 | |
List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 2339
Released: October 19, 2004 |
| Our Price: $4.99 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
|
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Like a roller coaster ready to fly off its rails, Van Helsing rockets to maximum velocity and never slows down. Having earned blockbuster clout with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, writer-director Stephen Sommers once again plunders Universal's monster vault and pulls out all the stops for this mammoth $148-million action-adventure-horror-comedy, which opens (sans credits) with a terrific black-and-white prologue that pays homage to the Universal horror classics that inspired it. The plot pits legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp) in a two-hour parade of outstanding special effects (980 in all) that turn Sommers' juvenile plot into a triple-overtime bonus for CGI animators. In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny, and there's so much good-humored action that you're guaranteed to be thrilled and exhausted by the time the 10-minute end-credits roll. It's loud, obnoxious, filled with revisionist horror folklore, and aimed at addicted gamers and eight-year-olds, but this colossal monster mash (including Mr. Hyde, just for kicks) will never, ever bore you. A sequel is virtually guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon
Van Helsing (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Horror/Fantasy James Bond -- Shaken, Not Stirred -- Bloody Likely 
2008-08-14 - Since Universal Studios practically began the horror era back in the 30's with the Mummy and Frankenstein and Dracula, Boris Karloff, et al., I thought it would be a kick to see Van Helsing.
Steve Sommers made quite a tongue in cheek movie that plays with the past Hollywood mythology of horror films and adds some of his own. I didn't know that if Dracula is killed then that somehow reverses everyone he's ever bitten. Hmm, don't remember that one with Bela Lugosi.
And Jackman is a kind of James Bond 007 and Robert Conrad of the old TV show Wild, Wild West! The Wild Wild West - The Complete First Season He works for a secret Vatican enclave whose mission is to wipe out all evil. And Van Helsing's forgotten past makes him the perfect Left Hand of God, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Kate Beckinsale, Vacancy as well as being easy on the eyes, does pretty well as the vengeful Transylvanian noblewoman, out for Dracula's blood (so to speak) to confirm nine generations of her family to wipe this guy out. Can Van Helsing do the deed?
The special effects are amazing and have been used so often in other films as to be almost boring. Just keep a fresh outlook. I mean what the ancient men of filmland could have done with CGI!
Music was especially spooky and ghoulish. The script was deliciously campy and corny, just the way I like my Universal.
Much liberty is made of the old Wolfman, Frankenstein, Dracula and even Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde mythology. Take it all with a grain of salt and you'll be fine.
The DVD itself is a marvel. A self-guided tour through Drac's Castle is fun. The legend of Van Helsing, complete with original film clips from the original Lugosi classic film. Dracula (75th Anniversary Edition) (Universal Legacy Series) Bringing the Monster to Life reviews the special effects artists and interviews with them and on the set. The "You are in the Movie" is a film within a film, seeing the movie through various different views. They hid cameras on the set and it's almost like seeing a newly edited version.
Not bad at all. Hokey, campy and cheesy, but purposely so. Good job.
Three stars for the film as I felt it was too heavy on effects and not enough on story. One more star for the DVD specials! Nice package.
Better than "Dead & Loving It!" Dracula: Dead and Loving It [Region 2]
** SPOILER ** The irony of Wolverine becoming a Wolfman was too cool to miss.
Better Sommers flick: The Mummy (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)
You can't even find Vanhelstink in the bargin bin. 
2008-07-15 - Another clunker I forgot to review.
I love Hugh in the X Men movies.
But not even his skills can save this movie from sucking utterly.
Just so so FX, but the rest of it.........YAWN!!!
Not a horror movie nor a comedy, I'm not sure exactly what Vanhelstinky is trying to do except suck. It succeeds brilliantly on that level anyway.
Bad script, limp direction, pretty much everything was bad.
It bombed at the theater, and to think I actually paid to see this IN the theater.
Hugh is awesome, I'm glad people forgot about this one and didn't hold it against him.
NOT RECOMMENDED!!!
The angel Gabriel
2008-07-11 - I don't know why some people have panned this. I love this movie. It's not cheesy; it pays a clever and insightful homage to old monster movies. I applaud Stephen Sommers for his extensive knowledge of the subject, so that he can do this accurately. As a director, Sommers also makes good casting decisions, and doesn't rely on the special effects to make his film -- something that should be appreciated more in this largely technological age, I feel. The climatic twist in "Van Helsing" happens to be extraordinarily touching and romantic, and a bittersweet example of good triumphing over evil -- something else that I really appreciate in my entertainment in this day and age. I honestly recommend "Van Helsing," for repeated watching, despite the bad reviews.
A thrilling horror story 
2008-06-29 - I bought this movie because I loved watching Hugh Jackman in the X-Men movie. I'm also a horror movie fan.
This was an excellent, frightening, fast-paced movie. The special effects were fantastic.
The extras were well-appreciated: a tour of Dracula's castle, the Legend of Van Helsing, Bringing the Monsters to life.
I'm an amateur graphic artist, so I appreciate such insights into how such effects were created.
I'd recommend this movie to anyone with similar tastes to mine.
Proof that less is more 
2008-06-09 - I really wanted to like "Van Helsing," especially after reading various interviews with the director who acknowledged that he was inspired by his love for the Universal horror classics. Unfortunately, he comes closer to recreating the mediocrity of 1944's "House of Frankenstein" than one of the studio's superior horror classics from the 1930's.
There is a lot to like about "Van Helsing." The sets are impressive and the special effects can not be faulted. There are plenty of impressive action sequences that can make you gasp. In the end, though, it proves the old adage that "less is more."
The movie is positively stuffed from end to end with breathtaking stunts and special effects, leaving little time for character development or story. That's unfortunate because there are, indeed, several novel twists worth exploring, such as Dracula's financial support of Dr. Frankenstein's experiments. But this is simply mentioned then quickly discarded in favor of stunts and effects that grow monotonous because they are so plentiful. There's never time to catch your breath. For some viewers, these complaints may sound more like recommendations. Rest assured, if it's action you want, this movie delivers . . . and delivers, and delivers.
Hugh Jackman is okay, but his Van Helsing is closer in spirit to Indiana Jones and James Bond than the character created by Bram Stoker and played to perfection in other movies by such actors as Edward Van Sloan, Peter Cushing, Laurence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins. As Dracula, however, Richard Roxburgh seems too intent on channeling Bela Lugosi and too often brings to mind Al Lewis, Grandpa on "The Munsters," instead.
Frankenstein's monster and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde also put in appearances, but nothing really progresses beyond the surface level. Too bad. The premise is great. The effects are superb. The action is well-staged. The story, however, falls short.
Brian W. Fairbanks
