to ease the pain of its death throes and offer some comfort . We see the origins of Saya - her early years in an isolated mountain village following the death of her demon-hunter father , her training at the hands of a kind old warrior , the tragedies that set her on the course of life she's followed for the last few centuries . We don't , however , see the origins of the demon war in any detail ( I'd love to see this part delved into in a sequel ) ; hence we don't see if the demons really are just purely malevolent , bloodhungry beasts , or if they have some other motivation for the war , ' their side of the story ' so to speak . Questions along this line have occured to Saya as well , as seen in flashbacks . So she's spent ages fighting a war that she has doubts about , and locking those doubts inside . She's also led a friendless existance . The other agents of The Council are her allies , but not her friends . The bond she forms with Alice has an immediate effect . Saya is very quick and violent in her actions , but at least once in the latter parts of the movie she seems to restrain herself because , for the first time in ages , there's actually someone who she cares what they think of her . The duo of Saya and Alice compliment each other very well : although Alice has next to nil fighting skills and has to depend almost exclusively on Saya in physical situations , it's Alice that the emotionally damaged Saya starts to depend on psychologically .
The monsterous , bloody action is tremendous . It walks a line between the enormously stylized and deliberately exaggerated-for-symbolic-effect action of Asian epics like
Hero
and the more realistic ( as in the context of otherworldy creatures or phenomena , not what regular humans could do ) vibe that Asian horror movies often strive for , ending up along the general lines of a slightly easternized relative of
Underworld ( Unrated Extended Cut )
. Blood : The Last Vampire is the only movie I've seen where things like a sword cutting an enemy straight down the middle and in two actually looked realistic . There are a couple of moments that could be argued to be too over the top , but they worked for me with the overall flow of the movie . The CGI effects on the demons in certain scenes could have been better ( and this will probably become a major point of contention for fans accustomed to action movies that can afford a hundred million dollars for the FX budget alone ) but , while they weren't the greatest , they certainly weren't the worst - and that includes movies that probably had vastly bigger budgets . And these effects in question only come to play in a couple of scenes . The rest of the time , the special effects ( CGI included ) are just fine .
The only other real drawback is that you could argue the movie was too short . With the amount of ground they're covering it could have been a full hour longer . I prefer to think that the aspects that got short play in this will just be picked up on in a sequel ( I don't know if that's Likely ) and expanded there - the origins of the war , more screen time for some of the supporting characters , etc . But the quick pace , in my opinion , didn't hurt things at all . It moved fast , hit hard , and unlike a lot of movies that go this fast most of the time , it didn't lose its emotional punch or the ability to drop hints at a much larger overall saga than the one chapter we're witnessing here . This is one of the year's best and it's a shame it's flown under the radar of much of the moviewatching public . Highest recommendation .
007 4 Well , here we are . I was wondering if this film would ever see the light of day . For some reason I was expecting a wide theatrical release at some point , but I'm not really surprised to see that it was hurried out for a DVD / BluRay release . And it's actually not that bad . It's short and sweet , and never forgets that it's only a movie about a hot Japanese girl ( the actress is actually Korean ) slicing up vampire monsters in ridiculously bloody ways . The fight choreography at times was extremely good . Especially the forest scene where Kato ( an elderly sword master ) battles an army of ninja-vampires . That's right . . . . . ninja-vampires .
Unfortunately , the CG is just terrible . Every , and I mean EVERY time Saya swings her blade we see buckets of CG blood gushing from the wound ; and it's not even close to looking photorealistic . For the life of me I can't understand the choice to film it like this . Fake blood and blood squibs are relatively inexpensive and easy to make . Even the ' blood fountains ' that we see in Japanese films of the same vein would be more interesting to look at , albeit equally as unrealistic .
The vampire monsters . . . well . . . they look pretty bad too . But only in CG . Up close we get incredible detail and realism despite them being simply a costume . Whereas the jumping and flying sequences look a little too video gamey .
All in all , it's pretty decent if you can respect it for what it is and not expect too much of it . It's still a fun , blood soaked , ride that's best viewed with a group that loves this kind of stuff .
~ nico
008 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
I didn't know about the anime or games associated with this title , I just got it because of a preview I saw and was captured by Gianna's presence and talent . While the premise may be for adolescents ( or less ) , the action is non-stop and the combination of martial arts and vampires is intriguing . Other than that , it is Gianna's show and what a show she puts on !
009 4 I didn't know about the anime or games associated with this title , I just got it because of a preview I saw and was captured by Gianna's presence and talent . While the premise may be for adolescents ( or less ) , the action is non-stop and the combination of martial arts and vampires is intriguing . Other than that , it is Gianna's show and what a show she puts on !
010 4 Gianna Jun does a very good job , she is very focused in this movie . While she resembles a young girl , her character is that of a few Centurys . In this film , she would hold her youth very well while also holding on to much of her wisdom through those few centurys .
Just Watch it . . . . .
014 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
DVD arrived in excellent condition . Action packed movie does not disappoint . Great actors , korean and japanese . I loved this movie !
015 4 DVD arrived in excellent condition . Action packed movie does not disappoint . Great actors , korean and japanese . I loved this movie !
016 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
The live action version of this movie thankfully adds a longer storyline . This movie is just as bloody as the anime , but has some wonderful use of color in many scenes . The acting was good as well as the fight scenes . All in all , I thought it was a very good movie , especially for those who liked the anime version .
017 4 The live action version of this movie thankfully adds a longer storyline . This movie is just as bloody as the anime , but has some wonderful use of color in many scenes . The acting was good as well as the fight scenes . All in all , I thought it was a very good movie , especially for those who liked the anime version .
018 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
A fabulous film with great effects , stunning visuals awesome fight scenes and plenty of blood . . . spilled .
019 4 A fabulous film with great effects , stunning visuals awesome fight scenes and plenty of blood . . . spilled .
020 4 This is a live action remake of the original anime OVA . It closely adheres to the original movie and manga but then takes a different path during the second half of the movie which has nothing to do with Blood + . Story wise , its OK and the acting is also OK , but the effects are cheap CGI and look totally fake . The movie would be better if it look believable .
021 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
Blood is a great Live action take on the Anime Classic . Even if you haven't seen the original film , this film stands on it's own . The only flaws are that they refer to the vampires as demons and they don't show how bad it really was at the school . They do however flesh out Saya back story in greater detail . Excellent action and good special FX make this a must have for fans and new comers alike .
022 4 Blood is a great Live action take on the Anime Classic . Even if you haven't seen the original film , this film stands on it's own . The only flaws are that they refer to the vampires as demons and they don't show how bad it really was at the school . They do however flesh out Saya back story in greater detail . Excellent action and good special FX make this a must have for fans and new comers alike .
023 4 I tend to prefer Asian movies which feature Asian female stars in leading roles and this movie delivers the goods . Gianna Jun is one of the most attractive Japanese females alive on the planet today and seeing her wearing a high school uniform while using a sword was pure heaven ! As a side note , the wearing of high school uniforms by Japanese women is currently a popular fetish in Japan for many Japanese men . - wink-smile . Moving along , the action in this film was feverish and well corographed . The movie story-line stayed true to the anime versions and the special effects team did a good job with the creature make-up . Highly recommended for those people who enjoy Japanese cinema .
024 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
Blood : The Last Vampire is based on a japanese OVA movie and series that doesn't stray too far from the source material . It has excellent fight sequences that do go a little overboard on occassion . The special effects are good in some places and very cheesy in other - mostly due to bad CGI . The story is good but it does ask the viewer to leave logic at the door and just go for the ride . And if you can , you will greatly enjoy the film . If not , don't bother with it .
I you are a fan of japanese live action films or anime in general , pick it up . The Blu-ray has impressive picture and sound .
025 4 Blood : The Last Vampire is based on a japanese OVA movie and series that doesn't stray too far from the source material . It has excellent fight sequences that do go a little overboard on occassion . The special effects are good in some places and very cheesy in other - mostly due to bad CGI . The story is good but it does ask the viewer to leave logic at the door and just go for the ride . And if you can , you will greatly enjoy the film . If not , don't bother with it .
I you are a fan of japanese live action films or anime in general , pick it up . The Blu-ray has impressive picture and sound .
026 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
I own the Anime classic of Blood the Last Vampire and enjoy it every time I watch it . They did a great jod of turning this Anime into a Live Action movie . The actress that plays Saya was excellent . The extras were very interesting . This would have done a lot better at the movie theaters if it had a wider release .
027 4 I own the Anime classic of Blood the Last Vampire and enjoy it every time I watch it . They did a great jod of turning this Anime into a Live Action movie . The actress that plays Saya was excellent . The extras were very interesting . This would have done a lot better at the movie theaters if it had a wider release .
028 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
Honestly , I was expecting a bit more , given that Sony Pictures was behind this movie . The story and actors were alright , but the film as a whole could have used better production values . Basically , it just suffered from sub-par special effects . I just expected more from Sony , given that they've invested quite a bit in the Blood franchise . If you don't expect too much from it , I suppose you won't be too disappointed .
029 4 Honestly , I was expecting a bit more , given that Sony Pictures was behind this movie . The story and actors were alright , but the film as a whole could have used better production values . Basically , it just suffered from sub-par special effects . I just expected more from Sony , given that they've invested quite a bit in the Blood franchise . If you don't expect too much from it , I suppose you won't be too disappointed .
030 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
I liked how they included some scenes from the Blood : The Last Vampire anime in this movie .
The action scenes were pretty good . Lots of wire work . It looks like Gianna did most of her own stunts .
