overrated

Rating: 6/10 (19 November 2005)

This version has several moments of cinematic wit and occasional visual brilliance but it's mostly hokey, pokey and thoroughly overblown. Gary Oldman is much the best actor in an uneven crew with several of the supporting players making NO impression whatsoever (like vampires I guess). The effect is like having cardboard cut-outs standing around in place of characters. Anthony Hopkins doesn't even bother to use his Dutch accent in several scenes but reverts to his best "Remains of the Day" Brit voice. The plot meanders and the sheer lavishness of the sets, costumes and cinematography seriously thwarts the somber/horrible mood of the movie over and over. I finally turned off the color on my TV to see if I could get into it a little more. It didn't help enough to make me feel any better about it. I'm mystified that this movie enjoys such a great popular reputation. This movie must have cost a fortune yet doesn't hold a candle to the cheapie black and white Spanish language version of Universal's "Dracula" shot after hours on the sets being used for the Bela Lugosi version.