| Overall Grade: |
C+ |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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|
| Direction: |
B+ |
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|
| Visuals: |
B- |
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Half-and-Half
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Jun 12, 2008
9
of
14 people found this review helpful
I was eagerly anticipating my chance to watch From Dusk Till Dawn, because it was the only movie I needed to see to have finished all of the movies that Quentin Tarantino had written, since he's my favorite director and a heckuva writer.
Combine Tarantino's writing with the capable Robert Rodriguez's direction on a horror movie, and I expected brilliance, which I got. Partially.
From Dusk Till Dawn changes so rapidly to a different genre at the halfmark, that you'll be surprised, even if you know it's supposed to be a horror movie. The film starts out about two thieving brothers, Seth and Richard Gecko (George Clooney and Tarantino himself, respectively) trying to get across the Mexican border to meet their bosses, and hijacking a van belonging to a vacationing family (led by Harvey Keitel, in an oddly memorable performance as a faithless preacher). Once they get to their rendezvous spot, a Mexican bar, things get weird, and fast. They're not there for more than ten minutes before vampires are popping out left and right.
That's mainly why I was disappointed. The movie starts out so strongly as a typically enjoyable Tarantino crime thriller that when it twists into ridiculous horror shtick, one can't help but feel let down. Maybe if it had been ridiculous horror all the way (like Fright Night) or crime drama all the way (like Tarantino's own Pulp Fiction), I would have liked it better. As it is, however, we've got a mix of two genres that could work splendidly together but don't here due to the way each genre is handled.
Putting that aside, though, there is some fun to be had. Clooney, Tarantino, and Keitel all do a fine job, and Juliette Lewis gives a commendable performance as Keitel's daughter. Plus, the final battle between humans and vampires in the bar is actually funny and exciting, which is a major redeeming value. The weapon that Keitel sports, a shotgun and a lead pipe intersected to form a cross, is a great idea, and adds to the cool factor.
I wanted to like From Dusk Till Dawn, I really did. The robber half is an A- or B+, but the vampire half would probably warrant a C-, so, put that together, and I give it a C+. |
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