Today’s quick review: BloodRayne. Rayne (Kristanna Loken), a half-vampire, escapes from the carnival where she is imprisoned and sets out to kill Master Kagan (Ben Kingsley), the vampire who raped and murdered her mother. To have a chance at Kagan, she joins forces with the Brimstone Society (Michael Madsen, Matthew Davis, and Michelle Rodriguez), a group of vampire hunters sworn to overthrow Kagan’s rule.
BloodRayne is a fantasy action movie from director Uwe Boll based on the video game of the same name. BloodRayne aims to be a slick fantasy epic that pits vampire against vampire. However, the movie is not up to the task. Cardboard acting, jumbled writing, and poor presentational choices undermine what little credibility the movie manages to build up. BloodRayne offers some action and the outline of a decent plot, but nothing more.
BloodRayne’s weaknesses begin with its heroine. Kristanna Loken turns in a thin performance as Rayne, one that isn’t helped by the script’s clumsy treatment of the character. Rayne vacillates wildly between untrained amateur and instinctive killing machine. The two sides to the character mix about as well as oil and water. Rayne has too much prowess to make an effective student, yet she blunders far too often to make a convincing hero.
More broadly, BloodRayne struggles with its storytelling. The basics of the plot are fine, but its execution is confusing. The film struggles to keep its logic consistent from scene to scene, and it wastes time with a large supporting cast who never receive proper introductions. BloodRayne tries to pull back the curtain on a rich fantasy world, but every new revelation muddies the central plot a little bit more.
BloodRayne also flubs its emotional arc. Apart from the film’s inability to pin down Rayne, the Brimstone Society have their own story arc that could have been moving in the right hands. BloodRayne goes through the motions of drama, but it doesn’t seem to understand what it is doing. The victories are meaningless, the losses are unsurprising, and the payoff is flat. The coup de grace is a cast that performs well below its potential.
Still, BloodRayne manages to get a few things right. The action sequences are fairly impressive relative to the film’s budget. The fight choreography is nothing special, but the practical effects are enough to give the battles some weight. The direction is fifty-fifty: scenic establishing shots and fine basic camerawork share screen time with pointless flashbacks and failed attempts to spice up the action.
BloodRayne will only appeal to the most curious or easy-going of viewers. Its pervasive flaws and limited strengths make it a rough watch, although the right viewer might have fun with the holes in its plot or its half-decent action. Most viewers will want to steer clear. For a high fantasy movie of similar caliber, check out In the Name of the King. For a series that hits the target BloodRayne misses, check out Underworld and its sequels.
2.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 3.5 for weak writing and acting offset only slightly by decent action.