Well, I just watched this and I thought it was fair. A little slow paced, but this is NOT the work of an untalented hack. At least I could sit through this - which is more than I can say for the Hulk (1st one), Matrix reloaded, or any of the Star Wars sequels.
The biggest faults I saw were Michael Madsen and Ben Kingsley. I know some people say 'well, look at what they had to work with!". Sorry - that's a lame excuse. These folks didn't even put in any effort at all. I have seen high school students auditioning for a part - never having read or acted before- who delivered lines better than Madsen. even if an actor thinks the script and movie is crap, I feel they should give it their best shot. Look at Geraldine Page's cameo - she was great! She put her soul in that little scene. I also think Billy Zane did a great job - he approached this as a B part in a B-movie (which it was) and tried to have some fun with it. So don't blame Boll for Masden's performace. Check him out on Sin City - he sucked there too. It just ain't just the director folks!
As for Kingsley. Again, there was no excuse for his poor acting.. He spoke like Madsen on Quaaludes. Ugh. He is supposed to be a great actor - couldn't he have put at least SOME emotion in his delivery? Who was his teacher - Nick Cage?
This is an early effort from Dr. Boll, and while the movie is not a terribly good one, I have seen much much much worse over my 40 years of watching film.
Even if you think this movie is bad - it does not deserve an imdb rating of 2. That is just plain nuts, and I wonder how many people trashed this film with a 1 or 2 BEFORE even seeing it?
Me- I would give this a 5...
On a related note: I recently have seen "Dungeon Siege" which both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed. It was nice to see Dr. Boll improving himself as a director - there is definite improvements in camera work, editing, cinematography, etc. from BloodRayne to Dungeon Siege..count me in the minority that is looking forward to Dr. Boll increasing his skills and providing more entertaining films in the future.
btw. if someone thinks I have no taste in movies- I studied film in school, have made independent shorts, and have films by Fritz Lang, Sergei Eisenstein and Jean Renoir in my DVD collection. No of course this film doesn't even compare to any of the lessor works of these great directors. But that doesn't mean this man deserves to be trashed as the worse director who has ever lived.
Just my opinion, which I understand may not be shared by many.
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