Van Helsing (2004) DVD Reviews

Starring	Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham
Director	Stephen Sommers
Genres	Action/Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Critics' reviews (5) of Van Helsing
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Having re-invigorated the Mummy franchise, writer/director Stephen Sommers turns his attention to the rest of Universal's classic monsters. Using the original films and character legends as a springboard, he delivers an exciting, effects-driven romp that combines the pulling power of Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster. Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is dispatched by a secret, Vatican-based organisation to 19th-century Transylvania where he comes to the aid of Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale) in her long-running battle against the vampire Count and his evil allies. Though Richard Roxburgh's Dracula lacks charisma next to the magnetic Jackman, his flying, harpy-like brides are superb, fuelling some of the movie's most thrilling set pieces. This is Indiana Jones meets Hammer Horror — the relentless action is blended with a knowing undercurrent and dramatic gothic styling. Ultimately the CGI could have been better — as could the dialogue — but viewed solely as escapism, this is an exhilarating ride.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
A truly terrible movie, loud and vacuous, in which the actors become not very special effects among a phantasmagoria of computer-generated monsters.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006
"...Fantastic Stuff. I couldn't take my eyes off it for a second..."
- The Sun
- Posted 11 Mar 2005
Most helpful members' reviews (3) of Van Helsing
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39 out of 49 people found this review helpful

A whole load of Vampire fun

Van Helsing hurtles along at one hell of a rate with scene after scene of monster smashing carnage as Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale do their best to annoy Dracula and his unholy friends!

I thought this film was visually spectacular and was just a lot of fun. Kate Beckinsale is absolutely stunning and there are also some seriously hot Romanian vampire chicks flying about to boot.

Get off your high horses fellow reviewers and stop taking it all so seriously. This film isnt looking to win any awards with its in depth story line and narrative - its just a bit of CGI fun. So enjoy.
- - LeoM from London
  - Posted 07 May 2007 18:47
33 out of 53 people found this review helpful

Van Helsing? More like Van der Valk!

When Stephen Sommers directed 'The Mummy' he presented his audience with a highly enjoyable, frightening and often funny movie that stands up to repeat viewings and always entertains. The follow up was not comparable to the high standards of its predecessor (in fact, it just didn't work) and I'm afraid that VH echoes the same trend.

He's created a monster in Van Helsing, but for all the wrong reasons. Essentially, the magical formula just isn't there. Don't get me wrong, there are the occasional flashes of brilliance, but that's all they are-flashes. Blink and you'll miss them! Admittedly,the film looks excellent in fact visually it's a treat..but the script is in parts so painful that it may make you cringe. ( I certainly did) Hugh Jackman looks good and obviously gave the part his all. But it's all style over substance sadly. At least his character is more fleshed-out than Kate Beckinsale's-she just runs about a lot and speaks with a hammy accent...so bad it's not even funny.

One of the main problems with this movie though is that it's tried to break away from the standard visual concepts of what the characters should look like...a great idea if you can pull it off. This movie can't- it falls short of the mark with practically all of the Horror characters we know and love. Instead of a Ray Reardon-esque Dracula, we get Richard Roxburgh's hammy creation. ( To be fair, he couldn't have played it any other way) I did like the effects on Frankenstein, which were quite novel and quirky but again, it just wasn't enough. Remember the crappy pseudo-pygmies in 'The Mummy Returns'? Well, you ain't seen the vampire babies...by the time they appear on screen, you should have realised that the film is a turkey of gargantuan proportions.And to top it all off, the ending has to be one of the lamest that I have ever seen on celluloid..see it if you want to see a really nice looking movie, but do yourself a favour and switch the volume off. It probably plays a lot better without the hammy dialogue!
- - Ookster =^..^= from Chesterfield, England
  - Posted 14 Jun 2004 22:55
14 out of 18 people found this review helpful

VAN DUNG!

This is without doubt the worst film I've ever seen and I've seen a fair few stinkers.

Stephen Sommers should be horsewhipped for this pile of incomprehensible rubbish!

Yet again a film where a plot with some sort of point seems to be totally missing. S.S. seems to think the audience will be content with a string of seemingly unconnected set pieces that are stuck together badly. I kept hoping the story would get better, but unsurprisingly it didn't.

Someone somewhere obviously thought it would be a good idea to cram as many old b/w horror movie characters and scenarios as possible into this film in the hope that it would all miraculously meld together and create a modern day blockbuster version, but it doesn't. IT'S A MESS OF A FILM!

This film deserves minus marks. The ending is particularly woeful. FACES IN THE CLOUDS???

ON NO ACCOUNT RENT THIS FILM!!!
- - Johnathon Woss from Chilly Jockoland
  - Posted 22 Jul 2005 17:06
Most recent members' reviews (2) of Van Helsing
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Less vampire, more friar

I rated this one quite harshly as I was expecting more from the people involved in making this movie.

There could have been a lot of simple improvements on the movie. For instance the female vampires were completely over acting and made themselves look silly. And dracula wasn't that great either.

I was expecting it to be funnier, especially with the actors/actress and the story line didn't really make sense. I still feel like I missed something.