The story seemed like it was missing a few scenes . In the making of featurettes we see pieces of a scene with Saya fighting in a meat locker and another with her fighting two afro vampires . These scenes are not in the main movie . Unfortunately there are no deleted scenes on the extras menu , unless they're hidden as an easter egg that I was not able to find .
Unresolved plot threads and missing scenes aside , this was an OK movie . Watch it mostly for the action scenes .
031 4 I liked how they included some scenes from the Blood : The Last Vampire anime in this movie .
The action scenes were pretty good . Lots of wire work . It looks like Gianna did most of her own stunts .
The story seemed like it was missing a few scenes . In the making of featurettes we see pieces of a scene with Saya fighting in a meat locker and another with her fighting two afro vampires . These scenes are not in the main movie . Unfortunately there are no deleted scenes on the extras menu , unless they're hidden as an easter egg that I was not able to find .
Unresolved plot threads and missing scenes aside , this was an OK movie . Watch it mostly for the action scenes .
032 4 This is an adaptation of the original Blood anime movie . The lesser , but much , much longer anime TV series ' story does not intersect with this film .
First , it looks good . This is not a cheap japanese horror flick ( spare one scene with a flying cgi demon that looks so bad it really should have been left on the cutting room floor ) . Second , It's in English , not dubbed . Third , the film does a great job extending and enriching the original 45 minute fight scene that made up the original anime movie into an 85 minute story .
The downside is , the only actor that I recognized was the american girl with a leading role , but for some reason her name isn't listed here on Amazon as a starring role and it bugged me the entire movie trying to remember what I had seen her in before . I guess I'll just have to check the credits some time . . .
Overall , the film seemed like the slightly rough version of a foreign movie such as the original Japanese release of The Grudge or The Eye . These are recognized as good stories by Hollywood and a big-budget remake is done for American release . The difference here , is that this is the original release and it is already in English .
033 4 - The movie is colorful and attractive .
- There's a lot of action . The actions are okay . At first glance , they look bloody but they're not . It's because anytime blood is flying or a head is cut off , the director makes it clearly look like an animated scene .
- The main actress looks lovely but not convincing as a swordwoman .
- In short , it's worth watching but not buying .
034 4 Blood : The Last Vampire is an enjoyable film , although it promises more than it delivers in terms of story and action . I haven't seen the original anime , so I can't say how it stands up to its source material , but I don't watch anime , I watch films and as I've said it was an enjoyable one .
The story serves mostly as a framework for the action setpieces , and while what's given of the story hints at something much richer than what we're given it turns out okay since the action is fun to watch . We follow Saya , an immortal assassin taking out bloodsucking demons to draw out their head honcho Onigen . Her powers-that-be ( who , sadly remain as such and no background whatsoever is given as to what this organisation is other than their motive of demon slaying ) have discovered quite a lot of activity suggesting demons at the local U.S . Air Force base ( did someone say Western appeal ! ? . . although a lot of these Americans are English , go figure ) . So off Saya goes undercover to see what's going on . Cue the rebellious daughter of the general in charge , a character whose presence only serves to kickstart the rest of the film and offers us little more , and some muddiness and off we go into a gauntlet of ferocious demons , sword swinging , cgi blood spray , bat-winged monster chases , impossible acrobatics , and beautiful imagery displayed just before it explodes into violence .
The action and styleishness are both solid , but neither is fresh enough to carry the film anywhere new or heart-pumping exciting . I was totally hooked heading into every brawl , but coming out of it I felt like there could have been something better . Maybe a different angle , a different cut . The choreography was all there , I just didn't get to see it right . Granted , there was still enough of the visceral element filmed spot on to keep me from losing interest .
Blood : The Last Vampire clocks in at roughly 90 minutes , but another 30 minutes to round it out to two hours probably would have served it well . There was definitely enough in the story and the character of Saya behind this that I'm sure I didn't see , in addition to fleshing out her handlers . The movie was rushed abruptly to its ending , and I can't figure why . I certainly would have happily watched another half hour , maybe more , to see the full story come to fruitition , which would have negated the frustrating filming of the action sequences .
As it is , it does make a lot of promises it doesn't deliver on , but at least delivers on enough points to make it not only watchable , but still quite enjoyable .
035 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
Takashi Miike did one of these . There are many , but this one's on BluRay . It looks like a candy coated Disney Anime Vampire vs Sailor Suited Japanese School Girl Film with guts . . . CGI Guts and gore and action . Feels like comic book ; is like a comic book . Good for you ; good for me .
BD is reference quality sound and picture
036 4 Takashi Miike did one of these . There are many , but this one's on BluRay . It looks like a candy coated Disney Anime Vampire vs Sailor Suited Japanese School Girl Film with guts . . . CGI Guts and gore and action . Feels like comic book ; is like a comic book . Good for you ; good for me .
BD is reference quality sound and picture
037 4 In 2000 , the Japanese animated film Blood : The Last Vampire from Production I.G . and Aniplex attracted audiences for its digital animation . The film won many awards , sold many copies on DVD and even received praise by Titanic Academy Award winning director James Cameron for its superb animation .
With a manga sequel , a video game and an anime television series titled Blood + having been released , in May 2009 the live-action film made its debut .
The plan for a film began in 2006 with Bill Kong , producer of Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon leading the forefront for a live action film to be made . But in the end , Ronny Yu became the producer , French film production company Pathe would be responsible for the production , popular HK martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen would direct the action sequences and Chris Nahon ( Kiss of the Dragon , Empire of the Wolves ) would be directing the film and Chris Chow ( Fearless , Missing ) would be responsible for the screenplay . Joining the crew would be composer Clint Mansell ( The Wrestler , Doom and Sahara ) and cinematography by Hang-Sang Poo ( Fearless , Kung Fu Hustle and Dry Wood , Fierce Fire ) .
The live-action film Blood : The Last Vampire revolves around a 400 - year old human / vampire named Saya ( played by popular Korean actress Gianna / Jeon Ji-Hyun , My Sassy Girl , Il Mare , Windstruck and Daisy ) who is motivated by revenge to find the oldest demon known as Onigen who killed her father . A secret American agency known as The Council led by Michael ( played by Liam Cunningham , The Mummy : Tomb of the Emperor ) who utilizes Saya to seek out the vampires and kill them . Despite her tactics which some of members of The Council question , Saya is the last and only vampire that is willing to fight against vampires .
For Saya , her father was a samurai who fought hard against the vampires but since his death due to Onigen ( who is played by Japanese actress Koyuki , The Last Samurai , Kitaro , Always Sunset on Third Street ) , Saya has been raised and trained by her father's retainer Kato ( played by Yasuaki Kurata , Shinjiku Incident , Legend of the Seven Monks , Fist of Hero , Conman in Tokyo ) . Kato helps keep Saya focused on her goal of avenging her father but most of all , reminding her that she is human and not a monster .
Meanwhile , The Council dispatches Saya to a high school where the General's daughter Alice Mckee ( played by Allison Miller , 17 Again , Boston Legal , Kings ) attends . Alice is a loner and because her father is the General , many of the high school students think that she gets preferential treatment and thus she is seen as an outcast . And is often teased by two bullies : Sharon and Linda played by Masiela Lusha ( The George Lopez Show ) and Ailish O'Connor ( Wasted ) who Saya immediately suspects that they are vampires .
When Saya easily defeats the two vampires and saves Alice ( who watches Saya killing them ) , Alice goes nuts and tells her father of what has happened . With The Council way ahead of the US military and doing a quick cleanup of the area , Alice's father General McKee ( Larry Lamb ) starts to suspect something is going on at his base that the government are working on and he will do what he can to undercover what is happening behind-the-scenes .
Needless to say , with the General and his men trying to investigate , it causes problems with The Council leading to betrayal and tragedy . This leads to Alice and Saya teaming up to survive against not only the vampires but also any other challenge that come their way and eventually will lead to Saya's final battle with Onigen .
VIDEO & AUDIO :
Blood : The Last Vampire is featured in 1080p High Definition ( 2 : 35 : 1 aspect ratio ) . The film looks extremely vibrant at times , with film grain intact . For the most part , there are scenes that look absolutely beautiful ( especially scenes that showcase the lush scenery of Japan ) and the set design of Saya fighting over this grungy city in Japan looks very cool . But what hurts the film is its over reliance towards CG . Each time Saya strikes a vampire , CG blood splatters . But unlike a film such as Zatoichi which did the same thing but made the blood look artistic , the blood on Blood : The Last Vampire looks as if its a black , globular mess . Even the CG monsters look as if they were created in the early 2000 ' s , not 2009 . Also , because Gianna is not a martial artist ( she's known for her dramatic acting ) , the battles use a lot of editing to make things look stylish and artistic but somehow , makes the fight scenes seem disjointed at times .
As for the lossless audio , the film's soundtrack is presented is presented in English DTS-HD MA . I was actually impressed because the action sequences utilized not just my surrounds but also rear surrounds and although not reference quality , there is good utilization of audio throughout all channels including LFE usage . With that being said , many may be wondering how is the English between Korean actress Gianna and Japanese actress Koyuki . Well , first . . . this Blu-ray does not include the original track with Koyuki speaking English . Her English was very difficult to understand in the original cut and thus , her voice was dubbed . Gianna's English was fine but her conversation in Japanese with Yasuaki Kurata's character was OK ( I know that this will probably not even bother those who are not familiar with the Japanese language ) .
