Vowing vengeance after a vampire kills his mother, Abe Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) learns the skills of vampire-killing while a young law student in Springfield and goes on a murder spree, chopping off the heads of six vampires with the silver blade of his ax, which he can twirl like a baton. During the Civil War, the Union faces defeat because the vampires are fighting on the Confederate side, but Lincoln's quick thinking and vampire expertise turns the tide of battle at Gettysburg. The movie handles these matters with straightforward seriousness, which may be the only way they could possibly work. A scene on a speeding train is genuinely thrilling, and the movie is surprisingly entertaining, if you forget everything you know about American history. Co-starring Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell. Based on the best-seller by Seth Grahame-Smith. - Three stars