Vampire Academy: Review
Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch) is a Dhampir, half human/vampire, guardians of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discretely within our world. Her legacy is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi. This is her story. Written by Richelle Mead (novel) and Daniel Waters (screenplay). Directed by Mark Waters.
I watched this movie on opening weekend and I really enjoyed it. I have been a big fan of the books, though I’m still yet to finish the 6th book in the series (I have a procrastination problem, I know). This series is a different take on vampires. I know many of us get washed out on the idea of yet again…more vampires, but this story/film was more like a community of vampires. The movie as a whole worked to give justice to the book. To speak of the film without considering the novel, it definitely tried to capture key points but in fast forward. Of course it is always difficult to capture the feel and main aspects of a novel and transform that into film, but I felt there was a lot of potential here. I hope they consider a sequel, but only time will tell. Now to get down to the actors, let me start by saying Zoey Deutch as Rose Hathaway was spot on! Rose has this snarky way of being, she is the main character and the heart of this series. Zoey was exactly who I would have envisioned for Rose and I was so happy with her performance. Lucy Fry played Lissa Dragomir, another main character. She also did a great job but random side note, I was beyond bothered by her mouth! lol It sounds so petty, but it was as they made her wear the fangs at all times. But anyway, beside that, she played a decent part but I can’t say that she was my ideal Lissa. Danila Kozlovsky played Dimitri. He was a bit stiff, but the character of Dimitri does lack humor, so it could be he was channeling Dimitri all the way lol He is a handsome guy but the hair, oh the hair, I didn’t care for the wig (I presume). Yet again I aim for the petty comments! Dominic Sherwood as Christian Ozera was also a fave. He had the darkness that Christian portrays in the novels, but also the kind heart that Lissa sees in him. Sarah Hyland played Natalie and was cute with a smidge of crazy. Well a lot of crazy! But the character of Natalie was a bit loopy, so speaking on the work of the actress, she did great. Other notable actors were Gabriel Byrne (Victor Dashkov), Olga Kurylenko (Headmistress Kirova), Cameron Monaghan (Mason), Joely Richardson (Queen Tatiana), and Sami Gayle (Mia Rinaldi). Overall, I would recommend giving this movie a chance. I found it to be very entertaining and definitely worth the watch. Enjoy!
