"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter": What the critics say
(CBS News) The life of the 16th president is reimanged in the new film, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," out Friday.
Starring Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper and Anthony Mackie, the movie follows Lincoln as he discovers that vampires plan to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.
Read more: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" author speaks out
Film aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gave the supernatural thriller a 36 percent rating.
One critic called the film "fun," while others weren't impressed with the rewriting of history.
Here's what a few had to say:
Rafer Guzman of Newsday: "So seriously, in fact, that the film seems to consider itself a legitimate biopic, as somber as 'J. Edgar' and as rueful as 'The Iron Lady' -- and that's despite the presence of gurgling Confederates in pancake makeup. It's a baffling approach to an audaciously silly concept, and the result is not just a letdown but an absolute disaster."
Kyle Smith of The New York Post gave the film no stars, explaining: "Don't let the stupid title dissuade you from seeing 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.' Let the stupid plot, the stupid history, the stupid action scenes, the stupid trivializing of slavery . . . On an unfortunate-ideas scale of one to 10, with one being "wearing white pants after Labor Day" and five being "Green Lantern," this one rates about a fourscore and seven."
Christy Lemire of The Associated Press: "Unfortunately, director Timur Bekmambetov and writer Seth Grahame-Smith, adapting his own best-selling novel, take this concept entirely too seriously. What ideally might have been playful and knowing is instead uptight and dreary, with a visual scheme that's so fake and cartoony, it depletes the film of any sense of danger."
Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post: "As much of a mixed bag as its portmanteau title suggests, 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' is both terribly silly and a lot of fun. Delivering fewer consistent frights and more laughs than some might wish from a flick about bloodsucking ghouls, this adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's 2010 bestseller is nevertheless reasonably gripping summertime entertainment."
Ty Burr of The Boston Globe: "No stand a chance of pulling this off on film, you need wit and a deft touch, and, boy, is Timur Bekmambetov the wrong man for the job. (Tim Burton, who produced, would have been the better choice.) The director came out of Russia some years back with a pair of showy fantasy thrillers, 'Night Watch' and 'Day Watch,' and has since made the Angelina Jolie shoot-em-up 'Wanted.' Bekmambetov's filmmaking style manages to be both frantic and ponderous, and he has the humor of a nightclub bouncer."
Tell us: Will you go see "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"?