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Vampire Wars
Manga // Unrated // June 25, 2002
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
I really enjoyed the vampire-themed anime series Hellsing, and the prospect of seeing even more of the animated undead duking it out in a blood-soaked sixty minute adventure was too much to pass up. Disappointingly, Vampire Wars doesn't even come close to providing what its thoroughly misleading title would seem to indicate.
Vampire Wars opens at a NASA base in Arizona as a group of scientists are planning to broadcast a radio signal into the far reaches of space. A terrorist group blasts in with no apparent motive, and one of its members, after managing to withstand heavy gunfire, sacrifices herself in a blaze of glory. Within a matter of days, the remains of an American CIA agent wash up in Paris. Monsieur Lassar, a higher-up in a covert French government agency, is convinced that the two events are somehow related and that the Americans must be up to something devious. He's hesitant to dispatch any of his own men to determine what the CIA's underlying motives may be, as doing so may strain international relations. Lassar turns to KGB-schooled freelance assassin Kousaburo Kuki for assistance. I suppose it wouldn't be as dramatic if Lassar were to just ASK him, so of course, Kuki is kidnapped, tortured, and framed for murder. Death threats are tossed out from both directions, but inevitably, Kuki accepts and sets out to discover the Americans' hidden agenda. Almost immediately, he bumps into Lamia Vindaw, the star of stage and screen who has taken a lengthy six-month break from the public eye while being treated by a renowned blood expert. Lamia somehow holds the key to the puzzle, and she's desired by the CIA, Lassar's group (the subtitles and English dub each refer to the group under vastly different names), and a bloodthirsty vampire who slaughters her entourage.
Vampire Wars incorporates a number of elements from various spy movies, including the agent on the run who in short order falls in love with the attractive woman he's meant to protect. There's even a cliched sequence where Kuki responds to Lassar's demands with "...and if I refuse...?" shortly before screaming in agony as he's tortured. The intrigue and mystery typically associated with the spy genre are wholly absent, and its horror elements are lackluster as well. There are only two bloody vampire attacks that occur on-screen, and Vampire Wars' titular creatures owe more to Gene Roddenberry in origin than Bram Stoker. Despite what its title would suggest, Vampire Wars does not actually feature any actual conflict among vampires. You could, in fact, count all of the vampires that appear throughout the length of the film on one hand and still have a couple of fingers left over. Only one vamp appears for any noteworthy length of time until the last few minutes of the movie, and he's at best a minor supporting character. Neither of the genres Vampire Wars attempts to merge offer much action or interest at all.
Despite running under an hour and overflowing with various storylines, very little actually happens, and that paltry amount often doesn't make any sense. We're first introduced to Kuki as he responds to a friend's frantic phone call. Upon his arrival, he encounters an axe-toting, bug-eyed nut who doesn't appear to be a vampire and doesn't relate in any way to anything that happens throughout the remainder of the movie. Shameless padding? Beats me. This is the sort of movie where characters are frequently shot, but once or twice isn't enough. Entire clips have to be emptied into each and every victim, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Kuki also appears to be a whiz with the ladies. A female agent of Lassar's delivers some documents to Kuki, a man who she had never met before. With minimal flirting, Kuki begins undressing her from the moment she steps into the room. He and Lamia also have fully-clothed sex late in the movie, and I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of that one.
After a climatic battle where Lamia uses some newfound powers to decimate her captors, she and Kuki head to Transylvania with the fate of the world literally hanging in the balance. What happens next? will they arrive in time to revive the vampire king? Will a war-crazed alien race decimate the earth? Is Kuki a vampire now? Vampire Wars's response -- "roll credits". So many questions are left up in the air, and numerous plot threads dangle without any resolution in sight. There's not even a Vampire Wars II: Electric Boogaloo that picks up where the original left off. Vampire Wars is a film without a third act, and it feels empty and hollow as a result.
Video: Vampire Wars is presented in its original full-frame aspect ratio. Judging from its appearance, this DVD release would seem to be reusing an existing, older transfer of the film. I'm tempted to refer to the image as looking somewhat soft, but that may be a mild exaggeration. The presentation definitely looks like it should be significantly crisper than it is, in any event. Other than that, I don't really have any complaints. The source material appears to be in good shape, and there are no nicks or particularly noticeable speckling strewn throughout. Colors don't leap off the screen, but I'd imagine they're close enough to the original intent.
