The Last Witch Hunter

Vin Diesel makes a bid for yet another franchise with a supernatural action romp that's both deeply ridiculous and enjoyably entertaining. The premise is basically Underworld with witches, and Diesel uses his meathead charm to coast through his role as an immortal warrior. Thankfully, the crazed production design and some solid costars do most of the acting for him. And director Breck Eisner keeps the pace snappy enough to hold the audience's interest, even if we're laughing at it rather than with it.

Diesel plays Kaulder, who in the 13th century killed a nefarious witch queen (Julie Engelbrecht) and was cursed with immortality. Now 800 years later, he's living the high life in Manhattan and leading the Axe and Cross to contain the world's witch population. His assistant is the 36th Dolan (Michael Caine), who has just named the 37th (Elijah Wood) when they're attacked by the mysterious Belial (Olaf Darri Olafsson). He's determined to resurrect the queen and return humanity to the dark ages. So Kaulder sets out to stop him, teaming up with helpful witch Chloe (Rose Leslie), who has some special abilities that aid them as things get increasingly crazed.

Kaulder is apparently based on a Dungeons & Dragons character, and in Diesel's hands feels rather under-developed. Even after 800 years, he still doesn't understand how pointless it is to take a gigantic gun to fight a supernatural menace. Basically, all Diesel has to do is scowl and growl manfully, so he generously steps aside and lets his supporting cast steal every scene. Leslie is terrific as the feisty Chloe, giving the entire film a sense of complexity that the script seems to be deliberately avoiding. Caine and Wood add some emotional gravitas to their roles as Kaulder's concerned protectors. And Olafsson manages to be an even bigger slab of meat than Diesel, with added Nordic beardy appeal. (To be fair, Diesel also gets to go beardy for the 13th century flashbacks.)

All of this is rather a lot of corny fun, with no subtext whatsoever. The flirtation between Kaulder and Chloe is perfunctory at best, and Kaulder's lingering grief over his long, long, long lost wife and child is only meaningful because the warmly glowing flashbacks and surging musical score tells us it is. Meanwhile, director Eisner mixes up the Game of Thrones style medieval scenes with chaotic action sequences in New York, far too many gloopy digital effects and some delightfully deranged touches (such as a gummy bear moment). In other words, it's just nutty enough to keep the audience smiling through every preposterous moment.

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