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The Breed

The Breed

List Price: $9.95
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Dark, gothic, and yes, very cool...
Review: Set in the near future, Bokeem Woodbine plays an NSA cop who makes an incredible discovery: vampires exist. Not only exist, but have made themselves known to humans for over a year. Now he must follow a string of murders with the help of his new partner, Aaron (Adrian Paul), who just so happens to be one of this "new breed" of humanity. Dark and filled with just the right amount of action, "The Breed" is a good vampire drama that also has a message about prejudice hidden within it. Woodbine ("Hard Cash") is fine as our main character, but Paul ("Highlander: Endgame") is the star. Not only can Paul act, he can fight. He has all the right moves to be the next big action star. All he needs is a break from his direct-to-video run. Overall, this is makes a great renter, but it's not as cool as, say, "Underworld."

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: THE BORED...
Review: The 2 stars I have given this film is for the the only 2 "real" stars of this mess; Adrian Paul and Bai Ling...As for the horrible acting (if you can call it that) by Boreem Woodbine is as wooden as it gets ! It is the near future in a dark and atmospheric almost neo-Nazi noirish world where vampires have just recently revealed themselves to humanity. However, humanity is not ready to accept them. Vampires are now the most persecuted, feared, and hated race on earth ! One renegade vampire is on a human killing spree . It is up to a human detective (Woodbine) and a vampire detective(Paul) with the help of the beautifully exotic and eccentric female vampire (Bai Ling) to track down and capture this renegade of the vampire underworld...

Truth be told that most vampire movies in today's modern age hold very little shock or horror value as in the "olden" days anymore (seen it, been there, done it, kinda attitude)...However, this so-called stylish film part-time fashion show and bottom of the barrel acting by secondary or (un)supporting actors puts the vampire story and the movie's story(myth,legend, or otherwise) into complete hilarity...Some of the effects are poorly executed much like the acting by Woodbine ( visible cable wires attached to actors, Adrian Paul's character sliding on a poorly hidden track board in a shooting sequence). In time I'm sure the creator of this post mortem production will say that it was meant to be this way as a sort of tongue and cheek homage to the older vampire Hollywood films...However, this is no homage or tribute;It's just insulting to the audience and the fool like me who rented it (one born every day, right?!)...Save your time and money. Unless, you are a truly die hard fan of Adrian Paul or Bai Ling or both more power to you.Otherwise, SKIP IT !...

P.S. Here's the hint to skipping this stinker...If you see only one VHS copy (no dvd) in one of the 2 hugest video rental stores in the nation, there's a reason ! I should have heeded such a warning.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Intriguing semi-alternate-history vampire story!
Review: The movie starts with two police detectives tracking a serial killer. They find the latest victim--but they also find her killer, who proceeds to attack them. One detective survives, and reports back to his superiors the bizarre acts he witnessed. He is informed that vampires do exist, and that he has survived an attack by one. In addition, the vampire community wants to find the killer as badly as the mortals do, and have provided the use of one of their own detectives, played by Adrian Paul (of "Highlander, the Series" fame). The mortal detective isn't thrilled to be working with one of the same types of creatures that killed his partner, but has little choice in the matter.

And so begins a movie that is part buddy-picture, part supernatural thriller, and part old-fashioned murder mystery. In addition, the movie is set in a slightly Orwellian world--the colors are muted, and there are loudspeakers in the police station spewing rhetoric as the people go about their business. But some things remain the same--the Nazis did still exist, as Adrian Paul's Jewish vampire will attest. Indeed, there is a bit of metaphor throughout the movie with the vampires playing the part of the oppressed Jews. Enough about the subtext, however--how good is the movie?

First, Adrian Paul plays one hell of a vampire. He's got a slight Polish accent that makes the character. He's also got an irritated sigh/grunt he breaks out whenever his partner says something really ridiculous that you won't be able to stop grinning at. He cuts to the chase, and he has little tolerance for flippancy--but he still possesses his own wry sense of humor, and his take on both the vampire and human worlds is priceless.

And then there's his partner (whose name I don't recall). Brash, boorish, intentionally insensitive--your typical hard-boiled detective. He's also black, which doesn't have much to do with anything, except that the movie has a little fun with his racist attitude towards the vampires. Watching him plow through the strange world of the vampires is entertaining, as he tries to judge them by his own standards, yet finds himself having to admit that not all vampires are bad--especially the foxy lady vamp played by Ling Bai!