Audio: The original Japanese stereo audio for Vampire Wars has been provided, as well as an English stereo dub and a Dolby Digital 5.1 English remix. The lack of a six-channel Japanese mix may be a severe disappointment to those who prefer to watch films in their original screen language. Effects such as gunfire, explosions, and fist fights sound dated and lack any punch. The surrounds at times seemed to offer greater presence than in the 5.1 dub, particularly when the score would intermittently roar from the rears.
Being the elitist bastard I am, I generally opt to skip English dubs on anime DVDs. For the sake of being relatively complete and to pad out the length of this review, I made an exception with Vampire Wars. The audio in the Dolby Digital 5.1 dub is definitely tighter than the Japanese stereo track, though the voice acting (particularly the faux-film noir narration) unsurprisingly leaves a lot to be desired. Monsieur Lassar's atrocious French accent is so thick that his dialogue is often unintelligible, and during Kuki's visit at his home, Lassar's voice is unnaturally shrill. The pronunciation of our hero's name inspires some unintended laughs as well when characters mutter lines that sound like "now it's up to you, Cookie" or the dramatic "Mis--ter Cookie!" Subwoofer activity is passable for much of the movie. However, the low-end is a muddled mess in the opening assault in Arizona, and a battle late in the film (around the 42:45 mark) kicks off with ridiculously overbearing bass in the score, though machine gun fire and explosions sound anemic. The remix is still several marks ahead of the Rhin-O-Phonic sound that Rhino Home Video is prone to apply to some of its animated titles.
The English subs are thankfully not of the dubtitle variety, and it's certainly a lot less profane. The dub seemingly can't go more than twenty seconds without needlessly inserting something off of George Carlin's list of naughty words. I'm certainly not offended by the use of profanity, but it's so overdone in the dub that it's almost comical. The differences between the two in terms of content are substantial as well, particularly in the explanation of the two alien races.
Supplements: None of the features lurking under the "Extras" menu are related to the film itself, though there is plenty of pushing of other Manga product.
Conclusion: Vampire Wars is an unsuccessful attempt to blend dissimilar genres. Completists will buy it regardless, but for more casual fans, I'd recommend giving it a rental first instead of going for a purchase sight-unseen.
Vampire Wars opens at a NASA base in Arizona as a group of scientists are planning to broadcast a radio signal into the far reaches of space. A terrorist group blasts in with no apparent motive, and one of its members, after managing to withstand heavy gunfire, sacrifices herself in a blaze of glory. Within a matter of days, the remains of an American CIA agent wash up in Paris. Monsieur Lassar, a higher-up in a covert French government agency, is convinced that the two events are somehow related and that the Americans must be up to something devious. He's hesitant to dispatch any of his own men to determine what the CIA's underlying motives may be, as doing so may strain international relations. Lassar turns to KGB-schooled freelance assassin Kousaburo Kuki for assistance. I suppose it wouldn't be as dramatic if Lassar were to just ASK him, so of course, Kuki is kidnapped, tortured, and framed for murder. Death threats are tossed out from both directions, but inevitably, Kuki accepts and sets out to discover the Americans' hidden agenda. Almost immediately, he bumps into Lamia Vindaw, the star of stage and screen who has taken a lengthy six-month break from the public eye while being treated by a renowned blood expert. Lamia somehow holds the key to the puzzle, and she's desired by the CIA, Lassar's group (the subtitles and English dub each refer to the group under vastly different names), and a bloodthirsty vampire who slaughters her entourage.
Vampire Wars incorporates a number of elements from various spy movies, including the agent on the run who in short order falls in love with the attractive woman he's meant to protect. There's even a cliched sequence where Kuki responds to Lassar's demands with "...and if I refuse...?" shortly before screaming in agony as he's tortured. The intrigue and mystery typically associated with the spy genre are wholly absent, and its horror elements are lackluster as well. There are only two bloody vampire attacks that occur on-screen, and Vampire Wars' titular creatures owe more to Gene Roddenberry in origin than Bram Stoker. Despite what its title would suggest, Vampire Wars does not actually feature any actual conflict among vampires. You could, in fact, count all of the vampires that appear throughout the length of the film on one hand and still have a couple of fingers left over. Only one vamp appears for any noteworthy length of time until the last few minutes of the movie, and he's at best a minor supporting character. Neither of the genres Vampire Wars attempts to merge offer much action or interest at all.
