Hollywood track record for bringing anime and video games to television and the big screen. The number of Hollywood failures is countless, from last years Assassin's Creed to this years Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson, there hasn't been anything worth while. However, every once in a awhile there is something that sneaks through all the garbage that is worth watching. Castlevania is one of the those diamonds in the rough.
First things first... only four episodes! This was one of the biggest surprises the Castlevania has to offer, especially for someone who tries not to pay attention to something that he or she wants to watch. In the four episodes the plot moves very very quickly and it captures your attention from the very first time you meet up with Vlad Dracula Tepes (voiced by Graham McTavish).
In Castlevania, Dracula has unleashed his demonic hordes against the 15th century Wallachia. With the number of deaths rising after every night, a disgraced nobleman Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage) who at the time is traveling from place to place getting absolutely smashed at the local taverns, gets thrust right into the middle of the fight. Later on he makes a few allies to take with him as they fight the hordes of enemies that right around every corner. One such ally is magician/scholar Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso) who saves Trevor's butt more than once during the four episodes.
The show doesn't dive right into the Belmont family, but rather focuses on the Dracula narrative. In doing so we get a reason for his connection to the human world and subsequently his reason he why he wants to destroy it. Dracula is first introduced to a scientist named Lisa (Emily Swallow). The connection he has to the human world is a fragile one at that. After viewers are introduced to the Dracula's story the show quickly shifts over to Trevor belmont. For the short time we get to know Dracula, Adi Shankar and his team does a great job of creating a Dracula that has a ton of substance to him. Not to mention, viewers can sympathize with him as well.
Trevor's Castlevania story falls into the addadge "what happens, happens" camp. He and his family were once sworn to fight evil on all fronts, but were banished by the Church and the clergy (more later) . Now, he roams from town to town, getting drunk and watching the turmoil build around him. You can't really blame him for sitting back and watching everyone around him suffer. After all, they kind of deserve their fate. His views change as he sees that there are still decent people out there.
The Church is the last faction that has a big part to play. Not only in the four episodes, but throughout the series. The main antagonist in the four episodes goes by "The Bishop." The Bishop is exactly what you would think of when it comes to someone who uses his religion for personal gain. He uses the attacks from Dracula as a way to scare the people into doing his bidding. More attacks means more power for the Bishop. The Bishop isn't the big bad you'd expect and you would have hoped for more from him, but the story moves really fast in four episodes.
With all the action that takes place during Castlevania, there are some really humorous parts in the four episodes. Almost all of them come from Trevor as he engages the drunkards around him. For those thinking about watching the series with your children. . . you may want to rethink it. There are occassional uses of the F-Bomb and the violence is pretty gratuitous. Overall the action, scenary are stunning and it shows that a video game can become good TV when the right people are put in charge. The four episodes was by far the worst part of the series. It leaves you wanting so much more. . . and that is a good thing. Now we only have to wait forever till we get season 2.