Daybreakers

I really need to challenge myself more often.
Let me restart.
I will give anything a chance, as far as movies and tv shows are concerned.  My usual rule is, "As soon as I want the main characters to die in a fire, I'm done."  It's why I don't watch True Blood.
Now, when I say I will give anything a chance, there has to be something about the movie that will grab my attention -- the actors involved, something to do with the story, subject matter that I will find interesting -- and as of late, I've turned that to "movies that look like they will be incredibly stupid and ripe for picking apart".  Which is why I selected the movie Daybreakers.
I had never heard of this film.  It apparently passed in through around out of theaters and to the rental market a few years ago.  It made back its budget, was labeled as a B movie and (I suppose) was not to be heard from again.  I'm glad I added it to my queue, because This.  Was.  Fun.
They had me from the opening -- a suicide.  Not the best way to open every movie, but it works here.  I immediately wanted to see more.
I'm not claiming that this film is Citizen Kane or even Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but it is an interesting variant on the vampire story; vampires have taken over, are farming humans for their blood supply, and have gone beyond "peak blood", to steal and change a phrase.  The social and economic overtones in this movie can be chilling, and the journey of watching the search for a cure was enthralling.
Things this movie did right:
--No romantic subplot.  There were hints of one, but there was no kissy-kissy.  That was fucking refreshing.
--Told us only as much as it needed to.  The ending was much more satisfying thanks to some storytelling switcharounds.
--Allowed only a few comic moments.  Thanks to Willem Dafoe
DIVERSION!
The last time I can remember being so taken back by something I was watching was when I saw Boondock Saints for the first time.
END DIVERSION!
--cast talented actors that were right for the parts
--did not try to do too much with special effects
--watching a low-level employee raid blood supplies while a riot is going on...

There were a lot of things I really liked about this film.  I want to say that the fact that I can't think of any one thing to point out and I'm having a hard time criticizing would be the mark of a great film, but this isn't a great film.  And I know it's not a great film because my world view is not being challenged any way by this flick.  In fact, it's reinforcing more than a few notions I have (99 PERCENT!) It's a really good popcorn flick, and I would not mind watching it again.