Title: Vampire Academy
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal (Vampires), Comedy
Rating: 3.5 Star
Book Series Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Description/Synopsis:
Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human/vampire, guardians of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discretely within our world. Her legacy is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi. This is her story.
Review – MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Hmmm. I have waited a long time to see this movie, I’m pretty sure I went to the last screening at my cinemas. I am not quite sure it was worth the wait.
I would normally round a review up or down if I rate them point something but I can’t do that here. I’m really torn up about this review actually. I would let it sit with me more so that I feel better about the whole thing but I really don’t think that would help here so I am just going to go ahead with it.
The reason I am torn up about this review is because my mind has the section in my brain where I base my review on the movie based on the book(s), and then in the other part of my brain tries (very hard) to like the movie just for the movie. I tell you guys, reviewing things has made me much more judgemental of things haha. When I go to the movies now or even just watch an old one I can’t really just sit back and watch it. In my mind I am ticking things off and noting things to comment on later. My book related brain is telling me that it was far below where I wanted it to be. The other part of my brain thought it was enjoyable enough, wouldn’t pay to see it again but if I got it on DVD or something I would pick it up and stick it in the player.
Really its just difficult because it was so different to the books in a lot of ways and they did that on purpose.
I think its very clear that the movies were trying to go for a more funny Mean Girls kind of vibe compared to the books which are rather serious. I think this was a good way to market it to the public since people tend to just want to avoid vampire movies these days. It also gave a chance to let Rose loose with her funny and witty personality. However, I think the movie fell a bit flat because they were trying just too hard to make it funny. That scene in the beginning where Rose (Zoey Deutch) and Lissa (Lucy Fry) are talking about plastic surgery and Rose makes that face… So pointless. Why oh why would they put that in there. Also, one of the lines in the movie and the trailer is “We all think we will live forever” which there was no point in having in there because Rose says that Moroi and Dhampir don’t live forever, so why would they say something like that? Pointless. So pointless.
Because the first book is one of the weaker ones due to the fact it is setting up the story here, the movie had a lot of info to cram in. They didn’t do it well. A lot of the conversations felt forced and rushed, and just generally the whole plot of it did too. We don’t get any explanation as to why Rose is training by herself with Dimitri, we don’t really get any before or after when Rose breaks into Kirova’s office, and we cram in everyone finding out they Lissa and Rose have a bond (something they didn’t find out till the end if not the second book) and have big scenes about it yet for some reason still don’t know that Rose is shadow kissed. That whole scene and series of events just seemed really poorly thought out. I assume they did it this way because its very unlikely they would have gotten to make each book into a movie so smooshed a couple bit from each into it. Though it did kind of slow down and get better paced at the end, things like that just didn’t work and you could have cut them out. Just like the plastic surgery scene, and just like the Queen Tatiana scenes. The first one was fine I spose but not needed, but the second one was just stupid and I didn’t connect with anything Lissa said. Not to mention that she would never have treated the Queen that way. We also skipped over just how hurt Rose was about the blood whore stuff. I do understand why they put in that extra scene at the start with the Strigoi though, they didn’t come into the story until much later and you couldn’t leave out a whole race of vampires from the movie.
I think Zoey Deutch did an amazing job. She wasn’t quite the Rose I had pictured in my head but she was great. She has some awesome lines which Rose would totally have said. Though I felt at times she was a bit lapsed in her duty which was all she was about. I also thought Dimitri was great, even if I thought he was a bit fat to be a ‘god.’ I loved the scenes with him and Rose the most I think. I love the fact they kept the scene with Rose trying to sneak attack him in, and I love the fact it became a running gag. My heart fluttered and went wild when he said Rosa, my Rosa when he saved her from Natalie and she was hurt. That’s it Dimitri, scoop her up in your arms and never let go! I do wish that when he walked in on Rose and Jesse that he had thrown him around more. When Rose and Dimitri wake up from the lust charm and Rose freaks out and doesn’t know where or how to cover herself up, just so funny.
Lissa though, she was a big sack of sad. I thought she looked ok if not a bit odd, but the actress just didnt do it for me. Not to mention that her entire character was pretty much destroyed. I didn’t like Lissa at all in the movie if I compare her and everything I know from the book. How dare she ever call Rose a blood whore and ask if Rose killed her cat. (On a side note I thought it was super wrong for them to introduce a cat into the story just to kill it and make Natalie look worse). That scene at the end also was a huge character flaw for Lissa. Lissa would never compel someone to jump out a window and kill themselves. She would compel them to leave the room if anything! I did like her relationship with Christian though, I thought his character was well done. I even liked the fact that he didn’t get torn apart by the hounds but got shot and got to burn them. That whole not being able to perform thing was funny and actually worked.
Natalie was done really well. I don’t remember much about her form the books but I loved her in the movie. She was so cute and despite the fact she turned out a bit messed up and evil I still felt bad for her. That scene where she was talking about not being able to undress in front of anyone and had to turn a pot plant around once so she could change was funny and awesome despite it being pointless. I also loved when she was licking the wall, though that whole scene was stupid. Why would they bring something like that into it, it wasn’t needed they and could have spent that time working on things that were in the book. The character was great though. I loved the way Sonya Karp was done, you really needed more of her in the movie than you did the book. I felt so bad for her, it was great. I for the life of me cannot understand why they put her at the end with all the other Strigoi. In the book she goes off and builds herself a place all by herself and doesn’t give a damn about the rest of them. All the rest of the characters I thought were pretty good.
By the looks of the end they are either going to skip book two and just go onto book three, because the cave stuff doesn’t happen till then and that is where the movie ends, or they will moosh them both together. If they get to make another movie that is. It didn’t do that well. I know a lot of VA fans praised it because they want a second movie, and I do too, I think it would either make it or break it in terms of how good the movie series would be, but if its going to suck I don’t want another one. This movie was different enough from the books that it has left them unblemished to me, and more movies gives them more of chances to make me start being sad that everyone bashes the books cause of the movies. I spose we will see wont we?
Till Next Time…
Jazmin Jade Reviews 