The latest installment of the vampire sub-genre is what vampire flicks should be: slick, bloody, and cool. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat after the initial exposition to get the viewer caught up on what's going on in this futuristic world. The idea of using modern science to explain a creature that has always been more myth and legend than anything factual is not new, nor is it really used to its potential in this movie, especially since the source of the virus that causes this widespread vampirism is never explained, nor is how a stake to the heart or the sun can cause people to spontaneously combust. For a movie that wants to focus on the future it stubbornly holds on to the old tales formed from superstition and magic, not cold, hard science (lazy writing, perhaps?). A lot of unanswered questions are left hanging, making the audience wonder "is that it?", and that is the biggest fault of this movie, not the over-stylization of fight scenes like some critics have pointed out. There are a few sequences and dialogue that are downright silly, and while they don't kill the movie on their own, they sure don't help it. Slow motion was used a bit too much, especially in an overlong scene towards the end for the sole purpose of showing more blood and gore. The most shocking moments come in short back-to-back bursts in less than five minutes, both of which involved projectile vomiting and a rather startling explosion; there really wasn't any warning or time to look away if you're squeamish, so keep that in mind before snacking on something during the movie.
What does help the film are the performances from Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, and Willem Defoe; all three are good at what they do in real life and in-character given the material. Neill is very convincing as the greedy, slimy corporate head of the Bromley Marks Pharmaceutical company, which provides the blood supplies needed by the vampire population to survive. Defoe brings some genuinely funny lines to the screen and is the guy you really root for as the minutes go by. Hawke is the conflicted, almost self-loathing vampire doctor whose refusal to consume human blood leads him to search for a substitute food source, and also into some big trouble as things get a bit sticky. Another thing that really kept my attention was the sheer starkness of the visuals; the same desaturation technique was used in Underworld back in 2003, but it was much cleaner and sleeker this time around. The gorgeous, sharp, and vivid blues, blacks, and whites contrasted beautifully to the dusty, bright, and colorful scenes depicting the remnants of humanity. Slight uses of red (clothes, blood, eyes) and yellow (eyes) add to the film noir-esquire style of the film. Speaking of noir, seeing the comeback of suits and fedoras made the giddy little girl in me come out. The crispness of the suits and retro-style dresses and hairdos were the complete opposite of the casual jeans and T-shirts worn by the humans, those who were ready to fight or run as opposed to the leisurely arrogance exhibited by their blood-drinking counterparts. The Sydney Orchestra contributed well to the score, but a lot of the music got lost in the mayhem of bodies exploding and burning and cars crashing. The not-so-subtle commentary on overusing natural resources (i.e. oil) was not lost, but the underlying speculation on how fast society can turn on itself was more interesting to me; the societal "undesirables" are still part of the world, but when we no longer consider them "one of us", what would we do, and how far would we go?
Aside from the beautiful visuals and the grotesque creature provided by the ever-wonderful WETA Workshops, Daybreakers is a good way to kill a couple of hours, but nothing to break your neck to see. The lead actors are enjoyable to watch, but with so many loose ends left and some rather ridiculous action scenes, dialogue, and other smaller parts nearly overshadow them all. The subplot involving Sam Neill's daughter wasn't necessary at all, although it could have been had it been explored more deeply and made a better overall impact. Hawke's brother as his soldier counterpart was a bit more bearable to watch, but not by much; he seemed to be pretty much a paint-by-number character whose fate you already knew even before you learned his name. What I can say about the movie is that while it doesn't really go much farther than looking pretty and showcasing some gratuitous blood splatter, it's a decent film from the Spierig brothers and could most definitely give a beginner course in how to be a true vampire flick to the Twilight franchise, which doesn't even deserve to be called a vampire story.
Final score: 7/10
What does help the film are the performances from Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, and Willem Defoe; all three are good at what they do in real life and in-character given the material. Neill is very convincing as the greedy, slimy corporate head of the Bromley Marks Pharmaceutical company, which provides the blood supplies needed by the vampire population to survive. Defoe brings some genuinely funny lines to the screen and is the guy you really root for as the minutes go by. Hawke is the conflicted, almost self-loathing vampire doctor whose refusal to consume human blood leads him to search for a substitute food source, and also into some big trouble as things get a bit sticky. Another thing that really kept my attention was the sheer starkness of the visuals; the same desaturation technique was used in Underworld back in 2003, but it was much cleaner and sleeker this time around. The gorgeous, sharp, and vivid blues, blacks, and whites contrasted beautifully to the dusty, bright, and colorful scenes depicting the remnants of humanity. Slight uses of red (clothes, blood, eyes) and yellow (eyes) add to the film noir-esquire style of the film. Speaking of noir, seeing the comeback of suits and fedoras made the giddy little girl in me come out. The crispness of the suits and retro-style dresses and hairdos were the complete opposite of the casual jeans and T-shirts worn by the humans, those who were ready to fight or run as opposed to the leisurely arrogance exhibited by their blood-drinking counterparts. The Sydney Orchestra contributed well to the score, but a lot of the music got lost in the mayhem of bodies exploding and burning and cars crashing. The not-so-subtle commentary on overusing natural resources (i.e. oil) was not lost, but the underlying speculation on how fast society can turn on itself was more interesting to me; the societal "undesirables" are still part of the world, but when we no longer consider them "one of us", what would we do, and how far would we go?
Aside from the beautiful visuals and the grotesque creature provided by the ever-wonderful WETA Workshops, Daybreakers is a good way to kill a couple of hours, but nothing to break your neck to see. The lead actors are enjoyable to watch, but with so many loose ends left and some rather ridiculous action scenes, dialogue, and other smaller parts nearly overshadow them all. The subplot involving Sam Neill's daughter wasn't necessary at all, although it could have been had it been explored more deeply and made a better overall impact. Hawke's brother as his soldier counterpart was a bit more bearable to watch, but not by much; he seemed to be pretty much a paint-by-number character whose fate you already knew even before you learned his name. What I can say about the movie is that while it doesn't really go much farther than looking pretty and showcasing some gratuitous blood splatter, it's a decent film from the Spierig brothers and could most definitely give a beginner course in how to be a true vampire flick to the Twilight franchise, which doesn't even deserve to be called a vampire story.
Final score: 7/10