Sometimes I do feel that when foreign talent are made to speak English , it sometimes forced and doesn't work out all that well but for Blood : The Last Vampire , I felt that Gianna did a pretty good job and definitely great to see her make her major International debut .
As for subtitles , subtitles are presented in English , French and English SDH .
SPECIAL FEATURES
Blood the Last Vampire comes with the following special features ( all presented in standard definition and in English stereo ) :
*
* Storyboard Gallery - Exclusive to this Blu-ray release is a storyboard gallery for the Gym Fight Sequence , Powell Chase Sequence and Monk Fight sequence . Using your remote , you can cycle through the many storyboard images .
* The Making of Blood : The Last Vampire - ( 19 : 06 ) Interviews with the cast and crew of Blood the Last Vampire . The cast talk about working with each other , working with crew and vice versa .
* Battling Demons : Behind the Stunts - ( 16 : 48 ) Interviews with Gianna about the extensive training and wirework that she had to undergo and making the action scenes look real . Interviews with action director Cory Yuen and also Allison Miller . Definitely an interesting featurette as you saw how difficult the work was and showing Gianna getting injured and also in one instance , actually injuring another person during the fighting sequence . Definitely an eye-opening featurette in realizing how much she had to go through .
JUDGMENT CALL :
I enjoyed Blood : The Last Vampire and for a live-action film adaptation from an anime series , considering how other live action films based on an anime series ( or even video games ) have been , suffice to say that I enjoyed the film way more than the other following 2009 - released films Dragon Ball Evolution and Street Fighter : The Legend of Chun Li .
I loved the film when it focused on Saya but when it focused on Alice Mckee , it just didn't work for me . In fact , it seems that some of the other talent , the overacting kind of made the film seem very campy at times . The screenplay could have been tightened up and characters intentions were best utilized through a few extra scenes with dialogue in order to explain motivation . Because there are scenes that will easily make one think . . . WTF ? Also , with the other international release of Blood : The Last Vampire having a cool cover featuring both Gianna and Koyuki , I found it interesting that for the US release , for the cover , alongside Gianna , instead of Koyuki they put actress Masiela Lusha ( who played Carmen on the The George Lopez Show ) on the cover and Masiela's part in the film was very , very short .
Granted , the film has its problems within its screenplay and also its CG utilization but it really helps that the film has Gianna as its lead star because for those familiar with her Korean films , she's one actress that is known for her dramatic moments . Despite the film being an action film , it calls upon her to do some major emotional scenes and she pulls it off .
I have to admit that after watching the special feature Battling Demons : Behind the Stunts Featurette , I had more appreciation for Gianna's determination to make the action scenes seem fluid . Despite her fighting scenes were edited to be like a blur , as you will see from the special features , she literally took some major bumps ( at one time while in the air , ramming her head into the crane ) and probably many bruises for this role . Gianna is not an action-star but she was determined to train and go through a lot of pain while wearing that harness in order to make certain scenes happen . Needless to say , I've appreciated her previous work in My Sassy Girl , Il Mare and Windstruck that to see her determination for the action scenes was wonderful .
But with that being said , with the film featuring a crew that has worked on major Hong Kong action films before , I expected more from the final battle . I wanted to see a major final battle and I suppose it made me wonder if Koyuki was willing to undergo the same amount of battle training and wire work that Gianna put herself through .
And I think that was part of the problem where Hong Kong films , we are used to seeing a Michelle Yeoh , Zhang Ziyi or other actresses willing to brave the challenges of wirework in order to make a final battles seem impressive . Similar to Gianna , Koyuki is a dramatic actress and as much I love watching her in film and Japanese dramas , I just don't see her willing to undergo the painful and challenging training for major wirework , Gianna since she is the main character braved the torturous training ( her words ) and was willing to take a few bumps and bruises . Koyuki is a model / actress known for being attractive continuously in Panasonic and Shiseido commercials which air monthly in Japan . It was obvious the film was created in attracting International audiences and in Japan , needless to say , Koyuki in an action role definitely raised eyebrows and drew curiosity .
With that being said , I did enjoy the film and when it comes to action anime or even video game adaptations , it's easy to come to the film with low expectations and just hope somehow , the film was better than you expected . With the release of Dragon Ball Evolution and Street Fighter : The Legend of Chun Li not exactly being the best adaptations in 2009 , at least with Blood : The Last Vampire , the violent essence of the original anime series and the look and feel of the character Saya is retained in this live action adaptation .
038 4 I was prepared to give high marks to the Hong Kong adaptation of Blood the Last Vampire . For one thing I thought personally the film had an amazingly cool look that reminded me visually of comic book films and some older Hong Kong films of the early nineties . The action is a mix of good and bad with some bits being overedited throwing slo-mo shots cutting into a lot of the film so you can catch the money shot . And most of all is Gianna Jun who takes the role of Saya and makes this demon slayer in a school girl outfit work even when elements in the film are working against it . Her performance is so good it thankfully outshines the problems of Allison Miller playi ng Alice , the daughter of the general commanding the base subbing for the Nurse of the anime who for the most part remains kind of useless and only exists to be rescued by Saya . Sure the nurse was a damsel in distress but she was more interesting in the way she stumbles into danger instead of outright seeking it . The other actors are mostly good if a bit stiff with Koyuki being wasted in the role of Onigen sounding as if She was dubbed like Gert Frobe in Goldfinger .
The truth is the story itself was still problematic never really defining this war between demons and humans . You never really understand the council whom controls Saya , especially when theres a rift between Luke and Michael her handlers that ends in bloodshed . And the climatic fight came off with a whimper instead of the bang it should have had with a twist so boring I wonder if it will ever have the imapact it had say in Empire Strikes Back . Tack that with some of the worst CGI I've seen in any film this year and those are my complaints .
Still the film was enjoyable in its own way in my opinion . It doesn't match the suspense or action of the anime which again goes to show the power of animation against live action i.e . I wouldn't notice bad computerized blood and monsters . But Gianna's performance of Saya and the creation of this world in live action make it worth a view for fans of the anime I suppose .
The DVD is itself thankfully good with great picture that does justice Hang-Sang Poon's colorful cinematography . I'm sure the detail on the Blu-Ray would be exceptional in highlighting the production design as well as some of the obvious issues I had with the film . Mix that with a good soundtrack with no problems and two well done featurettes on the making of the film and I'll say the disc is thankfully better than I would have expected it to be given the small release the film got . If you like the film its worth the money . All others would do better to rent the DVD in my opinion and gauge the film for yourself .
039 4 From beginning to end , the quality of the Blu transfer is below standard , and at times even appears to never have been upscaled in any way . There are some excellent reviews here dissecting everything about this story and resulting foray into the live action translation , so I just wanted to see how the Blu did .
The picture clarity never materializes into what could be in comparison to other similar films . The colors bleed ( no pun intended ) into the dark sections with such prevalence at times I wondered if it was the intent . The creature effects looked ScyFy grade full with stop-motion animation and a cardboard look . The DTS was inadvertently correct to below standard with no shining moments . To be honest , the storyline is so random and mismanaged that I could never get a feel for what was being attempted . It appeared as if there were hours of story being condensed into 80 minutes . What gives this BD an extra star though is the supplements .
* 19 minute making-of . Covers the logistical elements of production coupled with plenty of interviews . The subtitles automatically activate for the Japanese interviews .
* 16 : 45 minute stunt documentary . I actually got more from this than the movie . Gianna Jun was such a hard worker , but her sincerity was so valid behind the scenes it made me appreciate her work more . The two accidents they keep in this featurette showcase her honest personality ( dealing with her head being hit by a camera crane , and the stuntman who gets a knife strike to his face from her ) . Worth the watch .
* Blu exclusive storyboard gallery - not a selling point in this case .
Overall , a 2 star Blu and film with an extra star for the supplements . Region A coded .
040 4 Blood : The Last Vampire is your typical b-movie action fare that pales in comparison to some of the more recent wild films coming out of Japan . The film could have benefitted from the addition of more over the top gore . What blood and gore there is on screen is entirely CGI for sure , and bad CGI at that ; characters are sliced and diced , blood gushing from their bodies , but none of it looks real , plus Saya , ( Jeon Ji-Hyeon ) , a 400 year old half human , half-vampire who was sired by a human demon / vampire hunter and a vampire mother , doesn't get a single drop on her ! It's obvious that the filmmakers were trying to recreate the violent bloodletting of the original anime but relying heavily on CGI which didn't work .
Another thing I would never like to see again is half-breed vampire killers . We've seen it all before with characters like Blade , Vampire Hunter D , and Sonja Blue ( in the Nancy Collins novels starting with Sunglasses After Dark ) : they're half-human and half-vampire ; their vampire side gives them the power they need to hunt other vampires , but they fear succumbing to the blood lust and losing their humanity . Despite her Japanese origin , Saya is less in common with Vampire Hunter D than with Sonja Blue , who is also an ageless young girl hunting her own kind ; the difference is that Sonya has a more interesting back story , and her inner conflict plays out in a more dramatic way throughout the novels , instead of being played like a weak trump card at the climax . ( This is not an element of the animated BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE , which hinted that Saya was the last original vampire , hunting down some kind of mutant strain of the species . )
The one exception is the final face-off between vampire and vampire hunter . Here , the digital effects are used to craft the flowing robes of silk from Onegin's gown , which reach out like tentacles to ensare Saya . There is a poetic beauty to this battle that lifts it above the earlier sword-fights , with their crude bloodshed . Too bad the script had to weight the scene down with the big dramatic revelation . If there is one thing I never want to see in another movie , it's a scene wherein the villain tells the hero You're really one of us , while extending an invitation to the Dark Side .
