Genre:
Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Comedy
Rating:
PG-13
Contains Sexual Content, Language,
Bloody Images and Violence
Release Date:
February 7, 2014
Run Time:
104 minutes
Distributors:
The Weinstein Company
Synopsis:
Based on author Richelle Mead’s worldwide bestselling series, Vampire Academy tells the legend of Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir, two 17-year-old girls who attend a hidden boarding school for Moroi (mortal, peaceful vampires) and Dhampirs (half-vampire/half-human guardians). Rose, a rebellious guardian-in-training and her best friend, Lissa – a royal vampire princess – have been on the run when they are captured and returned to St. Vladamir's Academy, the very place where they believe their lives may be in most jeopardy. Thrust back into the perils of Moroi society and high school, Lissa struggles to reclaim her status while Rose trains with her mentor and love-interest, Dimitri, to guarantee her place as Lissa’s guardian. Rose will sacrifice everything to protect Lissa from those who intend to exploit her from within the Academy walls and the Strigoi (immortal, evil vampires) who hunt her kind from outside its sanctuary.
(source)
Cast:
Zoey Deutch as Rose Hathaway
Lucy Fry as Lissa Dragomir
Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri Belikov
Dominic Sherwood as Christian Ozera
Sarah Hyland as Natalie Dashkov
Cameron Monaghan as Mason Ashford
Sami Gayle as Mia Rinaldi
Directed by:
Mark Waters
Screenplay by:
Daniel Waters
Based on the novel by:
Richelle Mead
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**My Thoughts**
Well...here's another adaptation of a Young Adult novel. This Vampire Academy film is based on the first novel of the same title, written by Richelle Mead. I have seen several film adaptations based on various novels. Some have been successful, but others dangerously skewed off track from the novel it's based on...and I'm not talking about recent films. The recent trend has been films based on Young Adult books since The Twilight Saga hit the big screen. Since then, recent films based on YA books have been unfairly judged and constantly compared to the success of the Twilight films. It is no wonder why moviegoers already have an unfair concept of what to expect. Therefore, I have constantly reminded myself when going to the movie theater, I remind myself that the film is only an adaptation/interpretation of what the screenwriters got from reading the book. It is always a given that some changes are made, but will the changes maintain the essence of the story...is the question.
After watching Vampire Academy with my daughter (who hasn't read the book yet), I was simply amused that how I reacted to the film was the same way I reacted when I read the book. For the most part, casting was spot on! I thought that the main cast, namely Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Dominic Sherwood and Sarah Hyland captured the emotional and wittiness of their characters...as did the entire cast. The cast definitely had chemistry, they worked well together bringing these characters to life. On screen, I saw the characters, not the actors playing characters. I can easily say that they are who I imagined as each of their respective characters. Like any teen movie, there will always be teenage angst...be it human teens or vampire teens. I absolutely loved how they weaved the issue of bullying into the storyline...as it was touched upon in the book as well. Again, I was totally blown away at how well the cast portrayed these beloved characters from the Vampire Academy novel.
As for setting and atmosphere, I was amazed at how much of the book they captured. The film was dark and ominous, yet teenage angst and humor balanced it out. Of course, there was the fair share of action and forbidden romance to bring it all together. With guardians protecting the Moroi, action was definitely a given. We definitely had to see Rose Hathaway kick some ass...hahaha!
All in all, my daughter and I absolutely enjoyed the film. I found myself laughing and gasping throughout the movie. In my opinion, I believe they captured the heart and essence of what Richelle Mead put to paper. If you haven't seen the film, and enjoy a good teen romantic thriller movie with the twist of the supernatural and humor, Vampire Academy does have it all.
My rating:
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***The Giveaway***
1 Vampire Academy poster signed by Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky,
Dominic Sherwood, Lucy Fry & Sarah Hyland
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