***Pedestrian horror sorta-superhero starring Vin Diesel*** An 800 year-old immortal Witch Hunter (Vin Diesel) now lives in swank New York City, still hunting malevolent witches with the help of two priests, an aged one (Michael Caine) and a novice (Elijah Wood). Rose Leslie plays a winsome witch with mettle while Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is on hand as a formidable evil warlock. I thought I’d like "The Last Witch Hunter" (2015) since it mixes “End of Days” (1999) with “Van Helsing” (2004) and elements of “Ghost Rider” (2007) and “The Mummy” (1999) but, while Vin Diesel towers in the lead role, the story is meh. The overblown intro with its CGI-laden witch grotto sequence wasn’t a good first impression. By the halfway mark I wanted to turn it off, but I persevered. Everything is here for a quality movie of this sort, but the story isn’t captivating and doesn’t build any drive. It just goes through the motions. The script needed a serious rewrite. But Vin Diesel is charismatic as the witch-hunting ‘James Bond’ and redhead Leslie has some appeal. The film runs 1 hour, 46 minutes and was shot in Pittsburgh and Southern Cal. GRADE: C/C- (4.5/10)

You cling to your pathetic life, those closest to you betray you and those you claim to protect don't even know your name. Hmm, okies. It feels like the studio execs sat around the big table and thought here's Vin Diesel lets build a boisterous popcorn franchise setting piece around him. Plot has Diesel as the title character who here in the modern world is all that stands between humanity and the combined forces of the deadliest witches in history. Cue lots of crash bang and wallop, digital blitzkrieg and Vin with a glint in his eye in spite of not having the emotional paths required for the role. In support are Elijah Wood, Michael Caine and Rose Leslie, all of whom arguably come under the miscast banner. There's some smart ideas at the film's core, the nightmares and dreamscapes narrative smarts particularly hint at what might have been a potent asset to the pic. There's some nifty set-pieces on show as well, which just about stops this from being a boring picture - but it comes mightily close, and in HD form it looks and sounds terrific. Yet it's never a fully realised whole for dramatic impact, with the casting decisions only compounding this feeling. In nutshell terms The Last Witch Hunter is a passable time waster that entertains if one is in an undemanding mood. 5/10

Arguably the coolest poster a movie's ever had. Vin & Co. lay the cheese on **thick** in this one. I'm talking slab of fried haloumi thick. But that's not exactly the end of the world. It's kind of like if _Constantine_ was way worse, or if _Seventh Son_ was way better. With a little 2004's _Van Helsing_ thrown in for good measure. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._