The live-action rendition of BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE will probably please fans of the anime short subject , but more general audiences and even fans of Asian horror and Fan-Asia flicks will grow restless with the endless swordplay's mind-numbing lack of variation . The funny thing is that , pulled out of context and viewed on their own , the scenes are not bad , which is why the film looks so cool when viewed in short clips online . With a plot that serves mostly to string the set-pieces along , BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE might be a project that would have worked better as a series of high-octane webisodes , rather than a full-length feature film .
Don't get me wrong , there is a number of things you can enjoy about Blood : The Last Vampire - who doesn't love a Japanese girl in a traditional sailor suit style school uniform doing cartwheels and leaps across the screen while wielding a huge samurai sword ? Director Chris Nahon does have a stylish flair and he manages to get the best out of Gianna Jun despite her shortcomings - he definitely needs to be given better subject matter than this , his Kiss of the Dragon was a much better movie . For me it was great to see another live action anime adaptation on the big screen rather than going straight to DVD like the majority of its peers .
041 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
Most other reviewers have covered the plot and so on , so I'll keep this short . Sound action sequences , direction , and cinematography are weakened by very low budget ( simply awful ) CGI effects and poor acting from many of the major roll-players . The dialog is , for the most part , also pretty weak . All of these issues detracted from my overall enjoyment of the film , which could have been greater than the original anime , but turned out to be far weaker .
042 4 Most other reviewers have covered the plot and so on , so I'll keep this short . Sound action sequences , direction , and cinematography are weakened by very low budget ( simply awful ) CGI effects and poor acting from many of the major roll-players . The dialog is , for the most part , also pretty weak . All of these issues detracted from my overall enjoyment of the film , which could have been greater than the original anime , but turned out to be far weaker .
044 4 What the animated BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE film has in effective brevity , this live action adaptation sorely lacks , even if this sucker does run at under 90 minutes . It still finds time to ramble . While the animated film has bite , this one , er , gums up the works . And to carry the nosferatu play of words even further , this picture is anemic , listless . Toothless .
It starts out promisingly enough , with great atmosphere . The opening subway train scene is clearly lifted from the anime film , and the sense of foreboding is then maintained for the next 10 minutes or so . But just when I was starting to think that this might be a good movie after all , things promptly get out of whack . The lead , Korean actress Gianna Jun ( a.k.a . Jun Ji-hyun from MY SASSY GIRL ) isn't at fault . She's good to look at and she's got presence , even if her character is scowly and terse like every moment . But , oy , everything else about this film . . .
Gianna Jun is Saya , half-human , half-vampire . She looks 16 , but she's actually 400 years old , and we know this because of the occasional flashbacks to feudal Japan . Saya's sole mission in life seems to be eradicating all demons and vampires ( I think they're the same creatures ) and tracking down the Onigen , the oldest and vilest of demons . This story takes place in 1970 Tokyo , with the Vietnam War serving as backdrop . Saya is loosely affiliated with the CIA , with her two handlers aiming her at her inhuman targets . Behind the curtain , a sinister cabal called the Council is scheming and plotting and influencing .
Saya's new assignment is to infiltrate the high school in Tokyo's U.S . Air Force Kanto Base , suspected to harbor a nest of demons . Saya is enrolled as a schoolgirl , and she goes to class dressed in one of them incongruous sailor suits which probably gets the pervy nerds all hot and bothered . She does look fetching .
At this stage , the movie had me hooked still . There's still a tension in the air . For me , it probably started going downhill when I realized that Alison Miller was going to be a fixture for the rest of the film . Alison Miller plays Alice , the General's pampered teenaged daughter , and she's straight out of a bad slasher flick . She contributes NOTHING . What's more , her constant screen time struck me as pretty insulting to Gianna Jun , the assumption being that Gianna alone can't carry a film that's intended for western audiences .
French director Chris Nahon has a vision , and it's blurry . The suspenseful aura gets shoved aside as dreariness sets in , as the story begins to plod . Even Saya's backstory is rendered uninvolving . A lot of the story content feels like padding . The dialogue is awful . And Onigen has to be one of the least formidable head vampiress / demoness in cinematic history . Based on the weak stuff she unleashes , I'm fairly certain that even someone as athletically challenged as myself can wipe the floor with this oldest and vilest of demons . I hate it when the Big Bad preens and struts and then gets dismissed as not all that and a bag of chips .
It's great fun watching Saya handle her business , swirling that sword of hers , eviscerating and cleaving demons to steaks . This is Gianna Jun's first experience with wire-fu , but she puts in the work ( check out the DVD's bonus stuff ) and she looks graceful and stylish and even convincing . But a big part of that is the surly swagger she demonstrates .
But , still regarding Saya's fight scenes , there are times when the sense is that the movie is flim-flamming its audience , and mostly this is when the pesky jerky-cam is at its most jittery . In those moments , Saya looks like she's still wreaking carnage . I just wish I could see her doing it . I'm reminded a bit - and I think I mean this in a good way - of how some of the fight scenes were rendered in AZUMI .
The dodgy CG is straight out of the Syfy Channel's house of crap . I dare you to gaze at Saya's ravine encounter with a winged demon and declare it good . The CG-rendered demons have this jarring stop motion quality that would've come off as charming except that it's not the friggin ' 1960s anymore .
The DVD's bonus material provides two featurettes : the Making Of the film ( 00 : 19 : 07 minutes ) and the Battling Demons : Behind the Stunts ( 00 : 16 : 48 ) . Lots of Gianna Jun training and rehearsing on a wire .
Go see the original animated film instead . Even DRAGONBALL Z : EVOLUTION is snickering at this one . I'm ecstatic , though , that one of Saya's handlers - the truly despicable one - gets what's coming to him .
And I still like Gianna Jun . She just doesn't get enough support in this movie . Plus , MY SASSY GIRL has really amassed a lot of good will .
045 4 i have bought this movie by amazone.de and the colours are sometimes incredibly ugly . everything looks yellow and no amount of tweaking of my tv or media player could help . a shame really , because the movie is certainly fun to watch . to be honest , i do not know if this disk will have the same issues . would be nice to know .
046 4 Blood : The Last Vampire is a live-action version of the 2000 animated film of the same title directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo . The new film's story is set in 1970 , the place in and around Tokyo . The story revolves around an unlikely pair of two heroines : sword-wielding girl Saya working for mysterious organization The Council , and Alice , an ordinary American girl who gets involved in the bloody battles between Saya and Onigen , the evil matriarch of oni , or vampires ( they are more like monsters or demons ) .
I am always ready to ignore confusing narrative as long as a film has good , thrilling actions . Sadly director Chris Nahon ( Kiss of the Dragon ) failed to provide them . Gianna ( original My Sassy Girl ) looks gorgeous as sulky Saya , dressed in high school uniform , cutting off the heads of oni s , but the action sequences are ruined by choppy editing and bad effects . In fact , the computer graphics are so cheesy that the characters sometimes jump and fly very awkwardly .
The heroine's sword action sequence is often interrupted by flashy slow motions and countless fast forwarding . The showy camera work is mildly entertaining at first , but then becomes irritating . One interesting thing is that the action director is Corey Yuen ( who was the action choreographer for Transporter ) , but the actions here are very disappointing .
What could be an interesting premise soon becomes a mess because of poorly-told story , weak direction and most of all terrible effects . Blood : The Last Vampire has a great potential that is not fully realized .
047 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( Video On Demand )
The movie is very entertaining , a good deal different than the anime but not in a bad way . My only problem would be that there are no subtitles for the Japanese sections of the film . Not sure if it supposed to be like that but be aware that for ON DEMAND watching , there are no english subtitles during the japanese sections .
049 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
I can't believe how quickly I received this item . It was in excellent shape . Thank you .
050 4 I can't believe how quickly I received this item . It was in excellent shape . Thank you .
051 4 Blood : The Last Vampire ( Chris Nahon , 2008 )
The rating for this flick on IMDB is surprisingly low , but the more live-action adaptations of manga I see , the more I realize the rating is probably heavily influenced by otaku who are picking apart every last detail and rating the movie far lower for that . I haven't seen the original anime ( nor read the manga ) ; I came into Saya's story with Blood + , so this is my first exposure to the original material . I found it enjoyable enough for being a basic , and somewhat brainless , martial arts flick ( a genre I've never been too terribly interested in ) .
Plot : Saya ( My Sassy Girl's Gianna Jun ) is a half-vampire . Not your everyday half-vampire , however ; she's a vampire who works for the government hunting other supernatural entities . Her current mission is to infiltrate a girls ' school and find the demon who's there masquerading as a student . When she figures it out , she discovers that this particular demon has a strong tie to Onigen ( Kairo beauty Koyuki ) , and Saya has been after Onigen's head for centuries . With the objective of all her years as a vampire hunter in sight , Saya may finally be able to finish the job she started so long ago . . . except that while undercover , she's befriended the now-helpless Alice ( 17 Again's Allison Miller ) , and feels responsible for keeping the human girl alive as wave after wave of vampire hit men come after them .
No , there's nothing here that's all that original , and I'm the first one to admit that the major attraction of this movie comes from gorgeous women flinging swords around and cutting vampires into little bits , rather than , say , character development , atmosphere , or that sort of thing . But the actors in the main roles here ( and even a good number of the minor ones ) are all very good at what they do , both acting and flinging swords around ; it's a fun little movie , as long as you're willing to turn your brain off and have a good time . Not deathless cinema by any means , but worth a rental at your local Red Box when you've got an hour and a half to kill . * * * ½
052 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
Liked this movie . A lot of action . maybe a little gorey for some
054 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( Video On Demand )
There seem to be two camps here - people that love the original anime and wanted a live action remake , and people new to the story who like the film for what it is . I've seen , but not loved , the original anime , and just discovered the film .
