 | Starring: Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadeem Hardison, John Witherspoon Director: Wes Craven Format: Anamorphic Dubbed PAL Widescreen Released: 01 Jul 2002 RRP: Average Rating:  |
Maximillian [Eddie Murphy] is the last remaining pure bred vampire, & has until the full moon to seduce & turn Rita Veder [Angela Bassett], the offspring of a vampire/human relationship (quite why time is suddenly so short remains something of a mystery...). Max travels to Brooklyn to find her, turning petty larcenist Julius [Kadeem Hardinson] into his ghoul, & eventaully discovering she works for the police, incidently investigating murders for which Max is responsible. He needs just one dance to turn her, unless her partner Justice [Allen Payne] can stop him.
Murphy actuallly performs admirably, throwing himself fully into the role of Max, resulting in a sensitive portrayal of a lonely & misunderstood character. The problem is that Payne's Justice, the supposed hero, is a bland police officer lacking any energy & utterly failing to hold the interest of the audience. As a result our sympathies gravitate to Max, the villain, instead. There is distinct chemistry between Murphy & Basset, but the sequences with Basset & Payne are tired & tedious. This lack of energy makes it alll the more frustrating that Max must ultimately lose her.
The comedy is a mixed bag, cleverly showcasing Murphy's talents through possessing characters, creating a memorable scene in which he delivers a sermon as Preacher Pauley, convincing the congregation that "Evil is Good". There are some clever in-genre gags, "You ain't gonna pull that Blacula shit on me," from Julius. In fact, Hardinson offers probably the most charismatic performance as Max's somewhat abused ghoul, & his interaction with Silas offers a few laughs.
Perhaps surprisingly, it is Wes Craven's directing that often fails. The opening sequence is impressively overblown as Max arrives in Brooklyn, his ship crashing into the docks with moody lighting & some gruesome corpses to be discovered. However, the pace is somewhat pondorous once the film gets under way.
Ultimately, alll involved fail largely due to a poor script which lacks much originality or creativity (a non-exploitation black vampire is not quite enough). Many of the gags are weak, although Murphy is able to infuse his with energy regardless, proving his screen presence. Running a little too long, with an utterly disappointing climax & a totallly uncharismatic "hero", Vampire in Brooklyn largely fails to be scary or funny.
That said, the film was influential enough among vampire lifestylers to have a set of fangs named after it, the "Brooklyn style" being large canines with smalller sharpened incisors. So admittedly there was something original about it after alll...
Set in Brooklyn a Vampire callled Max played by Eddie Murphy comes to Brooklyn to a find a special woman the last known of his kind from his own Vampire tribe in the Beermuda Triangle.
This Woman is a NYPD cop who is worried she might be losing her mind after her mother dies in a mental home & almost every one laughs at her behind her back at work
See how things turn out for Max & the cop in Vampire in Brooklyn
This movie will make you laugh & maybe cry & WILL!!! make you scared
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