For those worried that this movie is sounding too high-brow, you'll be relieved to know that the banter & social commentary are punctuated by pretty intense action scenes, featuring Matrix-esque gunplay and displays of vampiric might. Having seen Adrian Paul's Highlander character wielding a sword for several years, it was quite a fun change to see him engaging in two-fisted handgun action!

Adrian Paul fans should definitely see this movie. Vampire fans should also see it, as the film does a good job of portraying an actual society of vampires, rather than just a few isolated indivduals. There are no big special effects, just lots of action and characters you'll enjoy getting to know.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Oh, brother...
Review: There are 17 million Vampire Movies to chose from on DVD. Buy another one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A New Genre of Vampire Film
Review: This is a remarkable movie, & has come a long way from the Dracula movies of the 50's & 60's. Although this film will not be for everyone, it is powerfully archetypal & will become a cult classic. Vampires with their own society, with their own unique personalities-- they really do " bleed " into a homosapien world. Adrian Paul does a good job & Bai Ling is magnificent. The photography is other-worldly in a familiar, unsettling sort of way. The sets are decadent, but also possess a timeless quality. The political overtones are fascinating as well. Only the vampire terrorists are violent, etc. This is a truly fine movie & deserves more than one viewing.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The most boring vampire movie ever made
Review: This is even worse than the original Nosferatu, a silent film. The story is not fully written, it can't seem to decide if it is a vampire story, or a distopian science fiction story. The setting is never explained, or even noticed by the actors. They dress for the 1940's with dashes of the 1990's thrown in. They behave as if it were just after WWII, so why does it seem that half the story setting was stolen from George Orwell's 1984? That there are vampires is just a coincidence. The story would have worked better without them.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: would have been better if the wire work was ggod
Review: this is more like a 3 and a half stars rating.what brought this movie down for me was the sloppy hong kong wire work.the people who was doing it seemed like they never did it before.it looked so awful it was just corny.wich brought this otherwise decent flick down.the mood and scenematogrphy was good,so was the story.but the attempts at the john woo style action failed in most scenes.some looked good but for the most part they failed horribly with the action.if they had suceeded in the action part this would have been the best strait to video movie i had ever seen.but if they make a sequel they should learn from their mistakes

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: entertaining and creative!
Review: This is the best vampire movie I have seen since John Carpenter's Vampires. The old vampire story is re-vamped in this original, creative, and exciting film. It takes place in the near future and features a curious futuristic set. Techno music adds to the chilling, adrenaline filled atmosphere. I highly reccomend this movie to anyone. It has mystery, suspense, action, horror, it makes you think, its original, and even has some good touches of humor. Bokeem Woodbine, Adrian Paul, and the female lead vampire all provide mezmerizing performances. Paul is ultra cool as a new breed of police officer. THe vampire's teeth look more real then I have ever seen and the plot was impossible for me to predict (which is a good thing). I can't wait to see it again. This film was put together by some very creative people who did an excellent job! If you are a vampire movie fan you will love this one!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not bad for a B movie.
Review: This movie puts itself off as a buddy cop movie filmed in a film noir setting. As bad as this sounds it actually comes out fairly well. The movie only has one decent actor in Adrian Paul, who gives a decent but inconsistant performace as a Polish vampire with a tainted past trying to track down one of his rogue bretheren(point in case, he has accent throughout the movie with the very noticable execption of about two sceanes where it disappeares). The other main character is a cop who lost his partner to a vampire on a killing spree, is an overwritten and fairly annoying role. This is where the movie makes its main mistake. Instead of making this character a Danny Golver clone from lethal weapon, they should have cut out half of his lines and focused more on making a more visual movie in a more film noir setting. The movie looks good and has its high points, it just doesn't know when to shut up. Constiring that this was a movie a saw completely by accedent, it wasn't too bad.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I am the biggest Adrian Paul fan alive.
Review: This movie was a disappointment to me. I received this movie for a Mother's Day gift. I'm only giving it a 3 star because I love Adrian Paul.

There were a lot of silly "one liners" from Bokeem Woodine. I have never seen a movie with Woodine before and I hope I never do again. The love interest between him and Bai Ling just doesn't feel right, too fake, no true emotion.

I wasn't used to hearing Adrian Paul with an obviously fake accent. I'm sorry, it just didn't fit him, I am so used to his beautiful English accent.

It's worth watching as a movie rental; if you have nothing else to watch.


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