The movie is not the anime , but it is quite good in its own right . The action scenes are spectacular and the look of the film is moody and gorgeous with several beautiful images ; seriously , you could pause the video at random and do a screen capture , and over 50% of the time you'd have a nice-looking wallpaper for your PC or decent poster . The action-packed battles are so good , they overcome the effects , which simply aren't up to portraying the demons in true form convincingly . Major props to the lead , who is charismatic , athletic , and battles with a casual , experienced flair that makes you feel her character really has been using a sword for hundreds of years .
The film has its off-notes : Alice's character is poorly written or heavily edited , so that much of what she says seems stupid or out of context . As in The Legend of Chun-Li , Asia is crawling with Americans running things , instead of , you know , Asians , and not just on the military base . And the writer ( s ) would have done well to lead with the information in the cliched big reveal . George Lucas and Mark Hamill have ruined such revelation scenes for at least a couple of generations .
But overall , if you're any sort of action movie / martial arts fan , your overwhelming reaction to this film will be a Keanu Reeves-like whoa . I don't get the Japanese fascinations with school-girl outfits and swords , but this film makes them work .
055 4 There seem to be two camps here - people that love the original anime and wanted a live action remake , and people new to the story who like the film for what it is . I've seen , but not loved , the original anime , and just discovered the film .
The movie is not the anime , but it is quite good in its own right . The action scenes are spectacular and the look of the film is moody and gorgeous with several beautiful images ; seriously , you could pause the video at random and do a screen capture , and over 50% of the time you'd have a nice-looking wallpaper for your PC or decent poster . The action-packed battles are so good , they overcome the effects , which simply aren't up to portraying the demons in true form convincingly . Major props to the lead , who is charismatic , athletic , and battles with a casual , experienced flair that makes you feel her character really has been using a sword for hundreds of years .
The film has its off-notes : Alice's character is poorly written or heavily edited , so that much of what she says seems stupid or out of context . As in The Legend of Chun-Li , Asia is crawling with Americans running things , instead of , you know , Asians , and not just on the military base . And the writer ( s ) would have done well to lead with the information in the cliched big reveal . George Lucas and Mark Hamill have ruined such revelation scenes for at least a couple of generations .
But overall , if you're any sort of action movie / martial arts fan , your overwhelming reaction to this film will be a Keanu Reeves-like whoa . I don't get the Japanese fascinations with school-girl outfits and swords , but this film makes them work .
057 4 Currently movie vampires are beautiful , seductive , and opulent . Well , most of them , anyway .
Things are a bit different in Blood : The Last Vampire , adapted from a gorgeously animated , plot-thin anime . It's a fast-moving , gory flick with plenty of vampires and swords , but it also suffers from a cluttered storyline ( what's the point of the Elder again ? ) and a predictable plot twist at the end . Jeon Ji-hyun makes a brilliant dhampiric anti-heroine , though .
As the movie opens , we see a mysterious young girl , Saya ( Jun ) , on a train . When the lights go out , she savagely attacks a man at the other end of the train with a sword . Turns out he's a bloodsucker .
Half-vampire Saya works for the mysterious Council , and a kindly man-in-black named Michael - - but only until they find the vampire overlord Onigen . When people start dying on an American army base , she has to go undercover at the base high school . Unfortunately the general's daughter Alice ( Allison Miller ) sees Saya slaughtering a couple of vampires in the school gym , and later wanders into a vampire bar . She's as bright as a smashed lightbulb .
And some of the people working for the Council are determined to kill anyone who interferes in their work - - including Alice's father , General McKee . Alice ends up on a desperate road trip with Saya , trying to dodge the malevolent vampires that are tracking her new buddy . But Onigen is tracking them now , and it's becoming very personal . Cue a Big Reveal of epic clicheness about Onigen and Saya .
Blood : The Last Vampire is changed in many ways from the original OAV , such as Saya's background and her being a dhampir . The whole second half is basically invented by writer Chris Chow - - complete with a rosy-eyed look at Saya's youth - - while preserving the bleak , dimly-lit look that the anime had .
Unfortunately , the first half is messy - - there are too many characters ( the Elder doesn't DO anything ! ) and plot elements ( Vietnam war criticism from a VAMPIRE ? ) that feel randomly inserted . Fortunately director Chris Nahon chops away all the deadwood in the latter half of the movie , and gives the visuals a surreal beauty - - bleak rainy streets , misty forests , and a wuxia-style climax full of fire , water , blood and floating veils .
While the first action scene almost gave me a seizure ( slow-mo ! FAST ! Slow-mo ! FAST ! ) , the splattery fight scenes become cooler later on : Saya smashing through buildings , slicing enemies apart , and dueling with a flying vampire on a rickety bridge . And the vampires are wonderfully ghastly - - bat-winged , fanged , slimy-skinned monstrosities who splatter dark blobby blood . Also , two words : Vampire . NINJAS .
Jeon Ji-hyun / Gianna Jun is absolutely stunning in this role - - she jumps , kicks , spins , slashes , and infuses her character with a sense of hollow loneliness that nothing can heal . And she plays a very different Saya in the flashbacks from four hundred years ago , when her innocence was shattered by her own vampiric nature . Miller does a decent performance as the whiny Alison , and the stunning Koyuki does a pretty good job as the malevolent Onigen .
Blood : The Last Vampire suffers from a ragged first half , but it tightens up into a much more beautiful and memorable movie in the second . If nothing else , watch it for Jeon Ji-hyun .
058 4 Some day I'm getting to the bottom of the mystery of why it is nearly impossible for an anime to be adapted into a decent live-action film . Or how you screw up a movie about a hot girl slaying vampires , for that matter . It can't be that hard to make that cool . Aside from the Death Note films , successfully adapting an anime has not been done as of yet . How did Death Note do it ? Simple : it stuck closely to the source material . When I've thought about filmable anime stories ,
Blood - The Last Vampire
was one that immediately sprung to mind . The original was a 45 minute tribute to style over substance that was short on story , but long on cool and full of great imagery . The subsequent re-imagining and expanding of the mythology in the television series
Blood +
provided 50 episodes worth of stories to help flesh out any potential feature-length endeavor . So how to adapt this semi-classic ? Well , they made it a true international endeavor with France and Hong Kong co-producing the adaptation of a very Japanese property , an American directing ( uh-oh ) , and a Korean starring in this primarily English-language film . Ever hear that old saying about too many cooks ? What a mess . No wonder this film is all over the damn place .
Good news and bad news . The action borders on stupendous at times . Well-choreographed and it doesn't skimp on the violence . Severed heads , limbs , and other nasty wounds abound in the fight scenes . But being lazy as all hell , the filmmakers opted to go with strictly CG blood . They should have named the film CG Blood : Some Girl With A Sword . One of the cool points of the anime was that half-vampire Saya used her own blood to put the demons down by cutting herself and allowing the blood to fill a groove traveling the length of her sword before attacking . This iconic device is nowhere to be found here . In fact , why they seem to think Saya is the only one who can kill the monsters is a mystery . If one person with a sword can slaughter dozens of these things , imagine what a special-ops unit with AK - 47 ' s would do to them . Like in the original anime , there is hardly even a reason to consider Saya a vampire at all , much less the last one . It's pretty much just a name to ring in a certain audience . And any vamp who gets taken down with a single bullet in the side is just lame . She drinks blood out of a canteen . Wow , that's really interesting , I'm totally fascinated by that creative entry to vampire mythology . Thanks for that . And no , the wire-fu doesn't help their case . People can do that in wu-xia films too ; it does not make them vampires . And while I'm complaining about such things , I am not the least bit impressed by a warrior who comes to her mentor's aid by running up behind his attacker and - instead of slicing his filthy head off - jumping over him and running up a tree so she can slide down the tree upside down and poke the dude's eye out with her sword without even killing him . That is just moronic .
And you know what was really missing from the anime ? A precocious American sidekick . Saya winds up becoming a bodyguard for an Air Force general's rebellious daughter . The two of them together is like a personality battle of who can be more boring and cliche . Essentially , she serves as somebody to drive Saya around while she fights flying demons from moving vehicles . That's cool , I guess . And how about another cliche ? Let's have Saya's organization turn on her for no good reason and then forget about it minutes later ! Yawn . And since chiropteran is such a big word and Western audiences are so retarded , why not just call the demons / vampires bloodsuckers ? Has a nice utterly uninspired ring to it . And let us call half-breed vampires halflings instead of dhampires or something cool like that because we are apparently unaware that a halfling is actually the generic fantasy term for a hobbit . Christ . The dialogue is painful . At one point , Saya's homegirl wakes up , looks around and says to herself for some reason this isn't happening , any of it . Whatever . Not two minutes later , Saya shows up and she repeats the same thing verbatim to her . Why the hell would they feel the need to tell us that twice ? Couldn't they have just had her say it to Saya first and not have her say it to herself two minutes prior ? Talk about annoying . What do they pat these producers for if not to watch the movie and point out ridiculously stupid things like that to cut out .
