The Last Witch Hunter

[alobear]

I would say this was a mediocre film lifted (just enough to make it enjoyable) by an excellent cast.  Vin Diesel is eminently watchable in this kind of thing, and made the main character of Calder likeable and interesting.  Michael Caine seemed to be inwardly wincing at some of the dialogue he had to spout, but generally did a good job as the ageing sidekick.  Elijah Wood was a nice surprise, and added nuance to a fairly thin character.  And it was lovely to see (and hear) Rose Leslie exercising her natural (and ridiculously RP) accent in a role she managed to make very appealing.  The plot was fairly bobbins, the action sequences weren't exactly stellar, and some of the writing was pretty clunky, but I checked my brain at the door and had a pretty good time overall.

It did feel rather more like a TV pilot than a film - and I would happily give the ensuing series a few episodes to find its feet - but, sadly, I don't think it's going to happen.