Dear Flower, 

I could never possibly put into words how amazing Richelle Mead's book series Vampire Academy really is, but too often in life directors and screenwriters turn novels into films and take several liberties with these films. We can all understand this is due to the difference in time span, for example where you have a whole novel and endless pages to create a world, with a film you have only 1-2 hours. Then naturally disappointment ensues as we find that the novels we so dearly cherish have been unfaithfully and dramatically adapted. Also I understand Mead created a very complex world and it's really hard to find a balance between introducing and creating that world on screen and creating the story arc, so this could possibly be a reason for the disappointment.

Note: At the time this came out Vampires had been done to death with Twilight, The Vampire Diaries etc, so that didn't help the films popularity at all. 

However, please do not let the majority of negative notes below on the film discourage you from watching the movie and making judgements for yourself and especially do not let it discourage you from reading the book- believe me it is entirely different to the movie.

PLOT STRUCTURE
Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, half-vampire and half-human, who is training to be a guardian at St Vladimir's Academy along with many others like her. There are good and bad vampires in their world: Moroi, who co-exist peacefully among the humans and only take blood from donors, and also possess the ability to control one of the four elements - water, earth, fire or air; and Strigoi, blood-sucking, evil vampires who drink to kill. Rose and other dhampir guardians are trained to protect Moroi and kill Strigoi throughout their education. Along with her best friend, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, a Moroi and the last of her line, with whom she has a nigh unbreakable bond, Rose must run away from St Vladimir's, in order to protect Lissa from those who wish to harm the princess and use her for their own means.

MY REVIEW SUMMARY 

MY OVERALL OPINION- 6/10- Vampires know how to suck and so did this movie. I really wanted to like it I did, by the end despite it's parodied nature (Like Twilight's parody Vampires Suck!!!) I felt that there were many admirable features present in the film, only these features weren't used to their full potential. Mark Waters directed this film the same director of one of the most quotable films ever, the film that practically marked a generation- Mean Girls and basically Vampire Academy was a less quotable version of Mean Girls with the addition of fangs, blood and magical powers. Waters may need to learn the difference between drama and melodrama. 

Sounds like a Regina George to me, what do you think?

 CHARACTERS- 7/10-  

 Zoey Deutch/ Rose Hathaway- despite different then I imagined she was a good fit for the role of Rose Hathaway she had the right degree of Sassiness and her determination was admirable. She managed to retain that uniqueness that I found in Rose that I had never found in another female protagonist, a character so sure of herself and witty. However, at the same time there were occurrences where her emotional delivery was ineffective and incomplete. By incomplete I'm referring to those moments where you want to laugh or cry and the acting is so close and your right on the edge of that happening but it's just not enough to push you over that edge.

Lucy Fry/ Vasilisa Dragomir - I'm so confused! I don't understand the casting directors choice at all, my convictions were unchanging from the beginning to end of the film. I didn't think her character portrayal was believable for someone with a tragic backstory. In many respects she did make good on some of Lissa's characteristics in the book such as her kind and compassionate nature and reputation as a social butterfly.

Dominic Sherwood/Christian Ozera- he was a perfect choice and his brooding was a major contribution to the character, it was a major source of tension! AND it lends weight to his tragic backstory and the way he carries it with him and that constant sense of mystery looming in the air, or rather across his face. To be honest, in my opinion (Feel free to disagree, I always try to understand other people's viewpoints) he was the only male actor to me that showed an outstanding amount of emotional depth. 
Danila Kozlovsky/Dimitri Belikov- hmmmm, I know that the whole cast was different from what I imagined, but I think this one takes the cake. Don't get me wrong the dudes fine (By fine I mean damn sexy) but does not look like the demigod he was made out as in the book nor did he act like one he could be really charming at times and then awkward at others especially when delivering his lines so a language barrier was certainly evident. Also one must take into account my bias with the character of Dimitri, for those of you that have read the later books in the series and the spin-off bloodlines know that I am a much bigger fan of Adrian then I ever was of Dimitri and SPOILER- I hated the character of Dimitri and Rose in the last book because there love grew out of betrayal of Adrian and Adrian's pain :(

CHEMISTRY- 4/10- Both Danila and Zoey have spark in there acting especially romantically BUT together Chemistry wasn't on point, there relationship didn't flow naturally it felt forced and you know what they say about forced love- love is like a fart if you have to force it it's probably shit. For example the lust necklace charm scene was one of my favourite in the book, I got really excited when reading it but on screen it looked ridiculous. It didn't make my heart jump and it didn't excite me at all. That's not to say they had no chemistry at all there training scenes where they were flirting A LOT was very adorable! Rose trying to fight and failing or falling on her ass and Dimitri laughing at her for it. AWWWWW cute!!!!!!! On the other hand the chemistry between Christian and Lissa was done well, but I think that's mostly owed to Sherwood not so much Fry! in fact for a few brief moments I think the chemistry between Rose and Christian was much more fiery and vigorous then any actual couple in that film.    

FAITHFULNESS TO THE BOOK- 6.5/10- In terms of the plot line I think that the directors were very faithful. However, I think in terms of creating the world of Vampire Academy they could have done more to clear it up for the audience and make it more believable instead of making it look like a Disney or Nickelodeon film I find hard to take seriously. Moreover, Yes the plot line is important in captivating viewers but so are the characters so grasping the raw emotions that were so ardently expressed in the book was a huge part of this and I personally don't believe the directors and producers and actors etc delivered on this.      

     

CGI- 4/10- Very poorly orchestrated- Did you see those PSI hound Dogs I wasn't buying it sorry if the rest of you were? I personally found the CGI comical and laughable, possibly showing limitations on budget costs?

STRUCTURE AND STYLE- 5/10- A Gothic Mean Girls meets Harry Potter meets Twilight and a poorly executed one at that! The complex plot line and world they were trying to convey meant most characters were left undeveloped with no real clarification for the audience. Also, It was like watching a photo slideshow- No real transition between scenes. It was fast paced and the entire tone of the film was rushed and hasty. There didn't feel as if there was enough time to absorb the story and empathize with the characters on screen. 

So needless to say I was certainly disappointed but maybe someone will give it another shot in the future- City of bones failed and now there turning it into Shadowhunters the TV show.