Hello, everyone! So, if you're a fan of the Vampire Academy book series by Richelle Mead, you'll know that in 2013 Dan & Mark Waters collaborated to create a movie. In February this year, it was released in Australia, and like any other loyal fan of the books, I went to check it out. You can see my initial reviews of it here & here, but I must admit my thoughts on Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters has changed. When I reread those posts, I realised that I held back a lot, so this review is going to be my 100% honest thoughts on the movie. I waited this long because I there's not a lot of fanfare around the first movie, and we've also finally heard about the Vampire Academy movie sequel. I'm going to apologise for all the negativity upfront, because I've always been an advocate for not out 'n' out bashing book-to-movie adaptions.
I'm just going to run through each thing that pissed me off about the campaign, movie, possibility for a sequel etc., and see where that takes us! So, the first thing I'm going to talk about is the advertising, in particular the terrible posters that were created. Fluro fucking green & pink was possibly the worst colour scheme for the Vampire Academy franchise. It made it seem so childish and girly! That's appalling, because there are rarely any girly moments in the books, and I was just so disappointed. Literally everything about the advertising campaigns disappointed me, don't even get me started on the trailers.
Actually, let's talk about those god-awful fucking trailers. No one would classify the Vampire Academy books as mean girls x vampires, so who the fuck thought to advertise the movie like that? Seriously! The editing and cutting together of clips was shitty at best, and I just couldn't be more angry that a better team wasn't in charge. To be 100% honest, the fans should have been in charge of trailers, posters, all that jazz. Hell, we could have written a better movie.
Next on my list, is the director/writer team. Sure, Mark Waters did a fucking brilliant job on Mean Girls. That movie is beloved by all ages! Dan Waters wrote the wonderful script to Heathers, another classic. However, lets keep in mind that those movies are predominantly classed as comedies, so asking them to work on quite a dark, romance & villain filled movie was ridiculous.The only thing more ridiculous was having them work together. I knew, straight from the get-go, that despite the brothers being well loved in the film industry, they just couldn't pull off this movie. Sadly, I was right. "sweet, sassy, molassy"? What the fuck! Rose Hathaway would never say that, nor would she an Mason have a dumb secret handshake. I just. I can't. So many poor decisions.
Casting. Casting, casting, casting. I'm at a loss. Sure, Dominic Sherwood is hot, and there were many beloved actors in Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters. I feel sorry for them, because no matter how much I try, I don't feel a smidge of love for this film. I did when it first came out because I was incredibly thrilled with the prospect of seeing all six books turned into film, but my opinion of the last six months has definitely changed. It's silly, but physically all the actors/actresses looked wrong for the parts they played, and I couldn't see them as those characters, I didn't feel emotionally attached to the characters at all. What that means, is that I wasn't emotionally attached to the movie, and therefore wasted money to see it.
My annoyance with the casting situation has absolutely nothing to do with the actors themselves, just that Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters painted the wrong picture of Richelle Mead's books, and I for one think a different cast might've have the movie more appealing. For example, Zoey Deutch made Rose seem a lot less tougher and more petite/girly than the character should be. Lucy Fry (a fellow Aussie whom I love dearly) just wasn't Lissa, and don't even get me started on the fact that Dan Waters literally changed her nationality (many characters' nationalities were changed btw). Danilo Kozlovsky looked nothing like the drool worthy 24 year old Dimitri, no matter how qualified or respected he is as an actor. I'm not going to talk about specific actors & actresses anymore, because it's quite a mean thing for me to do and I don't like putting stuff like that on my blog. I do talk about movies or books I haven't liked, but I don't want to go into detail about specific people because.. well, I don't (yes, Jesse, finish on a strong note?).
I'm going to mention a really obvious thing now. Something that breaks my heart, and something that pissed off every fan of the books that has a brain. The movie was nothing like the books. Half the mythology and history of vampires as well as the history of our main characters was changed, which is something I can't get passed. Our heroine, Rose, and her best friend Lissa are on the run for almost two years, not just one. That extra year is significant. *growls* Something else that pissed me off was how the characters were made to look, as in they looked nothing like how they were described in the books. Mia has long blonde ringlets & blue eyes, and is very tough and mean until the second book. Boy did they get that wrong. I actually love Sami Gayle, so I'm blaming the writer, director, & costume department. Lastly, on this specific subject; Moroi are slender, pale & tall. Yes there are exceptions like if a Moroi is of a different nationality they won't be pale, and sometimes they're not tall. But they always have quite a small, thin build. Let's just say that that scientific fact about Moroi was tossed out the window.
Yes, I am annoyed about the movie. But that's not what spurred me on to write this post, especially so late when there's not a lot of buzz surrounding the VA franchise. What made me want to write this post, is this ridiculous update:
From the start, the Vampire Academy social media sites have been absolutely appalling. We barely ever got decent information from them; always having to listen to bullshit lines like "We know we said there'd be news, but you'll have to wait another month! LOL, sorry! If you're a real fan you'll understand!" There's so much wrong with that statement, and if I ever meet the people in charge of the VA social media, I'm gonna kill 'em. Rude, passive aggressive, and subtext filled remarks that start with "If you're a real fan..." aren't necessary, and they piss us all off. Sure, I'm not a diehard fan, and I have found many many paranormal book series I like better than VA, but I know the books much better than some corporate guys in suits.
"We didn't receive the required contribution"? Are you kidding me? You guys asked a bunch of young adults and teens to raise $1.5 million dollars. Most of us would struggle to pay $20. Frankly, I'm appalled and annoyed and every other word beginner with a. It's ridiculous because the majority of us are in high school, college, or university. How can you possibly expect us to pay you guys $1.5 million dollars?
One last thing; the script was extremely cringe-worthy. I can't count the times I would physically recoil in my seat during the three times I've seen Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters. Here are some real gems:
"Sweet, sassy, molassy." That's not how teenagers talk.
"My skin is clear and so is my mind. I may be dead, but I have never felt so alive" Rhymes? Really?
"How long have you been in crush with him?" Again, that's not how teenagers talk.
If you have any other things you want to rant/vent about or point out, please leave your thoughts in the comments! I would really love to read what other fan's have to say; if you agree/disagree, what things you would've changed, all that stuff. Until next time, I love you little pixies!
~zì jiàn!~
NOTE: AGAIN, apologies if any of my readers feel that I was a bit strong in my rant/review regarding Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters. When I've previously talked about VA, I haven't been 100% honest in what I thought of the movie, so I felt it was finally time I did that.
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