I was unfortunate enough to get a ticket to see Van Helsing on opening night. Let me just say that none of you should make the same mistake.
First off, the film itself was incredibly dull. The cinemetography was bad, the special effects were rather lackluster, and the monsters were entirely one-dimensional. Probably the most interesting character in the entire film, Mr.Hyde (of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, portrayed by Harry Potter's Robbie Coltrane) is killed off in the first few minutes of the film, and is laid to waste as a victim of what little character development was attempted for Gabriel Van Helsing's shallow, brooding character.
In fact, there was not one character in the entire film which was properly developed. Tertiary characters like Falcon, (Kate Beckinsdale's character's brother... a werewolf) and Victor Frankenstein were used almost as a "hey look" and were then discarded like hollywood extras. We never really learn much about Van Helsing's past: a mystery which the film tries to tell you is the main plot of the film, but still doesn't explain much farther than explaining why Dracula knows him. The film hints at the fact that Van Helsing is over 1700 years old, but doesn't explain what he is.
Conversely, we are constantly reminded that the brides of Dracula are vampires. They almost never leave the screen, and almost never stop shrieking. Inexplicably, the brides of Dracula have all the mystical powers bestowed upon Vladislav Dracula himself: strength, persuasion, and the ability to morph into a bat of sorts... except the "bats" of this installment of the Dracula canon look more like Kowakian Monkey Lizards than anything else.
Just as inexplicably, Dracula's castle is inhabited by beings which are referred to only as Dracula's servants. They walked like Oompa-Loompas and looked like Jawas. They did nothing to advance the plot, and were little more than screen filler.
The film also perfoms the deadly deus ex machina trick, in which dozens of vampires are about to kill the triumverate of heroes, and one of the characters pulls out a "sunlight bomb" which kills all the bad guys. Oh, also, only Van Helsing can kill Dracula because blah blah blah I was asleep.
Van Helsing had some nice toys, and some great moves, and a funny sidekick (The Lord of the Rings' David Wenham) but little more. It was a one dimensional film for a three dimensional audience. I would not reccomend this film.
First off, the film itself was incredibly dull. The cinemetography was bad, the special effects were rather lackluster, and the monsters were entirely one-dimensional. Probably the most interesting character in the entire film, Mr.Hyde (of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, portrayed by Harry Potter's Robbie Coltrane) is killed off in the first few minutes of the film, and is laid to waste as a victim of what little character development was attempted for Gabriel Van Helsing's shallow, brooding character.
In fact, there was not one character in the entire film which was properly developed. Tertiary characters like Falcon, (Kate Beckinsdale's character's brother... a werewolf) and Victor Frankenstein were used almost as a "hey look" and were then discarded like hollywood extras. We never really learn much about Van Helsing's past: a mystery which the film tries to tell you is the main plot of the film, but still doesn't explain much farther than explaining why Dracula knows him. The film hints at the fact that Van Helsing is over 1700 years old, but doesn't explain what he is.
Conversely, we are constantly reminded that the brides of Dracula are vampires. They almost never leave the screen, and almost never stop shrieking. Inexplicably, the brides of Dracula have all the mystical powers bestowed upon Vladislav Dracula himself: strength, persuasion, and the ability to morph into a bat of sorts... except the "bats" of this installment of the Dracula canon look more like Kowakian Monkey Lizards than anything else.
Just as inexplicably, Dracula's castle is inhabited by beings which are referred to only as Dracula's servants. They walked like Oompa-Loompas and looked like Jawas. They did nothing to advance the plot, and were little more than screen filler.
The film also perfoms the deadly deus ex machina trick, in which dozens of vampires are about to kill the triumverate of heroes, and one of the characters pulls out a "sunlight bomb" which kills all the bad guys. Oh, also, only Van Helsing can kill Dracula because blah blah blah I was asleep.
Van Helsing had some nice toys, and some great moves, and a funny sidekick (The Lord of the Rings' David Wenham) but little more. It was a one dimensional film for a three dimensional audience. I would not reccomend this film.
