Dracula, Judas and lots of fun

There’s a vampire theme in “The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice,” which in these “Twilight”/”True Blood” days might feel like, um, overkill, but try not to let it bother you.

For one thing, like its predecessors “Quest for the Spear” and “Return to King Solomon’s Mines,” this third “Librarian” film is an old-fashioned family flick with an emphasis on humor, adventure and chaste romance over disturbing sexual metaphor.

It stars, once again, the doe-eyed, PG-appealing Noah Wyle as Flynn Carsen, a callow brainiac pried out of his 15-year college plan to work for the mysterious Metropolitan Library, where, under the watchful eyes of the head librarian (Bob Newhart), many treasures of yore are kept safe. There’s Pandora’s box and Excalibur, the Ark of the Covenant (apparently whatever Indiana Jones found was a fake) and a real live unicorn. Flynn’s job is to procure more of the same, usually a half a step ahead of some dastardly band with nefarious plans.

“Curse of the Judas Chalice” opens in Bucharest (and really, all you have to do is flash “Bucharest” across the screen to know something at least semi-wicked this way comes), where the frail but feisty Professor Lazlo (Bruce Davison) is finishing up a lecture on Romanian history, after which he ruefully acknowledges that all anyone cares about is Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. Dracula. Minutes later, Lazlo is kidnapped by Russians searching for the cup made from the 30 coins paid to Judas for his betrayal of Jesus. They hope to use it to reanimate, you guessed it, Dracula.

Meanwhile, our man Flynn has problems of his own. He’s bidding on a Ming vase that has its own little secret, but he’s also trying to placate his girlfriend, who’s getting sick of him disappearing for no good reason (his adventures are, of course, secret).

He gets the vase but loses the girl and finds himself reading the riot act to the head librarian and his curmudgeonly head of personnel (Jane Curtin).

So instead of accepting the assignment to find Lazlo, he goes on vacation. A dream of a beautiful woman takes him to New Orleans, where he not only finds her, Day One, but he is also instantly drawn into the whole Judas chalice situation. Soon he’s racing around colorful New Orleans with a canny local sidekick and the mysterious Simone (Stana Katic), trying to stop a bunch of guys who are probably all named Boris from bringing Dracula back to life.

See, when you say it out loud, it sounds silly. But it’s very fun to watch, and if the theory that Judas Iscariot was the world’s first vampire might not stand up, well, it’s as nifty a plot twist as any. It helps that Katic is as good as she is, but what’s great about “Curse of the Judas Chalice” and the Librarian films in general is that they are the rarest of breeds -- high-end family entertainment. (Writer Marco Schnabel and director Jonathan Frakes again did the honors.)

Wyle is funny and charming and dispenses just enough fascinating arcane knowledge to keep things semi-educational, the special effects are great, Newhart and Curtin are always great to see, the ubiquitous Davison (“Knight Rider”) is obviously having a blast as Lazlo, and really, who doesn’t like a good vampire story?

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mary.mcnamara@latimes.com

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‘The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice’

Where: TNT

When: 8 p.m. Sunday

Rating: Not rated