Kate and Hugh really carried the movie and they are brilliant at what they do, the comedy sidekick was a wonderful add on which would have been even better if he had been given more lines.

The graphics were decent and the filming was lovely, but the incoherent story and bad vampire acting really ruined this otherwise good film.

It is worth a look, but try not to get your hopes up.
- - Wolfie from Swansea
  - Posted 05 Nov 2004 12:26
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellent - Well worth a look!

Excellent film, everything i expected it to be with some gr8 effects also. Enjoyed this from start to finish, well worth a look!
- - car from glos
  - Posted 26 May 2005 11:02

39 out of 49 people found this review helpful

A whole load of Vampire fun

Van Helsing hurtles along at one hell of a rate with scene after scene of monster smashing carnage as Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale do their best to annoy Dracula and his unholy friends!

I thought this film was visually spectacular and was just a lot of fun. Kate Beckinsale is absolutely stunning and there are also some seriously hot Romanian vampire chicks flying about to boot.

Get off your high horses fellow reviewers and stop taking it all so seriously. This film isnt looking to win any awards with its in depth story line and narrative - its just a bit of CGI fun. So enjoy.
- - LeoM from London
  - Posted 07 May 2007 18:47
33 out of 53 people found this review helpful

Van Helsing? More like Van der Valk!

When Stephen Sommers directed 'The Mummy' he presented his audience with a highly enjoyable, frightening and often funny movie that stands up to repeat viewings and always entertains. The follow up was not comparable to the high standards of its predecessor (in fact, it just didn't work) and I'm afraid that VH echoes the same trend.

He's created a monster in Van Helsing, but for all the wrong reasons. Essentially, the magical formula just isn't there. Don't get me wrong, there are the occasional flashes of brilliance, but that's all they are-flashes. Blink and you'll miss them! Admittedly,the film looks excellent in fact visually it's a treat..but the script is in parts so painful that it may make you cringe. ( I certainly did) Hugh Jackman looks good and obviously gave the part his all. But it's all style over substance sadly. At least his character is more fleshed-out than Kate Beckinsale's-she just runs about a lot and speaks with a hammy accent...so bad it's not even funny.

One of the main problems with this movie though is that it's tried to break away from the standard visual concepts of what the characters should look like...a great idea if you can pull it off. This movie can't- it falls short of the mark with practically all of the Horror characters we know and love. Instead of a Ray Reardon-esque Dracula, we get Richard Roxburgh's hammy creation. ( To be fair, he couldn't have played it any other way) I did like the effects on Frankenstein, which were quite novel and quirky but again, it just wasn't enough. Remember the crappy pseudo-pygmies in 'The Mummy Returns'? Well, you ain't seen the vampire babies...by the time they appear on screen, you should have realised that the film is a turkey of gargantuan proportions.And to top it all off, the ending has to be one of the lamest that I have ever seen on celluloid..see it if you want to see a really nice looking movie, but do yourself a favour and switch the volume off. It probably plays a lot better without the hammy dialogue!
- - Ookster =^..^= from Chesterfield, England
  - Posted 14 Jun 2004 22:55
14 out of 18 people found this review helpful

VAN DUNG!

This is without doubt the worst film I've ever seen and I've seen a fair few stinkers.

Stephen Sommers should be horsewhipped for this pile of incomprehensible rubbish!

Yet again a film where a plot with some sort of point seems to be totally missing. S.S. seems to think the audience will be content with a string of seemingly unconnected set pieces that are stuck together badly. I kept hoping the story would get better, but unsurprisingly it didn't.

Someone somewhere obviously thought it would be a good idea to cram as many old b/w horror movie characters and scenarios as possible into this film in the hope that it would all miraculously meld together and create a modern day blockbuster version, but it doesn't. IT'S A MESS OF A FILM!

This film deserves minus marks. The ending is particularly woeful. FACES IN THE CLOUDS???

ON NO ACCOUNT RENT THIS FILM!!!
- - Johnathon Woss from Chilly Jockoland
  - Posted 22 Jul 2005 17:06
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful

Nice Hat Hugh!

I spent most of my time watching Bram Stoker's Dracula thinking 'Winona Ryder's hat is WAY too small!', and most of my time watching this thinking 'Hugh Jackman's hat is too BIG!'

I loved watching this film, but mainly for the absolutely incredible special effects. Without these I would not have rated it as highly. If you want Dracula, watch Bram Stoker's version with Gary Oldman, if you want Frankenstein's Monster, watch Mary Shelley version with De Niro.

There's nothing overly wrong with it, it's perfectly watchable, but there's no stunning acting or anything like that, just Kate Beckinsale in another badly casted 'Kick-Ass Chick' part, and Hugh almost playing exactly the same as Wolverine again, but not as good.

Take a look, it's worth it for the incredible effects alone.
- - MattBurn from Notts
  - Posted 25 Oct 2004 12:15
9 out of 11 people found this review helpful

What A Waste........

