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Van Helsing

Van Helsing (2004)

May. 03,2004
|
6.1
|
PG-13
| Adventure Horror Action

Famed monster slayer Gabriel Van Helsing is dispatched to Transylvania to assist the last of the Valerious bloodline in defeating Count Dracula. Anna Valerious reveals that Dracula has formed an unholy alliance with Dr. Frankenstein's monster and is hell-bent on exacting a centuries-old curse on her family.

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Reviews

Vashirdfel
2004/05/03

Simply A Masterpiece

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Aneesa Wardle
2004/05/04

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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Jonah Abbott
2004/05/05

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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Josephina
2004/05/06

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

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djs-specs
2004/05/07

If you're after high art, or even much of a plot, this isn't the movie for you. Its silly to the point of being utterly ridiculous at points, and the CGI does NOT stand the test of time. But it really is worth watching just to see Richard Roxburgh - a truly talented actor - almost literally chew on the scenery playing Dracula.

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thesar-2
2004/05/08

Fun fact: the basic telephone was invented before the events in this film. This led us all to believe Hugh Jackman could have easily phoned his performance in, in-between Wolverine performances. Annnd he did.Please ignore the terrible CGI. And yeah, it's probably the worst you'll ever see. (Why oh why didn't they make this animated????!) The movie, unlike many films, actually gets progressively better.I grew up on "monster movies." In my household, it had to be as G-rated as possible, like the 1930's Universal monsters to the 50s-70s Godzilla films. So, it was kinda nice to rekindle with many of the bigger name Universal monsters here. With the help of a comedic-sidekick, I could make it through to the end.The Film's Title has a past he can't remember and believably, it doesn't really matter. He's just out to rid the Earth of baddies. Apparently, he's never been sent up against the original horror villain, Dracula, so let's make this movie. Oh, and he'll need Underworld, the horror version of Q and Young Frankenstein's clone to take on Bram Stoker's sorta creation of destruction. Honestly, this is good for kids. Really, really young ones. Older ones would scoff at the terrible graphics. It's not a bad movie, per se, it's just so horribly drawn due to the fifty cents spent on the special effects. Too bad...because they're laughably bad and distracting. The movie's harmless, really. It's not superior, but everyone's, well, HEART is in the right place. ***Final thoughts: A friend recommended this to me. I instantly complained on how bad the CGI was on the Werewolves. Literally, I have not seen this movie since theatres 14 years ago and that's all l I could recount. Well, that and that I thought it was just okay. Watching it for only the second time in nearly a decade and a half, I realized, it's not THAT bad of a film and there were FAR WORSE CGI shots than just the werewolf scenes. Oh, and it's more than two hours. Far too long!

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Davis P
2004/05/09

Van Helsing (2004) is fun and pretty well made in different aspects. It has good acting throughout by all the actors, especially by Beckinsale and Jackman. Kate Beckinsale really is a great choice for the role she fulfills, she has the correct physical look/appearance, and she fits in all the other ways as well, good cast call. Hugh Jackman is obviously playing the main character here, Van helsing. Hugh also gives a fine performance, and he also physically fits the role, he's very stoic at times but then heartfelt at times when he needs to be, and he's strong/muscular, which of course is necessary with all the action scenes and maneuvers he must perform. Speaking of action scenes, the special effects and the actual fighting in this movie is all very well done, and I don't mean to say that it's the best thing in any action movie you'll see, but it suffices. I also really like the way they did Dracula's wives, seductive and menacing at the same time, which of course is the way Dracula's wives are supposed to be. I thought the plot was entertaining and I thought it was executed well. So all in all Van Helsing receives a seven out of 10 as far as quality goes.

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DarthVoorhees
2004/05/10

I'll be honest 'Van Helsing' is a hard movie to review. I totally see both ends of the spectrum. It can be a very fun movie when one looks at it's corny audacity and monster set pieces. And yet it's just too much to ask for a whole hearted straight faced recommendation because that dialogue... I kind of hate and love this movie for a lot of different reasons some of which conflict with one another. In the end I can't quite condemn it because it's too much stupid fun.There is no getting around the fact that it has one of the stupidest half-assed written scripts for any huge summer blockbuster. There are moments in this movie where Stephen Sommers writes himself into traps and a vampire will pop literally out of nowhere because he has no idea of anything else to do. My all time personal favorite moment is when he has no idea how to get our heroes to Dracula's castle so a painting suddenly becomes a portal. The characters are so shallow that whenever Sommers tries to squeeze in some personality or motivation it becomes jarring and hilarious. The Transylvanian Princess Anna remarks that she has never been to the sea as they explore Frankenstein's ruins. It's ineptness reaches a climax in the big finale when Hugh Jackman doesn't actually fight Dracula. He turns into appalling CGI werewolf. I felt kind of ripped off. It's bad screen writing 101.And yet as far as stupid movies go this one is kind of entertaining in that it so sincerely believes it's smart. Hugh Jackman is the reason 'Van Helsing' retains just enough serious to laugh with and not at the film. If Sommers had Brendan Fraiser again this movie would have been a disaster. Jackman is perfect here. He is entertaining and adds the right amount and right kind of humor to his performance. I don't know. All my criticism and smiles come down to me being a huge Universal Monster fan. This movie loves the iconography of the monsters. You definitely see where the money went on this thing. The sets and make-up effects are all spectacular. The cobwebs, the Transylvanian villages, the laboratory. I can't help but smile at it. The opening ten minutes alone are worth the price of admission. The movie only truly gets boring when it is loaded with CGI....and yet on the other hand I can't help but be a little angry that Universal thinks this and 'Dracula Untold' is how to honor their monster heritage. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr never played characters as superficial as these in any of the Universal classics. Everything is at face value here. The iconography? Beautiful. The mythology? They don't have a clue as to what made these characters appeal to monster fans. I understand the hate this movie gets but I think it's far too stupid to devote any passionate loathing to. I loved it as a kid when it first came out and looking back at it I can still sort of see why I did. It's goofy and has fun being goofy. It's a 'Batman & Robin' caliber watch. You'll be entertained I think if you sort of smirk at it.

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