The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

The last witch hunter is all that stands between humanity and the combined forces of the most horrifying witches in history.

Director:

Breck Eisner

Writers:

Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama

Stars:

Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vin Diesel	...	Kaulder
Rose Leslie	...	Chloe
Elijah Wood	...	Dolan 37th
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson	...	Belial
Rena Owen	...	Glaeser
Julie Engelbrecht	...	The Witch Queen
Michael Caine	...	Dolan 36th
Joseph Gilgun	...	Ellic
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Max Schlesinger
Michael Halsey	...	Grosette
Sloane Coombs	...	Elizabeth
Lotte Verbeek	...	Helena
Dawn Olivieri	...	Danique
Inbar Lavi	...	Sonia
Armani Jackson	...	Armani

Storyline

The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including Kaulder, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful Queen Witch, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen curses Kaulder with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today Kaulder is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to Kaulder, the Queen Witch is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.

---

Plot Keywords:

witch hunter | witch | magic | black magic | human branding | 

---

Taglines:

Live Forever.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images

Did You Know?

Trivia

The alert on Chloe's phone says "Miranda's Feed :Gwarlockmaster18 retwitched your twitch: The Witch Hunter is genocidal...an immortal fascist...a scarecrow filled with hen-bane."

---

Goofs

Chloe mentions witches being burned at the stake in Salem. This is a common misconception. In fact, no witches were ever burned at the stake in the eventual United States. Drowning was a common death suffered by people accused of witchcraft during interrogation at the Salem witch trials. If the accused survived the interrogation and confessed then the sentence for witch craft was for the accused to be hung by the neck until dead.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Belial: I swear to you, every single mother and daughter, father and son taken from us by the Black Plague will be avenged. It is their Witch Queen who brought this curse upon our lands. And in her death lies our salvation. Be warned, brothers. She will never truly perish until her heart beats its last. Let fear be dead to us. There is no going back, for there is nothing to go back to.

---

Crazy Credits

The Summit Entertainment logo appears on a parchment in ink, with the text is written in runic script before morphing into normal letters.

---

Alternate Versions

The UK version theatrical release is cut in order to secure a 12A rating. During post-production, the distributor was informed by the BBFC that the film was likely to be passed 15 but that their preferred (and more profitable) 12A could be achieved by making a number of reductions to moments of violence and horror. When the film was submitted for formal classification, acceptable reductions had been made and the film was classified 12A. The subsequent video release is uncut with a 15 classification.

---

Connections

Featured in Conan: Elijah Wood/John Fogerty/Richard Thompson (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2, Moonlight
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Jenõ Jandó (as Jeno Jando)
Courtesy of Naxos by arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

While Vin Diesel is hunting for witches, you might be hunting for some sense

If Vin Diesel is planning to star in another franchise after the successes of The Fast and the Furious and Riddick, he has another think coming. There is a fair bit of action that makes use of Diesel's physical presence but the movie is bogged down in expository dialogue and a story that is incomprehensible at times. It also doesn't help when the majority of the film is set at night with quite a few of the action scenes being difficult to see.

Kaulder (Vin Diesel) is an 800 year old warrior whose main goal in life is to rid the world of witches. Just before he succeeds in eliminating the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht), she curses him with immortality. We next see him in present day where he is still fighting the evil forces, this time with a priest bestowed with the title of Dolan 36th (Michael Caine). Realising that he can't continue forever unlike his immortal friend, Dolan 36th introduces Kaulder to another priest in Dolan 37th (Elijah Wood) who will take over the reigns as Kaulder's sidekick. Joining them is a good witch named Chloe (Rose Leslie), otherwise known as a dream walker.

Vin Diesel has a limited acting range but makes use of it in this type of role where he is the action hero although he's not as convincing as he is in the Fast and the Furious series. That's probably because the wisecracks are funnier and the character of Dominic Toretto is more fleshed out. Two time Oscar winner Michael Caine has a small role and is in a coma for most of the film. He once said of his Jaws 4: The Revenge role that the house that Jaws built was terrific so the role of Dolan 37th must have financed his holidays. Elijah Wood displays his dramatic abilities and is involved in a twist which is preposterous.

The editing is fast and furious at times which makes it difficult to focus on what's happening in the action sequences. They seem to be well-choreographed with the exemplary sound effects bringing the fight scenes to life. Most of the visual effects are of the CGI variety and make a solid contribution to the look of the film. No matter how successful or unsuccessful a film is with the technological side of things, if the story is inferior like it is in this film, the overall impact suffers. There is a lack of tension for this particular genre and if you can remember the majority of the film after seeing it, you're doing much better than I am.

The Last Witch Hunter is a forgettable movie that has better action sequences than plot lines and dialogue. Vin Diesel has shown in the past that he can carry a movie, just not this one. The box office reception suggests that he should stick to the Fast and the Furious franchise. http://mlaimlai2.wix.com/magical-movie-review

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA China Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Witch Hunter

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,812,861, 25 October 2015

Gross USA:

$27,367,660

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$146,936,910

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, TIK Films, Mark Canton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Auro 11.1 Dolby Digital Datasat Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1