Luc Besson is a polarizing figure when it comes to film (this is not a statement on his accusations and personal choices but rather his output as a filmmaker) whether it be the questionable ages in Leon the Professional, or the quality of product he puts out, his films typically dazzle in illusion and graphics like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. When it was announced he was adapting/making his own version of Dracula the first question was why (we’ve had so many versions and most lately we have had Egger’s Nosferatu) but the curiosity was peaked with an incredible cast on board, there was some hope and faith the retelling of the classic tale could be one of interest. Instead, it was more a blood sucking expedition that borrows plot points, character design and so much more from the plethora of previous entanglements that ultimately just strives the audience to want to watch those other adaptations than enjoy the one in front of them.
It is very important to distinguish that this isn’t a retelling of Dracula from Nosferatu, a reimagining of the story, but rather an adaptation specifically of Stoker’s novel and the influence that Coppola brought to that story as well – so this isn’t Besson bringing his own take and flare to the character, but rather a retelling of the story we’ve seen adapted before. In this version we have Vlad/Dracula (Caleb Landry Jones) whose characterization feels lifted directly off the temu version of Coppola’s version of Stoker’s Dracula, as he is roaming the world, undead of course, grieving his dead wife Elisabeta (Zoe Bleu) however this is where he meets Mina (also played by Zoe Bleu), the fiancé of Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid). This story unfolds, like the rest of Dracula’s story, with the priest that is also present in the form of Christoph Waltz, whose presence is slightly unknown here but would’ve been more interesting as Van Helsing instead of an unnamed priest that doesn’t have much to do.
The positives in Besson’s Dracula here are Caleb Landry Jones who is completely innocent in this retelling of the tale as old as time, and that is roughly where the positives end. The cinematography and design of everything is exquisite, but Zoe Bleu is unfortunately a weak point in the film and considering she is a co-lead in the film it is detrimental to the final product. Christoph Waltz is criminally underutilized as the priest, and feels like he was added for support and to extend the run time oddly. Besson who writes most of his scripts, knows how to create his own ideas and flesh out thoughts, so re-adapting and reimagining something that been done to literal death at this point was an odd choice, and one that he did not excel at and makes a rather tedious Dracula outing overall. In general, Dracula lacks something new and inspiring to create audiences to be thoroughly engaged and invested in seeing another tale for the prince of darkness but Caleb Landry Jones is innocent throughout.
