Uwe Boll has gained a reputation during the last few years, mostly on the internet, of being "the worst director ever". Of course, as it usually happens with these exaggerations, I found this rep to be totally unjustified after watching his two "BloodRayne" outings. Sure, they are both flawed, but on the whole they're no worse than the average DTV release you can find in a quick trip to the video store; not to mention that all this negative hype actually works FOR them, because when you sit down to watch them you're expecting something much worse than what you get.
"BloodRayne" was a medieval vampire horror flick with Kristanna Loken as the title character. "BloodRayne II" is a much more contemporary vampire western, and Loken has been replaced with Natassia Malthe. I actually liked both interpretations of the role - Loken is a touch more sensual, but Malthe has perhaps better kicking abilities; the bottom line is, they're both extremely beautiful and their red hair compliments their faces even more. Production-wise, the film is OK, though it doesn't have the "epic" feeling of the first. The script has some flaws (too much time passes before we first meet Rayne, some of the supporting characters - especially her sidekicks - are not very well defined and seem to come out of nowhere, there are minor inconsistencies with the first film, etc.), but I think the weakest aspect of both films is the action itself: Rayne never seems to get into full kick-ass mode, and the action scenes are often too blurry in the first film, too dark here. I did like the nods to Morricone's scores though - were those notes from the harmonica theme in "Once Upon A Time In The West" I heard at one point?
What I enjoyed more about these films is probably the character of BloodRayne herself. She is ageless, she is strong, she can fight, but she is also essentially sweet: she cares about humanity and uses her powers to battle evil supernatural creatures that prey on innocent people. She will drink human blood - but only if it's offered to her, she won't attack you for it (she can live on blood from animals or other vampires). And on top of all that, she has a sense of humor. In other words, Rayne is marriage material. So if they ever make "BloodRayne III" - either with Loken or with Malthe - I'll be there; let's just hope the action scenes are longer and clearer the next time. (**1/2)
"BloodRayne" was a medieval vampire horror flick with Kristanna Loken as the title character. "BloodRayne II" is a much more contemporary vampire western, and Loken has been replaced with Natassia Malthe. I actually liked both interpretations of the role - Loken is a touch more sensual, but Malthe has perhaps better kicking abilities; the bottom line is, they're both extremely beautiful and their red hair compliments their faces even more. Production-wise, the film is OK, though it doesn't have the "epic" feeling of the first. The script has some flaws (too much time passes before we first meet Rayne, some of the supporting characters - especially her sidekicks - are not very well defined and seem to come out of nowhere, there are minor inconsistencies with the first film, etc.), but I think the weakest aspect of both films is the action itself: Rayne never seems to get into full kick-ass mode, and the action scenes are often too blurry in the first film, too dark here. I did like the nods to Morricone's scores though - were those notes from the harmonica theme in "Once Upon A Time In The West" I heard at one point?
What I enjoyed more about these films is probably the character of BloodRayne herself. She is ageless, she is strong, she can fight, but she is also essentially sweet: she cares about humanity and uses her powers to battle evil supernatural creatures that prey on innocent people. She will drink human blood - but only if it's offered to her, she won't attack you for it (she can live on blood from animals or other vampires). And on top of all that, she has a sense of humor. In other words, Rayne is marriage material. So if they ever make "BloodRayne III" - either with Loken or with Malthe - I'll be there; let's just hope the action scenes are longer and clearer the next time. (**1/2)