The Last Witch Hunter

is exactly what its trailers make it look like:  a big goofy movie in which Vin Diesel uses all three of his expressions in pursuit of beating bad guys.  You either want to see a Vin with sword flick or you don't, but you should know that going into the theater; you have no one to blame but yourself if you go against your instinct.

Me, I enjoy seeing Vin stomping around and waving a sword, so I generally enjoyed the movie.  Its plot makes just enough sense (don't push its edges or ask too many questions) to be fun.  Its cast is okay, with Michael Caine once again proving he will take any role, and Rose Leslie trying to look tough enough for her character.  Elijah Wood deserves a special Oscar for Most Creepy Looking Man in a Turtleneck.

Having said all this, the movie is certainly no Fast and Furious or Riddick film, and Vin's charms often feel like a poor match for the material.

The Last Witch Hunter is decidedly minor Vin, but for some people on some nights, that's enough reason to hit the theater.  You already know if you're one of those people.

Gambit - the original

In Monday's entry, I wrote about our recent viewing of the 2012 version of Gambit. Having just seen this remake, we decided to check out the 1966 original.  I'd seen it a long time ago, but aside from remembering Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine, and Herbert Lom as the stars, the movie hadn't stuck with me much.

After watching it, I understand why:  The 1966 original just didn't quite work as well as it should have.  Two problems kept the film from being all it should have been.

First, the bad guy, the man they were plotting to rob, simply wasn't all that bad.  In the remake, Alan Rickman chewed the scenery and made himself easy to dislike.  In the same role earlier, Herbert Lom was a bit of a jerk, but not exceptionally so.  It wasn't Lom's fault; he did all he could with the part.  The script simply gave him little to do.

Second, the original was too long, so long that at times it dragged.  A full 20 minutes longer than the remake, it just didn't have enough going on to warrant all the extra time.

I found the exercise of comparing the two films interesting, but even though the original has rather higher ratings than the remake on the few sites I checked, I very much prefer the 2012 version to the original.