“By iron, by fire.” These words are what Kaulder (Vin Diesel) says as he and a group of warriors are fighting the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht) who is responsible for cursing the human race with a terrible plague. With the Witch Queen’s last breath she curses Kaulder with immortality, doomed to walk the Earth and never meet with his wife and child in death. Cut to eight hundred years later; witches, magical humans with the power to manipulate the four elements, earth,wind, fire and air, have signed a pact with regular humans stating that they may walk among them in safety but must never use their magic against them.
Kaulder is part of an organization known as the Axe and Cross and he takes in witches that have violated the pact and arrests them. But one case starts to give bad omens, dark magic is lurking about, and one witch promises the return of the Witch Queen. It’s up to Kaulder, the 37th Dolan (Elija Wood) and Chloe (Rose Leslie) to work together to stop the return of the Witch Queen once and for all.
Directed by Breck Eisner, “The Last Witch Hunter” is a stand-alone action movie that takes place in New York City. Though the location does lead to some interesting sets and locations, the overall picture lacks scope as the cast never leaves New York City. The pacing of the picture starts out slow, building Kaulder’s backstory and introducing how he has adapted to modern times. These first few parts of the movie set the audience up for a movie with large scope or perhaps a large adventure with Kaulder and the other characters. However, by the time Kaulder is going after the Witch Queen, the pacing ramps up and only focuses on that single objective until the credits roll.
The writing of the movie doesn’t know whether or not to take it seriously. The audience may have a hard time trying to get invested in Kaulder’s inner turmoil right after Chloe attempts to take a selfie with him. Another issue with the writing is that it not only pulls a twist that causes the movie to carry on for another twenty minutes; it also ends on a Sequel Hook.
To the movie’s credit the acting is fairly good, Vin Diesel’s gruff and very serious but nonchalant approach to everything helps carry the movie; he definitely acts the part of an eight-hundred year-old warrior. Elijah Wood, Rose Leslie and Michael Caine (36th Dolan) all do fair performances with their given dialogue.
“The Last Witch” Hunter ends up falling flat on some levels that make a good film: bad writing, lack of scope and fluctuating pacing only entertains those who are fans of Vin Diesel. This doesn’t even begin to get into the issues such as the cinematography, plot and final act. “The Last Witch Hunter” should stay the last one.
