Vampire Academy Gala: A Movie Rant

We've been focused on talking about the six books of the Vampire Academy series for the past few days, so Rachel & I thought it was high time we move to a different medium for the series today. We're chatting - well, more like ranting about the Vampire Academy movie that came out last year. Honestly, I've tried really hard to be objective about the film but... it wasn't a favorite book-to-movie adaptation at all.

First, here are some main points about the movie that I liked/disliked:

+ Zoey Deutch as Rose Hathaway

I seriously think Zoey was the one who most fit my idea of the character in the book. Rose Hathaway is a complex, interesting character, equal parts strong and vulnerable. Zoey managed to do justice to Rose as a character, which is definitely a bit of a relief if you ask me.

+ Comedy
Okay, I like being entertained when watching movies. I like laughing when I watch movies. And while Vampire Academy isn’t necessarily supposed to be funny (though there are funny moments), the movie was just hilarious a lot of the time – and that was actually one reason to like it.

+ Adapting the Book

While certain changes were made to make the screenplay more effective, it actually appears that the film mirrors most of the important events in the book. I can always appreciate that in an adaptation, so I’ll give Vampire Academy bonus points.

- Overall Tone

I know, I know, I said I enjoyed the hilarity. And I did! But the thing is Vampire Academy has a lot more substance than the movie made it seem. It makes me sad that the way these characters + their story is portrayed is a lot less serious than the way it is in the novel.

- Sarah Hyland as Natalie Dashkov, Danila Koslovsky as Dimitri Belikov

I’m not overly fond of most of the casting done in the film. While I can tolerate the actor and actress cast as Christian and Lissa, I just felt like the casting for Natalie and Dimitri were not quite what I pictured when I read Vampire Academy. I’m particularly not happy about Dimitri’s casting.

- The Locket Scene

If you want to know which scene made me laugh the most in the Vampire Academy movie, it would be this one. In the book, it has a different feel. In the movie, it’s just plain ridiculous, which makes it so freaking funny. I could not stop laughing.

Overall Opinion: Honestly, if the main purpose of the Vampire Academy is to entertain viewers, it succeeded there. I laughed a ton while I watched the film, which is always a welcome surprise. But really, because I had enjoyed Vampire Academy (the novel), I expected more from the film. I wanted to fall in love with all of these characters, and to feel the tremendous stakes in their story - and I didn't get that at all. Instead, what was produced was pretty average, and I am, sadly, not much of a fan of the film at all.

Don't forget to check out our giveaway! And Rachel's movie rant!

Here are the posts you might have missed in the past few days:

Welcome + Giveaway || Hello, Chelly

Mini-Reviews of Books 1-3 || Alexa Loves Books

Mini-Reviews of Books 1-3 || Hello, Chelly

Mini-Reviews of Books 4-6 || Alexa Loves Books

Mini-Reviews of Books 4-6 || Hello, Chelly