Okay , okay . It's not all bad . As I stated before , if you want killer action you shall find it here . And if the sight of really fake CG blood and monsters that look like they just jumped out of a video game sends your heart aflutter , then this is all about you . The first half of the film is actually pretty good storywise , and the shots of Saya with red eyes look fantastic . And the soundtrack is very interesting to say the least . When I think of high school girls in a kendo confrontation , I'm not usually thinking about Space Truckin , but I'll give them credit for weirdness . And I certainly wasn't planning on hearing any Chuck Berry either . But my favorite has got to be a brief appearance by classic Japanese punk / surf / pop girl group
Shonen Knife
. Or if it wasn't them , it was a bar band pretending to be them . Either way , big ups . The strongest character in the film is the villain Onigen , who betrays more personality in her 5 - 10 minutes onscreen then every other character in the other hour-and-some-change of this soulless film put together . And she's visually awesome to boot . I wish they'd taken the time to develop her . I was definitely not rooting for the heroes at the end of this one . If mankind is that boring in comparison to this chick that they can't even make a female samurai vampire slayer cool , maybe Onigen should rule the world .
Sorry , guys . The trailer made it look like this adaptation could work , but I'm afraid it didn't do much for me but make me roll my eyes a whole bunch at the inept writing and shake my head at the incredibly bad CG effects . They took out almost every aspect that made the anime interesting save for the classic airplane runway scene and replaced it with the most uninteresting mainstream elements they could muster . They didn't even have the costume party scene . This one made it halfway to success , but just fell apart trying to shoehorn in elements that nobody could possibly care about in a pointless attempt to Westernize the film enough for idiots to enjoy . But most people have not even heard of Blood : The Last Vampire the anime and are not more likely to hear about this one either . Particularly since those who were looking forward to it are all cult entertainment fanatics like myself and if we aren't impressed , the film dies here . And for my standards this film has to be seen as just another failure . Too bad . I really thought this one was going to make it .
059 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
The movie does suffer from some B quality CGI , but the story is beautiful , and the samurai scene near the end with her mentor is the most epic samurai fight scene I've seen . I hope this movie is re-made by a higher quality FX team .
060 4 The movie does suffer from some B quality CGI , but the story is beautiful , and the samurai scene near the end with her mentor is the most epic samurai fight scene I've seen . I hope this movie is re-made by a higher quality FX team .
063 4 If you saw the original BLOOD anime , you probably won't dig this too tough . Think of the most cliche action stunts Hollywood comes out with and it's in here . Slow-motion ? Check . Over the top battle scenes ? Yup .
This movie would be great to anybody who is easily entertained , I on the other hand have been spoiled by the flawless execution of the BLOOD anime . Flip a coin , it's a toss-up .
Better yet , rent it .
065 4 While the look of the film is decent ( neon-lit , rain-blown alleys ; misty oriental landscapes ) the plot is predictable & the characters two dimensional . I'm not expecting something on par w / Kurosawa here , but come on . Finally , can someone declare a moratorium on the use of CGI to depict blood erupting from wounds ? It seems like exploding Lava lamps , for crying out loud .
The film looks shot like it's a mid - 90 ' s music video , the acting , while really not important , mostly consists of what sounds like phonetic readings of the script , the 1970 setting is pointless and the story is just a jumbled mess that made a lot more sense in the original anime .
066 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
To start off it was great production and really good retelling , not as good as the anime , but good enough i give it two thumbs up = )
067 4 To start off it was great production and really good retelling , not as good as the anime , but good enough i give it two thumbs up = )
069 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
I've seen the anime movie version of this ( released in 2000 ) , and the anime series which was based on the original ( 2005 ) . The series is quite different from the original , and stands on its own . Both are well done and among my favorites . I really wanted to like this new version , since it had live actors and the trailers had that Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon look and feel .
Unfortunately it comes up short when compared to the original .
The opening scenes of both versions are the same , and the setting is the same , but the 2009 movie soon takes a 90 degree turn into an alternate universe and never looks back . Saya and David ( renamed Michael ) are the only characters who exists in both versions , and Michael gets blown away half way through the new version . Saya is supposed to be the last vampire , but in this movie there are hugh numbers of them , including Onigen , the oldest and most powerful of the demons . The word Chiropteran isn't even used in this version .
Other characters are based on the original , but they have different names , and different actions .
The trouble with this release is that it seems like a female version of a combination of the Blade series of movies , plus a female version of Luke Skywalker / Darth Vader expressed in the relationship of Saya / Onigen .
Add a bit of Michael Jackson's Thriller video to make it complete .
Saya isn't even a full vampire ( Chiropteran ) in this version . But that doesn't stop her hacking her way through about 100 or so demons on the way to her confrontation with Onigen .
The special effects are good , but the story line gets murky , and the end is both predictable and unsatisfying . It comes across as just another movie using a time tested formula script to produce a safe and , hopefully , profitable bit of fluff entertainment . The dark edginess of the original is totally lacking , and the characters are just disposable figures needed to fill in the action sequences .
What was the climax of the anime movie shows up about half way through the new version , and has no where near the emotional energy of the original . In the anime , this is where you get to see the pain and inner conflict that haunts Saya as she kills her own kind to protect humanity . The new version tries generate a bit of emotion here , but it comes across lame and trivializes what was the most important scene of the anime movie .
If you haven't seen the original or the series then you may find the 2009 version a bit better than I rate it .
In my opinion , the original anime movie is much better , I would rate the original at 4 stars .
Pat Phillips
070 4 I've seen the anime movie version of this ( released in 2000 ) , and the anime series which was based on the original ( 2005 ) . The series is quite different from the original , and stands on its own . Both are well done and among my favorites . I really wanted to like this new version , since it had live actors and the trailers had that Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon look and feel .
Unfortunately it comes up short when compared to the original .
The opening scenes of both versions are the same , and the setting is the same , but the 2009 movie soon takes a 90 degree turn into an alternate universe and never looks back . Saya and David ( renamed Michael ) are the only characters who exists in both versions , and Michael gets blown away half way through the new version . Saya is supposed to be the last vampire , but in this movie there are hugh numbers of them , including Onigen , the oldest and most powerful of the demons . The word Chiropteran isn't even used in this version .
Other characters are based on the original , but they have different names , and different actions .
The trouble with this release is that it seems like a female version of a combination of the Blade series of movies , plus a female version of Luke Skywalker / Darth Vader expressed in the relationship of Saya / Onigen .
Add a bit of Michael Jackson's Thriller video to make it complete .
Saya isn't even a full vampire ( Chiropteran ) in this version . But that doesn't stop her hacking her way through about 100 or so demons on the way to her confrontation with Onigen .
The special effects are good , but the story line gets murky , and the end is both predictable and unsatisfying . It comes across as just another movie using a time tested formula script to produce a safe and , hopefully , profitable bit of fluff entertainment . The dark edginess of the original is totally lacking , and the characters are just disposable figures needed to fill in the action sequences .
What was the climax of the anime movie shows up about half way through the new version , and has no where near the emotional energy of the original . In the anime , this is where you get to see the pain and inner conflict that haunts Saya as she kills her own kind to protect humanity . The new version tries generate a bit of emotion here , but it comes across lame and trivializes what was the most important scene of the anime movie .
If you haven't seen the original or the series then you may find the 2009 version a bit better than I rate it .
In my opinion , the original anime movie is much better , I would rate the original at 4 stars .
Pat Phillips
071 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( Video On Demand )
Talking about Suckers ! ( Not the Vampire Kind ) . I am one for falling for the nice tittle . Silly fight scenes , bad Acting and ridiculous specials effects make this Movie really terrifying to seat thru . Save yourself 4 bucks , and go watch reruns of True Blood until the next season starts .
072 4 Talking about Suckers ! ( Not the Vampire Kind ) . I am one for falling for the nice tittle . Silly fight scenes , bad Acting and ridiculous specials effects make this Movie really terrifying to seat thru . Save yourself 4 bucks , and go watch reruns of True Blood until the next season starts .
077 4 About 30 minutes into this movie I realized one thing : why did I bother to rent it . About 15 minutes after that I realized a second thing : what else is on TV right now . Yep , after about 45 minutes I took the disk out and put it back in the netflix sleeve , shipping it back the next morning . This movie pretends to be based on the hit anime movie of the same name , but therein do the similarities begin and end . Save yourself the time ( I am sure your time is as valuable as mine ) and rent / buy / watch the original anime movie . Even if you are not a fan of anime I promise you , its a far superior movie to this one , in every way .
078 4 How could this have gone so wrong ? Blood - The Last Vampire had the makings of an incredibly entertaining vampire action-fest , instead it came off stiff and awkward . This was one of those films that really suffered from a lack of direction ; I mean who was this exactly being aimed at ? The Engrish many of the Asian actors were forced to speak was occasionally hard to understand and the English-speaking ( read : Westerners ) actors FELT like English actors that had worked Asian cinema before . If you're familiar with HK cinema and the westerners usually cast in those films , you know what I'm talking about .
I don't know , I found the action and production design quite good , though this could have used to action sequence trimming , but it all just felt so empty and bland . I could probably whine about the CG vampire beasts and the constant CG blood-sprays but , for me , it neither hurt nor helped this production .
Blood - The Last Vampire is worth checking out , maybe once , but I don't plan on purchasing this . Director Chris Nahon brought some wonderful visuals to the table but not one single thing else . Dialogue was all robotic and unnatural , not one single character is remotely likable or even sympathetic and it just ended feeling really soulless and unfocused . Is it Asian cinema ? Western cinema ? French cinema pretending to be Asian but using Westerners ? Who knows , I have no need to see it again .
