Van Helsing

[GarryCharles]

Has any one else seen Van Hesling, why did Dracula have to be so bloody camp, he was totally out of place in what could have been a dark movie. On the other hand didn't kate look tasty.
Going to watch Hellboy tonight lets hope it works out between us.

[DevilMan]

Yup, I saw VAN HELSING and all I gotta say is "Too bad it didn't live up to it's potential!". But since you must keep in mind that it was directed by STEPHEN SOMMERS (of THE MUMMY 1 and 2 fame), it's not the total fault of everyone involved with the project. If you need to blame someone, simply blame SOMMERS. He dropped the proverbial ball on this sucker.

So, let's see, how do I word this? VAN HELSING was... a whole lotta nothing. But hold on, I must also say it was a whole lotta good looking nothing too. I mean, if you really stop to think about what you just saw, it was simply one over-the-top, CGI packed, action sequence after another. And no matter how entertaining all that might seem, two hours of stunt filled computer enhanced high jinks doesn't make for a good movie. It just makes for a flashy movie that you'll probably forget about a few hours after you've left the theatre.

I won't really go into the story because you already know it but in case someone's reading that hasn't seen the film yet, here's a simple rundown...

Van Helsing's employeed by a secret religious order based in Rome and his mission is to track down and take care of murderous monsters on the prowl. This journey eventually leads him to Transylvania where he runs into Dracula, who has big plans to do some very bad things to the world. Along the way, Van Helsing gets the opportunity to throw hands with Mr. Hyde, the Wolfman, Dracula's Brides, Igor, and Frankenstein's Monster. So, with his companions in tow (Kate Beckinsale and David Wenham), he must vanquish the Lord of Vampires and set things right.

To me, VAN HELSING was like watching THE MUMMY if BRENDAN FRASER dressed cool. It was like watching UNDERWORLD if KATE BECKINSALE hunted vampires instead of being one herself. It was like watching THE X-MEN if Wolverine (HUGH JACKMAN) dispatched the bad guys with a crossbow gun in the place of his shiney mutant claws.

Yet, that's not to say VAN HELSING is a completely lousy movie either. It had it's own unique moments but unfortunately, most of them were, how should I say this, un-exciting. It was just too unbelievable for my tastes.

Wait now, before you say anything, I know the movie's about monsters and such but it was the whole swashbuckling thing that had my head swooning. You know what I'm talking about too. The film was loaded with crap like him firing a cable and swinging across an endless chasm with waves of harmful debris spraying through the air as an earthshattering quake rumbles through the ground as a wall of fire comes crashing down around him as a big bad monster catches ahold of his foot and he swoops in to snatch away the damsel in distress as... well, we could go on forever.

But that could just be me. I mean, I just find it funny how I can accept that the VAN HELSING movie tells me vampires, werewolves, and the like can exist but in the same instance, I can't stomach the far fetched, light-hearted BATMAN swing-through-the-air antics. Hmmmm, strange indeed. But you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it on the screen.

Anyway, maybe some people liked it, I didn't really myself. Sure, I'll buy it on DVD because it'll look and sound great on my home theatre setup but other than that, as I said earlier, I felt VAN HELSING just didn't live up to it's potential as a so-called serious "monster movie".

Maybe that short animated feature that's already out on DVD will be better?

-Steve

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by Kain@Jul 26 2004, 08:55 AM
Going to watch Hellboy tonight lets hope it works out between us.
I thought the opening 15 or so minutes were just excellent. Anyone think RETURN TO CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN when they first saw it? But after the opening, I found it to be a complete snooze-fest.

Granted, I've never read the comic so I don't know how the character was supposed to be like and didn't know what to expect from him but HELLBOY just wasn't my kinda demon. He was sorta a big cry baby punk. GO NAGAI's demonic animated anti-hero DEVILMAN would whip his butt.

But, if you liked the movie, there's a super fat three disc DVD special edition coming out.

-Steve

[The Disciple]

Van Helsing was a god cheesy childrens film.

(thats not a bad comment)