This film has some really great action and effects, the werewolves + vampires are super but the plot and characters are execrable, although I did quite like the Brides Of Dracula - rather delectable in their human guise. A good example of a decent effects movie with no plot is The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, this just gets boring after a while and it's a wasted opportunity - potentially awesome, ultimately brainless.
- - imran from London
  - Posted 22 Jan 2005 13:57
8 out of 11 people found this review helpful

FIRST CLASS

WHAT CAN I SAY ONE OFF THE BEST FILMS I HAVE SEEN IN A LONG TIME MIGHT NOT BE EVERYONES CUP OF TEA BUT IF YOU LIKE HORROR FILMS THIS IS WELL WORTH HAVING A LOOK AT ACTION FROM START TO FINNISH NOT ONE TO MISS
- - robin jackson from HORSHAM,WEST SUSSEX
  - Posted 03 Nov 2004 20:39
7 out of 10 people found this review helpful

What the VanHelsing is this all about?

Quite frankly a load of old tosh!

Considering myself a huge horror fan I fully expected to enjoy this Indiana Jones meets Dracula flick, now matter how hackneyed. Wrong!

Terrible acting, a non existent plot, The Count from Sesame Street is more intimidating than this Dracula and I've seen more realistic computer generated creatures in Sonic the Hedgehog... for the Game Gear. Awful!

This will bore you to tears and the only redeeming feature was the fact that I fell asleep for 20 minutes and didn't miss any of the story. If you want an exhilarating, fun horror genre experience, rent Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein instead.
- - Odello from Durham
  - Posted 01 Nov 2004 12:45
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful

Good cast wasted

This is entertaining enough, but a faint sense of disappointment is amplified when you watch the outtakes and see the genuine charisma and chemistry of the cast emerge from beneath the leaden script and ham-fisted direction. It's sad really but this would have worked better much as a drastically under funded Hammer production.

Other than that there's the usual over-reliance on CGI effects, which reduce what used to be stunts and special effects to murk-ridden and confusing scenes of plastic action figures bouncing around in mid-air. When will people learn that more is less--just because you can turn a 10 vampire bats into 10,000 by pressing cut-and-paste a few times doesn't mean you have to.
- - Mick1 from London
  - Posted 07 Jan 2005 14:55
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

VANTASTIC

A lot of folk here are slating this film but you have to watch with a very open mind,if you like Indiana Jones,the Mummy, James Bond(With all his gadgets),The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen,then this is a film for you. It's all the above rolled in to one.

I watched in the dark with 5.1 surround and had it turned up,made me jump a couple of times, but laughed a lot.

Very easy plot to follow,very far-fetched, fantastic effects. will watch again someday.
- - A customer from Rugby
  - Posted 01 Dec 2005 16:42
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Comic Book Horror for 12yr olds

Whilst the film is entertaining is does lack credibility and I feel more could have been achieved if the film had aimed for a 15 certificate.

Stephen Sommers previous film The Mummy was a good family film that had a tongue in cheek humour about it. Van Helsing is similar but does fall short as I dont think the genre should be made suitable for children (horror that doesnt scare is not horror).

Two points about the film and clouds to note are, that Vampires apparantly can now come out in the day so long as the sun is behind a cloud. And Werewolves change back to human form if the moon is blocked by clouds. Stephen Sommers what were you thinking?
- - lee from Liverpool
  - Posted 22 Dec 2004 14:28

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Critics' reviews (5)
Having re-invigorated the Mummy franchise, writer/director Stephen Sommers turns his attention to the rest of Universal's classic monsters. Using the original films and character legends as a springboard, he delivers an exciting, effects-driven romp that combines the pulling power of Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster. Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is dispatched by a secret, Vatican-based organisation to 19th-century Transylvania where he comes to the aid of Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale) in her long-running battle against the vampire Count and his evil allies. Though Richard Roxburgh's Dracula lacks charisma next to the magnetic Jackman, his flying, harpy-like brides are superb, fuelling some of the movie's most thrilling set pieces. This is Indiana Jones meets Hammer Horror — the relentless action is blended with a knowing undercurrent and dramatic gothic styling. Ultimately the CGI could have been better — as could the dialogue — but viewed solely as escapism, this is an exhilarating ride.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
A truly terrible movie, loud and vacuous, in which the actors become not very special effects among a phantasmagoria of computer-generated monsters.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006
"...Fantastic Stuff. I couldn't take my eyes off it for a second..."
- The Sun
- Posted 11 Mar 2005
"...The Uk No. 1 monster smash... 'Vantastic! ..a must see..."
- News Of The World
- Posted 11 Mar 2005
"...Movie Magic...10/10..."
- Daily Star
- Posted 11 Mar 2005

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- Van Helsing - HD DVD Version
  
  All varieties of otherworldly creatures come out to play in Stephen Sommers' gothic carnival. Frankenstein's monster, ferocious werewolves, vampire bat babies, a maniacal scientist named Igor, and a CGI Dr. Jekyll are just a few. When they come together, a thrilling fantasy adventure results, ...

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- Van Helsing
  
  All varieties of otherworldly creatures come out to play in Stephen Sommers' gothic carnival. Frankenstein's monster, ferocious werewolves, vampire bat babies, a maniacal scientist named Igor, and a CGI Dr. Jekyll are just a few. When they come together, a thrilling fantasy adventure results, ...