This review contains some things that could be seen as spoilers for a movie that I do not recommend wasting your time to see . I have tried to leave out some of the details , but many of the details of the spoilers are the reason this movie is so bad .
I was very intrigued when I heard that this was an anime movie involving a vampire . What an interesting combination ! However , after watching this movie , I am amazed to find so many positive reviews here at Amazon . I wonder if many people are basing their rating on the previous movie that this is based on ( or is there a comic ) ? I have not seen that movie , so this is not to be seen as a judgment of that , or anime , or anything other than THIS particular movie . While I can appreciate that fans may enjoy this movie , I think that it is important to make a movie interesting to those who may not already be familiar with the previous movie ( s ) and any sequel or prequel .
I think that this movie was absolutely terrible . I usually have no trouble getting into the world created by a movie , but I wasn't able to do that with this movie , I was aware that I was watching a movie the whole time . The characters were blatantly 2 dimensional , and I was not convinced to feel interested in what happened to any of them . Even from the beginning of the movie where there was a written background description , it became evident that the characters would be very shallow and black & white . This movie was such a disappointment and a waste of time . The ONLY reason I would be interested in watching something relevant is to try to understand the story as the original author had intended , because I feel certain that this is NOT it .
There was a schizophrenic confusion about vampires and demons - Saya is fighting the demons , and it seems that she is the last vampire referred to in the title , because she is drinking something from a bottle that looks like it could be blood . But this is never explained , just implied . Then it turns out that she is a half-demon and half human , and I was completely confused by this . How is she the last vampire when there are clearly loads of demons , and she is related to them ? If demons and vampires are the same thing , and if they had just been consistent about the names - demon OR vampire , this would have been much less confusing , even though the title the last vampire still doesn't make sense . But then , maybe ambiguity was what they needed to cover up for the Shocking Surprise . The canned plot surprise with Saya and Onigen was ridiculous , I jokingly predicted it when they first referred to Onigen as she and I was pretty disgusted at the predictability when that was actually what they chose to do . I also predicted that after Alice reminded Saya that no matter what she was human , that that would come back at the end and save her somehow - but I was wrong about that , and we were left hanging and wondering where the real ending was .
Also , it didn't make any sense to me why there were both the elder , Saya's guardian / teacher who was killed by Onigen's henchman , and Saya's father , who was killed by Onigen . It would have made more sense to combine those two characters instead of having two way too similar ( oversimplified ? ) stories , and then focus on making the rest of the plot make some sense , which this movie so desperately needed .
The General's daughter , Alice , was whiny and a wimp , not very likeable at all , and I wondered why anyone would want to save her , and why she was even in the story . The Alice in Wonderland references could have been interesting , but they were just confusing and didn't add to the story , it just seemed like she was named Alice so that they could include irrelevant references . There was very little bonding between the two female characters until the end of the movie , and I kept wondering why Saya would have gone through such great efforts to protect Alice . And how did Alice know what to do when Saya was hurt and passed out ? Most people might think of CPR in that situation , where did she get the idea to give her blood ? Yet another reason I was unable to immerse myself into the movie because it was so unbelievable .
The action scenes were very repetitive . The stop-go filming style was interesting at first , but then it was repeated so much , so many times throughout the movie , that it became boring . Particularly in the crevasse scene , there is some REALLY bad CG that looks like a video game from the mid 1990s .
I really want to give this movie more than one star , but I can't seem to justify it . There were bits that had interesting scenery , and the overall feel of the movie was that it was a high budget movie . I considered giving this movie a gratuitous bonus star , because there were certain minor parts about the character of Saya that I found interesting , and the costumes were interesting , particularly those of Saya and Onigen , but that wasn't really enough to justify another star . The part that makes me sad is that I see the potential for this to have been a really good movie , but it would take a LOT of work to get there .
You know what this movie really made me think of ? It's like a game where kids pick some names of things out of a hat and quickly make an impromptu story out of them . The author ( s ) chose tags that said : anime heroine , vampire , Alice in Wonderland , the Vietnam War , action from Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon , a you killed my father , prepare to die vendetta , a Luke , I am your father type reveal , zombie demons who are able to disguise themselves as humans , etc .
I left this movie ( thankfully a DVD , not in the theater ! ) wondering what I was missing , but not really interested in watching more to find out . It was confusing - were the demons also vampires ? Where did they come from ? Why was Onigen considered SO badass , just because she killed Saya's father ? Why did she kill Saya's father ? What the heck happened to the girls in the trippy part at the end , and where was Saya ? Did I REALLY care ? No , not really . Not really .
005 4 For fans of the manga or anime versions this movie could make them a little dissapointed because Saya is not THAT quiet and tough looking . Besides , there are a few vampire monsters and more zombies and ninjas . I guess that makes the fans very angry .
BUT I DON'T CARE ! ! ! ALL I CARE IS ABOUT THE ACTION ! In this movie , Saya is a ONE-GIRL ARMY slashing lots of vampire-zombies and ninjas , the fight choreography is AWESOME ! you'll see the fast / slow motion camera each time Saya kills an enemy , the cinematography is BEAUTIFUL as Crouching Tigger Hidden Dragon , the one to one fights were COOL , and the acting was okay .
I think that this is one of the few cool live-action animes ever ! I mean . . . this one is good as Crying Freeman , Guyver 2 and Kill Bill vol . 1 because the action is more important than the concept but without trying to ruin it . No movie can be so specific as the series or comics but as long as the concept is still there then there is an opportunity to make the film very entertaining .
Adios .
012 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
THIS IS AN EXCELLANT REMAKE OF THE ANIME VERSION . LOVED THE NEW PLOT AND THE ENDING ! ! !
NEED MORE OF THESE . . . . . . . .
013 4 THIS IS AN EXCELLANT REMAKE OF THE ANIME VERSION . LOVED THE NEW PLOT AND THE ENDING ! ! !
NEED MORE OF THESE . . . . . . . .
043 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
What the animated BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE film has in effective brevity , this live action adaptation sorely lacks , even if this sucker does run at under 90 minutes . It still finds time to ramble . While the animated film has bite , this one , er , gums up the works . And to carry the nosferatu play of words even further , this picture is anemic , listless . Toothless .
It starts out promisingly enough , with great atmosphere . The opening subway train scene is clearly lifted from the anime film , and the sense of foreboding is then maintained for the next 10 minutes or so . But just when I was starting to think that this might be a good movie after all , things promptly get out of whack . The lead , Korean actress Gianna Jun ( a.k.a . Jun Ji-hyun from MY SASSY GIRL ) isn't at fault . She's good to look at and she's got presence , even if her character is scowly and terse like every moment . But , oy , everything else about this film . . .
Gianna Jun is Saya , half-human , half-vampire . She looks 16 , but she's actually 400 years old , and we know this because of the occasional flashbacks to feudal Japan . Saya's sole mission in life seems to be eradicating all demons and vampires ( I think they're the same creatures ) and tracking down the Onigen , the oldest and vilest of demons . This story takes place in 1970 Tokyo , with the Vietnam War serving as backdrop . Saya is loosely affiliated with the CIA , with her two handlers aiming her at her inhuman targets . Behind the curtain , a sinister cabal called the Council is scheming and plotting and influencing .
Saya's new assignment is to infiltrate the high school in Tokyo's U.S . Air Force Kanto Base , suspected to harbor a nest of demons . Saya is enrolled as a schoolgirl , and she goes to class dressed in one of them incongruous sailor suits which probably gets the pervy nerds all hot and bothered . She does look fetching .
At this stage , the movie had me hooked still . There's still a tension in the air . For me , it probably started going downhill when I realized that Alison Miller was going to be a fixture for the rest of the film . Alison Miller plays Alice , the General's pampered teenaged daughter , and she's straight out of a bad slasher flick . She contributes NOTHING . What's more , her constant screen time struck me as pretty insulting to Gianna Jun , the assumption being that Gianna alone can't carry a film that's intended for western audiences .
French director Chris Nahon has a vision , and it's blurry . The suspenseful aura gets shoved aside as dreariness sets in , as the story begins to plod . Even Saya's backstory is rendered uninvolving . A lot of the story content feels like padding . The dialogue is awful . And Onigen has to be one of the least formidable head vampiress / demoness in cinematic history . Based on the weak stuff she unleashes , I'm fairly certain that even someone as athletically challenged as myself can wipe the floor with this oldest and vilest of demons . I hate it when the Big Bad preens and struts and then gets dismissed as not all that and a bag of chips .
It's great fun watching Saya handle her business , swirling that sword of hers , eviscerating and cleaving demons to steaks . This is Gianna Jun's first experience with wire-fu , but she puts in the work ( check out the DVD's bonus stuff ) and she looks graceful and stylish and even convincing . But a big part of that is the surly swagger she demonstrates .
But , still regarding Saya's fight scenes , there are times when the sense is that the movie is flim-flamming its audience , and mostly this is when the pesky jerky-cam is at its most jittery . In those moments , Saya looks like she's still wreaking carnage . I just wish I could see her doing it . I'm reminded a bit - and I think I mean this in a good way - of how some of the fight scenes were rendered in AZUMI .
The dodgy CG is straight out of the Syfy Channel's house of crap . I dare you to gaze at Saya's ravine encounter with a winged demon and declare it good . The CG-rendered demons have this jarring stop motion quality that would've come off as charming except that it's not the friggin ' 1960s anymore .
The DVD's bonus material provides two featurettes : the Making Of the film ( 00 : 19 : 07 minutes ) and the Battling Demons : Behind the Stunts ( 00 : 16 : 48 ) . Lots of Gianna Jun training and rehearsing on a wire .
