Wonderful adaption of the book

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2014)

I must admit that I didn't finish Dracula when I read it back in 6th grade. I got to the part about the zoo and then completely conked out and never picked it up again, so I'm glad this film followed the source material to the virtual T.
Gary Oldman shows his trademark chameleon ability to inhabit whatever role he is given and his accent was overall spot-on as well. Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing was an odd choice but he played the part of the eccentric monster hunter/physician surprisingly well, though his German (?) accent seemed to slip just a bit at times, especially during his initial appearance. My standards for Keanu Reeves are always low because honestly I feel he is a very wooden actor, and he proves this again in this movie, but everyone else picks up the slack with their phenomenal acting.
The cinematography was clever in its fade outs and overlapping of images to convey simultaneous happenings, though sometimes it felt a little overdone. The outfits were well-researched and fit their respective characters perfectly in terms of their personalities, backgrounds, and of course for historical accuracy's sake.
The ending felt the tiniest bit...cheesy but that's neither here nor there when it came to the journey. Overall I'd give this film a watch since it makes an already entertaining Gothic horror story something entertaining and beautiful to watch.