Sunday, February 16, 2014

Movie Review: Vampire Academy

I was excited to see Vampire Academy, but I had rather low expectations given the trailers.  I actually just thought the first book in the series was ok, but I absolutely loved the entire series and I was curious to see how well it translated to the big screen.  I really enjoyed it.

The plot stays true to the book, and I can't think of any major scene or major plot point that wasn't in the movie.  It had a nice balance of dark and funny (the quips from Rose were pretty hilarious) so it felt like the movie stayed true to the book.  I thought the beginning was fairly well done to explain the vampire world (sometimes that's the hardest thing to do in a movie) and I think it's easy for non book readers to follow and understand.  It did have a Mean Girls kind of feel to it, with a decent amount of high school drama, but if you think about the first book, that was a lot of it.

Ok, the actors.  Zoey Deutch was fantastic, I think she was the perfect Rose.  She was spunky, sassy, beautiful, and hilarious.  I enjoyed watching her play the part. 
I also liked Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri.  He was definitely the strong and silent type, very reserved, with the occasional facial expressions showing a break in his stoicism (the way he would look at Rose sometimes when she didn't know he was looking...very Dimitri).  And even though sometimes his accent was a little much, it was realistic (I mean, the guy is Russian). 

Now his hair was just awful, but that is really not his fault.  Why can movies change major plot points but not just give the guy short hair?  I know he had long hair in the books (which I hated, by the way) but why not just change that?  And it doesn't even make sense given that Rose (in the books and movie) talks about cutting her hair so she can show the Strigoi marks.  So it completely doesn't make sense for Dimitri to have long hair.  Ok, I spent way to much time on the hair.  But look at the pictures below.  How much better does he look with short hair???













Now Lucy Fry and Dominic Sherwood as Lissa and Christian...they were okay.  I did like that the movie focused on Rose and Lissa's relationship, which was also true to the book.  Christian was intense, but there was just something lacking for me in his character.  And Lissa's accent...I don't know, there was just something about it that bothered me, but I guess it was royal-like.  

In sum, an enjoyable film and a pretty faithful adaptation.  So go see it!  As Richelle Mead said, there needs to be a second movie so we can see who gets cast as Adrian.  If that's not enough incentive, I don't know what is!  


Posted by:  Pam

14 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie! I haven't heard like anything about it yet so it's good to hear that you liked it. I didn't see it because I haven't read the books yet. Fail. But I definitely want to! I hope they make the second one!

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    1. You should definitely read the books, it's a great series. I hope they make a second one! ~Pam

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  2. "Now his hair was just awful, but that is really not his fault" BAHAHA. I mentioned the same thing. If they felt it was really necessary for him to have long hair I wish they would have parted it down the middle. I agree about the trailers, I wish they had done that differently.

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    1. His hair was just so bad, it was actually distracting. And yeah, the trailers were not good, I think it put a lot of people off. And made the movie look a little like a spoof type movie. Oh well! ~Pam

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  3. I haven't read the first book yet, so I was waiting to watch this (honestly it would have been a renter regardless). I'm glad you enjoyed this, but I'm not a sequel is in the cards. Most of the reports I've read have all said that a low box office and harsh critic response will make it hard for the sequel to be green-lit--but you never know. Maybe if enough of the fans speak up, it will. I'll definitely keep my fingers crossed for you. I have a lot of friends who absolutely adore this series and are looking for the rest to get made. Great review!

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    1. You should definitely read the books, it's such a good series (and I love Bloodlines). But yeah, I haven't heard great things as far as box office goes. But there's always kickstarter, that's how we're getting Veronica Mars! ~Pam

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  4. I do want to read this one first! Nicole just loves the series and I feel so behind! I am glad you enjoyed it though :) Gives me hopes when I go to rent it.

    Ashley @ The Quiet Concert

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    1. What a great series and you should definitely rent it when it comes out, I really did enjoy it. ~Pam

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  5. I really need to hurry up and read this series so I can go see the movie!

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    1. It's one of those series that just gets better with each book. And the spin-off series is one of my favorites...love it too! ~Pam

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  6. I am happy to hear that you liked the movie but I am boycotting it. Probably for forever. Hah. I hated the trailer. I hate how it was portrayed like Mean Girls. And unfortunately none of the cast is as I imagined them. I am afraid seeing the movie will ruin a series that I love. :( Besides, I have a feeling they aren't going to make 5 more movies. Apparently it was a flop opening weekend. Sorry I hate that I sound so negative. I am raining on your parade. Rant over!

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    1. The trailers definitely made it seem that way, but it really wasn't like the trailers (just a touch). And yeah, I don't think they're going to make five more movies, but oh well! ~Pam

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  7. I loved the books, but I have a feeling I'm not going to like the movie. The trailer made it seem like they made a romantic comedy out of it, which the books are clearly not. After reading your review I'm more positive about the movie, I hope it is less bad than I expect:)

    Eveline's Books

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    1. There really isn't much of a romance, it does stay true to the book. There are probably more funny parts than in the book, but there is definitely humor in the books so I think it did capture that. Hope you end up enjoying it if you see it! ~Pam

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