Despite running under an hour and overflowing with various storylines, very little actually happens, and that paltry amount often doesn't make any sense. We're first introduced to Kuki as he responds to a friend's frantic phone call. Upon his arrival, he encounters an axe-toting, bug-eyed nut who doesn't appear to be a vampire and doesn't relate in any way to anything that happens throughout the remainder of the movie. Shameless padding? Beats me. This is the sort of movie where characters are frequently shot, but once or twice isn't enough. Entire clips have to be emptied into each and every victim, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Kuki also appears to be a whiz with the ladies. A female agent of Lassar's delivers some documents to Kuki, a man who she had never met before. With minimal flirting, Kuki begins undressing her from the moment she steps into the room. He and Lamia also have fully-clothed sex late in the movie, and I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of that one.
After a climatic battle where Lamia uses some newfound powers to decimate her captors, she and Kuki head to Transylvania with the fate of the world literally hanging in the balance. What happens next? will they arrive in time to revive the vampire king? Will a war-crazed alien race decimate the earth? Is Kuki a vampire now? Vampire Wars's response -- "roll credits". So many questions are left up in the air, and numerous plot threads dangle without any resolution in sight. There's not even a Vampire Wars II: Electric Boogaloo that picks up where the original left off. Vampire Wars is a film without a third act, and it feels empty and hollow as a result.
Video: Vampire Wars is presented in its original full-frame aspect ratio. Judging from its appearance, this DVD release would seem to be reusing an existing, older transfer of the film. I'm tempted to refer to the image as looking somewhat soft, but that may be a mild exaggeration. The presentation definitely looks like it should be significantly crisper than it is, in any event. Other than that, I don't really have any complaints. The source material appears to be in good shape, and there are no nicks or particularly noticeable speckling strewn throughout. Colors don't leap off the screen, but I'd imagine they're close enough to the original intent.
Audio: The original Japanese stereo audio for Vampire Wars has been provided, as well as an English stereo dub and a Dolby Digital 5.1 English remix. The lack of a six-channel Japanese mix may be a severe disappointment to those who prefer to watch films in their original screen language. Effects such as gunfire, explosions, and fist fights sound dated and lack any punch. The surrounds at times seemed to offer greater presence than in the 5.1 dub, particularly when the score would intermittently roar from the rears.
Being the elitist bastard I am, I generally opt to skip English dubs on anime DVDs. For the sake of being relatively complete and to pad out the length of this review, I made an exception with Vampire Wars. The audio in the Dolby Digital 5.1 dub is definitely tighter than the Japanese stereo track, though the voice acting (particularly the faux-film noir narration) unsurprisingly leaves a lot to be desired. Monsieur Lassar's atrocious French accent is so thick that his dialogue is often unintelligible, and during Kuki's visit at his home, Lassar's voice is unnaturally shrill. The pronunciation of our hero's name inspires some unintended laughs as well when characters mutter lines that sound like "now it's up to you, Cookie" or the dramatic "Mis--ter Cookie!" Subwoofer activity is passable for much of the movie. However, the low-end is a muddled mess in the opening assault in Arizona, and a battle late in the film (around the 42:45 mark) kicks off with ridiculously overbearing bass in the score, though machine gun fire and explosions sound anemic. The remix is still several marks ahead of the Rhin-O-Phonic sound that Rhino Home Video is prone to apply to some of its animated titles.
The English subs are thankfully not of the dubtitle variety, and it's certainly a lot less profane. The dub seemingly can't go more than twenty seconds without needlessly inserting something off of George Carlin's list of naughty words. I'm certainly not offended by the use of profanity, but it's so overdone in the dub that it's almost comical. The differences between the two in terms of content are substantial as well, particularly in the explanation of the two alien races.
Supplements: None of the features lurking under the "Extras" menu are related to the film itself, though there is plenty of pushing of other Manga product.
Conclusion: Vampire Wars is an unsuccessful attempt to blend dissimilar genres. Completists will buy it regardless, but for more casual fans, I'd recommend giving it a rental first instead of going for a purchase sight-unseen.
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