Very Cool!!!

To me, this movie is perfection.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Dracula was disappointing. The filmmakers spend so much time focusing on visual effects (which were impressive), that other areas of the movie suffer. Most of the performances are either flat (*cough*Keanu*cough*) or over the top, and the film itself seems disjointed. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer Tod Browning's Dracula or F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu to Coppola's attempt at Bram Stoker's novel.

DraculaStarring : Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves and Richard Grant, Screenwriter : James V. Hart, Director : Francis Ford Coppola2 and a half out of 5Dracula is a feature focusing more on the emotional trauma of the protagonist which is fueled by the tragic incident occurred and the unfortunate catastrophe it bred along with it. There have been plenty of remakes and origins of the beloved character Dracula of the Dark Universal, but there are very few who got the character right and this is one of them but unfortunately the feature isn't up to the mark. The script has a familiar format and follows a rudimentary process but its newer perspective and smarter approach is what helps the makers to lure the audience in. It is rich on technical aspects like costume design, make-up design, art design and production design and is short on editing and sound department. There is a lot of content for the makers to cover-up within 2 hours of its runtime which is what helps keep the audience hooked to it as the feature never leaves its definite pace. Adapted from Bram Stoker's novel, James V. Hart's screenplay isn't as smart as it seems for there seems plenty of material that could have been edited out and instead falls into the commercial aspects of it. Francis Ford Coppola is no short on execution but lacks proper concrete material in script that helps connect with the viewers for it's all crisp all the time. The performance objective is something in its favor where the protagonist or antagonist (it's debatable) Gary Oldman is the real gem of the feature and is supported decently by Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves. Darcula is mortal and yet not easily forgettable and the primary reason to that would be Oldman's one of the finest performance as he breathes the character in every frame.

As my hero, Dracula was portrayed fairly in this movie.

On the run-up to Halloween 2017, I once again watched this movie which was being shown on TV. Apart from the aforementioned superb Mr. Oldman, who manages to imbue his portrayal of Dracula with pathos as well as menace, the rest of the cast are clearly hell-bent (no pun intended) on over-acting each other off the screen. By far the worst, hammy and intensely irritating performance comes from Sadie Frost with a badly miscast Keanu Reeves coming in a very close second. I am afraid that Winona Ryder does not fare much better, and quite why Sir Anthony Hopkins involved himself in this movie miasma is beyond me.The special effects which, at the time were state of the art, now seem a bit rickety.What should have been a classic for all the right reasons has become a classic for all the wrong ones. What a missed opportunity.