Go see the original animated film instead . Even DRAGONBALL Z : EVOLUTION is snickering at this one . I'm ecstatic , though , that one of Saya's handlers - the truly despicable one - gets what's coming to him .
And I still like Gianna Jun . She just doesn't get enough support in this movie . Plus , MY SASSY GIRL has really amassed a lot of good will .
056 4 I had a lot of fun watching this despite the film being plagued by a host of problems . For one thing , how can anyone botch CGI in this day and age ? I mean , if you've watched BATTLESTAR GALACTICA , you've seen how good television can do CGI . The Cylon Centurions are just spectacular and you often simply forget that they are produced by a computer program . Then in the movie CAPRICA that introduces the new BSG prequel , we see an individual Cylon that moves from merely looking photo realistic to actually acting . The subtlety is breathtaking . But BLOOD : THE LAST VAMPIRE ? The CGI in this film seems to come from 1996 , not 2009 . Or take BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER , which debuted in the spring of 1997 . The dusting of vampires looked more convincing in that show than the blobs of blood in this film does in 2009 . I watched the film on Blu-ray and perhaps it didn't look so bad on regular DVD , but it was just appalling in high-def . But the visual low point was unquestionably any scene featuring a demon - - with our without his hostage - - running around in an urban landscape . Watching that demon bounce around was the most painful bit of CGI since watching the Hulk bounce around the desert like a tennis ball in Ang Lee's misguided film . But the silly looking blood that spurts out from time to time makes the demon look high tech .
If you can get past the silly CGI , and the needless messiness of the plot , there are some fun moments . I liked the conceit of having a centuries old demon-hunting vampire who looks like an Asian school girl . I never saw the animated film the film is based on , but with some minor improvements this might have been one of the best films around featuring a vampire hero . Saya is a compelling character , well-played by Gianna Jun and really enjoyable in her long string of action sequences . The film would have been improved by a firmer implementation of the less is more principle . The length of the film was too brief to support the several story arcs contained within the film . Eliminating one or two would have streamlined the story and allowed them to focus more on character development and strengthening the remaining storylines . This would have left the film with less of a fragmented feel . As it is , the central story of Saya seeking a confrontation with her demonic nemesis ( whose identity turned out to be disappointingly pedestrian and expected ) is complicated by betrayals from within covert government operations , by a poorly told back story , and an insufficiently articulated story in the present .
All that aside , the film was still fairly entertaining . Its many flaws keep it from being as much fun as it ought to be , but it certainly is far from a completely waste of time .
061 4 This review is from :
Blood : The Last Vampire ( DVD )
I COULD NOT FIND THIS DVD ANYWHERE .
AND FOUND IT HERE
THANK YOU
062 4 I COULD NOT FIND THIS DVD ANYWHERE .
AND FOUND IT HERE
THANK YOU
064 4 WARNING : This review contains some things that could be seen as spoilers for a movie that I do not recommend wasting your time to see . I have tried to leave out some of the details , but many of the details of the spoilers are the reason this movie is so bad .
I was very intrigued when I heard that this was an anime movie involving a vampire . What an interesting combination ! However , after watching this movie , I am amazed to find so many positive reviews here at Amazon . I wonder if many people are basing their rating on the previous movie that this is based on ( or is there a comic ) ? I have not seen that movie , so this is not to be seen as a judgment of that , or anime , or anything other than THIS particular movie . While I can appreciate that fans may enjoy this movie , I think that it is important to make a movie interesting to those who may not already be familiar with the previous movie ( s ) and any sequel or prequel .
I think that this movie was absolutely terrible . I usually have no trouble getting into the world created by a movie , but I wasn't able to do that with this movie , I was aware that I was watching a movie the whole time . The characters were blatantly 2 dimensional , and I was not convinced to feel interested in what happened to any of them . Even from the beginning of the movie where there was a written background description , it became evident that the characters would be very shallow and black & white . This movie was such a disappointment and a waste of time . The ONLY reason I would be interested in watching something relevant is to try to understand the story as the original author had intended , because I feel certain that this is NOT it .
There was a schizophrenic confusion about vampires and demons - Saya is fighting the demons , and it seems that she is the last vampire referred to in the title , because she is drinking something from a bottle that looks like it could be blood . But this is never explained , just implied . Then it turns out that she is a half-demon and half human , and I was completely confused by this . How is she the last vampire when there are clearly loads of demons , and she is related to them ? If demons and vampires are the same thing , and if they had just been consistent about the names - demon OR vampire , this would have been much less confusing , even though the title the last vampire still doesn't make sense . But then , maybe ambiguity was what they needed to cover up for the Shocking Surprise . The canned plot surprise with Saya and Onigen was ridiculous , I jokingly predicted it when they first referred to Onigen as she and I was pretty disgusted at the predictability when that was actually what they chose to do . I also predicted that after Alice reminded Saya that no matter what she was human , that that would come back at the end and save her somehow - but I was wrong about that , and we were left hanging and wondering where the real ending was .
Also , it didn't make any sense to me why there were both the elder , Saya's guardian / teacher who was killed by Onigen's henchman , and Saya's father , who was killed by Onigen . It would have made more sense to combine those two characters instead of having two way too similar ( oversimplified ? ) stories , and then focus on making the rest of the plot make some sense , which this movie so desperately needed .
The General's daughter , Alice , was whiny and a wimp , not very likeable at all , and I wondered why anyone would want to save her , and why she was even in the story . The Alice in Wonderland references could have been interesting , but they were just confusing and didn't add to the story , it just seemed like she was named Alice so that they could include irrelevant references . There was very little bonding between the two female characters until the end of the movie , and I kept wondering why Saya would have gone through such great efforts to protect Alice . And how did Alice know what to do when Saya was hurt and passed out ? Most people might think of CPR in that situation , where did she get the idea to give her blood ? Yet another reason I was unable to immerse myself into the movie because it was so unbelievable .
The action scenes were very repetitive . The stop-go filming style was interesting at first , but then it was repeated so much , so many times throughout the movie , that it became boring . Particularly in the crevasse scene , there is some REALLY bad CG that looks like a video game from the mid 1990s .
I really want to give this movie more than one star , but I can't seem to justify it . There were bits that had interesting scenery , and the overall feel of the movie was that it was a high budget movie . I considered giving this movie a gratuitous bonus star , because there were certain minor parts about the character of Saya that I found interesting , and the costumes were interesting , particularly those of Saya and Onigen , but that wasn't really enough to justify another star . The part that makes me sad is that I see the potential for this to have been a really good movie , but it would take a LOT of work to get there .
You know what this movie really made me think of ? It's like a game where kids pick some names of things out of a hat and quickly make an impromptu story out of them . The author ( s ) chose tags that said : anime heroine , vampire , Alice in Wonderland , the Vietnam War , action from Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon , a you killed my father , prepare to die vendetta , a Luke , I am your father type reveal , zombie demons who are able to disguise themselves as humans , etc .
I left this movie ( thankfully a DVD , not in the theater ! ) wondering what I was missing , but not really interested in watching more to find out . It was confusing - were the demons also vampires ? Where did they come from ? Why was Onigen considered SO badass , just because she killed Saya's father ? Why did she kill Saya's father ? What the heck happened to the girls in the trippy part at the end , and where was Saya ? Did I REALLY care ? No , not really . Not really .
068 4 I paid the price of a theater ticket just to see the talented Korean actress Jun Ji Hyun ( now going by Gianna ) in her first English speaking role . Her language facility may be the best reason for choosing to see this shallow , brooding film . To all producers : please look upon this as her audition for better English-speaking roles . And check out her quality Korean films
MY SASSY GIRL
or
DAISY
to sample her talent ( you don't mind subtitles , do you ? ) .
For the movie's failure , I blame the script's amateurishness with its clunky flashbacks and failed dramatic build-up . The production values were minimal - - which probably explains the low quality of the special effects . The direction by Frenchman Chris Nahon tried for pace and excitement - - but generated mal-de-mer instead .
Jun Ji Hyun is as good as the script allows her to be . Beautiful American actress Allison Miller , in the more fleshed out role , does nicely as the audience's proxy . A flock of actors from the British Isles convincingly take on most of the American parts ( that's my excuse for not placing Colin Salmon - - he was so convincing ) .
I told others , after seeing the film in the theater , wait for the DVD . Well , here it is , guys . Just set your expectations low before you press Play and you won't be disappointed .
074 4 First off , I don't know the original anime at all so I'm not reviewing how well this translated as a live-action or captured the original work , just how it succeeded ( or didn't ) as a film all on it's own . Frankly it's a pretty by-the-numbers work with nothing new or particularly interesting .
This movie had 2 speeds : Incredibly slow and all-out action . All out action sounds good , right ? No such luck . Swing sword , bad guy explodes . Swing sword , bad guy explodes . Over and over , and over , and over . These weren't fight scenes , they were CGI / wire whack-a-mole .
Then there's a kind of interesting bit with the Council guys , but that ends quickly and then it's back to plot that's just so random and dumb I'm just wishing the vampires will show up and kill our hero and make it all end .
I know I was supposed to be impressed by the fight scene in the forest , but when the guy was surrounded by like 20 enemies , was already badly wounded , and took BOTH HANDS OFF HIS SWORD to bandage his wound - - come on didn't one of those 20 lackeys think that maybe that would've been a pretty good time to take a swing at him ? Apparently not .
Anyway , eventually the movie ended . It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen , but it still doesn't deserve more than 1 star .
