Cursed to live as an immortal by the Witch Queen, Kaulder (Vin Diesel) continues to fulfill his duty as a witch hunter. In the modern world, however, he represents the last of his kind. Kaulder defends the world from those who try to tear it down while regulating witch behavior. When Dolan (Michael Caine), his priest mentor, is unexpectedly cursed, he must team up with a “dream walker” witch (Rose Leslie) to retrieve his past memory and take down the once-again-risen Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht).
“The Last Witch Hunter” displays just the right amount of creepy, disturbing scenes. Engelbrecht transformed completely into the Witch Queen, taking away any familiar sign of her natural beauty. The Witch Queen’s appearance is enough to take the audience’s breath away — and not in a good way. Along with the horrific appearance of the queen, the film contains glimpses of diabolic transformations and murders. But all of these disturbing images actually keep the film in good standing. It reflects the “can’t look but must” mantra, making the sinister scenes fit well with the movie.
Diesel, primarily known for his role as Dom in “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, is coming back to his “XXX” days with this movie. His acting in this movie was typical Diesel: not the best, but still good enough to make an entertaining movie. His costar, Leslie, provided witty banter and added just the right amount of chemistry for a trusted friend and a burning love interest. Caine’s appearance in the movie, though small, added maturity and balance.
As for Elijah Wood, his appearance was not necessarily desirable in the movie. That said, Wood’s character was definitely good for the film, so perhaps another actor would have worked better. The role did not fit Wood’s expertise, and each scene he played in lost momentum due to his lack of emotion. But with Diesel playing as his counterpart, the movie was still able to derive enough energy to keep it rolling.
This film had the typical supernatural ideas: mystical creatures still exist, there are good and evil witches, and there will always be that one person out to seek the good. “The Last Witch Hunter” did introduce some interesting ideas, but for the most part, it stayed pretty surface-level. There were evil witches who wanted to live forever and take over the world. There were good witches who just wanted to live as normally as their powers would allow them. There was the tough, experienced sole protector of the world. And that is what made the movie entertaining — just the surface-level, engaging plot line.
While “The Last Witch Hunter” is not exactly Grade A material, it sill depicts enough entertainment to keep it interesting.