Leave it to a Frenchman to make perfume a key ingredient in the old vampire’s story. That’s just one refinement that director Luc Besson brings to this retelling of Stoker’s tale. Normally I’m a stickler for story fidelity when it comes to adapting a book into a movie, but in this case some of the changes work quite well. You can forgive Besson for shifting a large part of the story’s setting from London to Paris—it is, after all, his home turf, and not exactly a place that’s not cinematic. The difference brings a certain freshness to the non-Romanian parts of the narrative, especially given the fin-de-siècle nature of the place and time. Meanwhile, other aspects of the story are preserved to a strong degree, making the overall film a blend of both faithful adaptation and creative extension and development. There are plenty of gothic elements and eye-catching visuals here; this outing clearly owes some debt to Coppola's now-thirty-years-old version, though it lacks most of that works gleeful ghoulishness. The principal actors are quite good in their roles, and it’s always welcome to see the ever-entertaining Christoph Waltz bringing his inimitable presence in the Van Helsing role. The only real misstep comes at the climax, when the ultimate battle turns into an actual battle, one that plays more as an over-the-top exercise in moviemaking rather than as an appropriate resolution to a conflict that is ultimately more psychological and spiritual than physical. Otherwise, we're on solid ground (consecrated or otherwise) here. You’d think, at this point, that this story has been told so many times that there could be little left to find exciting in any new adaptation, but here is a proof that creative individuals can bring something new to even the oldest—maybe even worn out tales. Contrary to the story’s core premise—and perhaps expectations—this movie definitely does not suck.
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