Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, or Dead Out the Door? A Movie Review

Director: Kevin Munroe.

Writers: Thomas Dean Donnelly Joshua Oppenheimer, and Tiziano Sclavi.

Cast: Brandon Routh, Anita Briem and Sam Huntington.

Brandon Routh is one of those actors who shot up the ladder of fame thanks to Superman Returns. In Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, he's a sleuth, another comic-book hero, who tries to be slicker than oil. But he is hardly Dick Tracy as far as how this movie goes.

Some fun can be found with this product, especially with the effects work, but these monsters do not try to stand out. The movie is just as good as The Spirit, and both are catering to a very select market. The colours used on the hero's costume makes for some simple motifs, but unlike previous films, it is not used to great effect. Instead, it is just a schtick, like how Clark Kent wore his clothes in "Smallville."

At the same time, this film does not offer up any good laughs, and the action is flat. The product does not have enough energy to make some viewers want to watch it to the end.

By comparison, Constantine is far more exceptional from the get go because it manages to establish the type of world that these characters are in. And Routh has the same sex appeal as Keanu or Christopher Reeves when he wants to pump up that kind of action.

With certain supporting characters, at least Dog’s sidekick, Marcus (Sam Huntington) shines. He has some fun with the struggles of suddenly becoming a zombie.

And Danny DeVito could have easily provided better chuckles than Dan Braverman in the role of Big Al, the dealer. At least some understanding of Dylan Dog's world is understood when Al is revealed as a broker of body parts to zombies. In this universe, these walking dead retain their intelligence. And shades of the classic sitcom, "Taxi" comes to mind if DeVito was placed in the role and was put behind a cage, dispensing people politics. The trafficking of human organs cannot go unnoticed as a possible statement on what goes on in the black market of the real world. Now that would be a case that audiences, as well as Dylan, could get into if the plot spun in that direction.

Instead, Dylan Dog is back to settle the peace between the monster hunters and beasts. After Elizabeth Ryan's (Anita Briem) father gets murdered, he's called in to find out who the killer is. In what Dog discovers, it leads him back to the life he thought he left behind.

With Routh's narrative sounding as inspired as Dragnet’s own, some viewers may want this product to be part of that bygone era. The modern day New Orleans setting does not seem to work very well. The curiousity of moving Dylan Dog away from his European trappings have to be noted more than in what Routh puts into the role.

The problem is not with Routh's acting either. In NBC's "Chuck," he proves that he can be an exceptional actor. As Daniel Shaw, he played the fallen hero very well. If only he had given the Dylan Dog character the same kind of spice. If such a weakness existed, then maybe this movie could have been saved.

This film is one time where the leading character just simply needed more development. The one-minute setup of this film to newcomers of this world was just not enough.

Overall: 5 out of 10.

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Posted in: 2012,dylan dog,dyland dog: dead of night,movie review,supernatural,zombie