Van Helsing (spoilers)

[Shark]

What's your take on this movie?  I thought it was good...it wasn't a Saving Private Ryan, of course, but it wasn't a Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, either.

I suppose it's because I went in not expecting much, like I did for The Punisher, and ended up being pleasantly surprised.  Case in point, for Hellboy, I went in with high expectations and ended up being thoroughly disappointed.  Van Helsing, like all the other movies I've mentioned, is a flick that you have to go into with low expectations and an open mind in order to enjoy.

My main gripe was the hokey plotline in which Dracula was trying to bring his vampire children to life using Dr. Frankenstein's machine, with the Frankenstein Monster himself serving as a conduit.  I mean, WTF was that all about?  It could work for a comic, I suppose, but not a movie.  If they REALLY wanted to include Frankenstein in the movie, they could've at least found a more plausible way to fit him into the story.

Other than that, the CGI monsters were nothing short of spectacular, and the ending was fairly unexpected...with the hero of the movie getting turned into a (very badass) werewolf and ends up killing the (hot but annoying) herione.  The story itself was OK...a bit messy at times, and I felt that they tried to cram too much into two and a half hours.

Overall, though, Van Helsing was a solid movie.

[Haze]

It wasn't bad, but it sure wasn't anything to write home about. After the entire endeavor, I walked the mile and a half home just so I could wail into the stars of the basterdization of the childhood monsters that always gave me the chills.

I also mourned the transformation of Van Helsing, for he is truly dead. He died with Peter Cushing and may he rest in peace.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I actually was surprised by the flick.  I thought the overall camp/cheese factor was perfect as was the CGI in the film.  I didn't want to see this flick, but my wife did so I was dragged along.

The first half of the flick had me giggling like a schoolgirl.  It was great.  Fast, funny, over the top.  The last half of the film did eventually begin to drag down.  

Decent acting, great FX, cheesy storyline and plot holes big enough to jump through, yet it was a great summer movie.  Definently worth the ticket price.

[odinn7]

Yes...never mind all of that...how did Kate look? drool....

[Mr_Vindictive]

Kate

Looked


AMAZING

[Evil Matt]

A few things I noticed...

1)  In the scene where they found Frankenstein's monster in that underground cave, you could see the boom mic in the foreground of the shot.  The audience was rolling about that.

2)  There was more jumping and swinging in that movie that I expect there to be in Spider Man 2.

3)  Bruce Campbell should've played Van Helsing.

4)  Kate Beckinsale is hot.

[Newt]

"...Decent acting, great FX, cheesy storyline and plot holes big enough to jump through, yet it was a great summer movie. Definently worth the ticket price."

"Yet"?....I always thought decent acting, great FX, cheesy storyline and plot holes big enough to jump through was what DID make a great summer movie...sounds like fun.  Thanks!

[Max Gardner]

I thought Van Helsing was hilarious.  It took a while to get going, but it grew on me after 45 minutes or so, and the rest was silly enough to keep me entertained, particularly the incredibly fast Transylvanian horses, Frankenstein's rope-swinging and the fact that the only thing that can put an end to Dracula's rain of terror is....getting his ass kicked by a werewolf? Huh? Kevin J. O'Connor is fun as Igor, playing basically the same character he did in Deep Rising (still my favorite Sommers movie) and The Mummy (which I wasn't too fond of).

I still think it would have been better with Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing, and I was disappointed at the lack of any nod whatsoever to The Monster Squad.

[Mofo Rising]

I don't think I've had such a severe negative reaction to a movie in quite a while.

Don't get me wrong, I had low expectations going in.  I expected a dumb, yet entertaining film.  Well, I was right about one thing. . .

It was about an hour into the film when I realized I no longer cared about how the rest of the movie turned out.  I didn't care about the characters or plot.  In fact, the few plot twists in the movie were so telegraphed that I was already waiting for the inevitable "twist" to play out and let this godforsaken movie to be over already.

That's a cardinal sin.  If there is one thing that a movie that is nonstop action shouldn't be, it's boring.  This movie made me wish I was the kind of person to fall asleep in public places.  That would have made the movie go by faster.

I can overlook bad acting, bad characterizations, no plot and unoriginal ideas, but not all at once in such a concentrated form.  I've come to the conclusion that Stephen Sommers must not have an original bone in his body.  And you know what?  If I ever meet him I'm going to punch him square in the face.

Well, I won't do that.  But then again, I've never going to meet him in person.

This is one movie I told everybody I know to avoid like the plague.  And I never do that.

[Dunners]

welcome to how I feel about resident evil and anything 'created' by Paul W.S Anderson.

[Gerry]

A lot of people are hating this movie...with serious venom.  There are some boards on the Net where you'll get lynched if you mention you like it.

As for me, it was a big dumb bad movie...just the way I like 'em.  Fun and stupid.

It was a lot better than ARMAGHEDDON anyway.  At least, it didn't make me want to retch the way that one did.

[Evan3]

All right.
I liked the first half of this movie and thought after the monster was captured it was very droll.  I felt after the horse ride, it really tapered off. I may however buy it, if for nothing else, its special effects were amazing and the black and white scene was great fun.

As for Summers, I enjoyed the Mummy and thought the sand face was intense. However, in each sequel the series got more and more repetetive and awful. I dont think Sommers is great, but decent enough. If he can make it in Hollywood so can I, or so I figure.  

However I reccomend Van Helsing in the theatres cuz if anything, it IS Big.

Here are what I learned
1) Everyone in Transylvvania, even the women, sound strangely like Governor Schwarzenegger.

2)  Horse Drawn Carriages are highly flammable, and even explosive, also Horses are not at all afraid of vampires or werewolves or cliffs, they just keep running

3) Frankenstein's Monster is really Jerry Falwell in disguise.

However it has the best quote ever which will soon be my signature

[Zilla]

What can I say monsters,gore, plot holes, Hugh Jackman my kind of movie.  Kate Beckensdale was just annoying but I liked watching her fall out the tree and hitting EVERY branch on the way down. Result!

[daveblackeye15]

My and my friends liked it, it was cool with all the monsters and action. I jus wish the end fight could have been longer and I'm wondering what happened to the first Werewolf? either it disappeared for a sequel or it was shot with a silver bullet by the woman.

[Hugomarink]

Shark,

Good post! I agree with your assessment of the movie. It's not nearly as bad as the critics made it out to be. Yeah, there are some giant logistical holes in the plot but overall the movie accomplishes what it tries to be. It's a rip-roaring and relentless action blockbuster. While it's not perfect by any means, there are a lot of fun and cool elements in it that make it a worthwhile bit of entertainment. I, too, went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Decent story and characterization, fantastic sets and effects, relentless action. I thought the guy playing Dracula was pretty weak, but I liked Jackman and Kate Beckinsale (who I hardly recognized). I say check it out.

Andy