could have been a great movie

Rating: Null/10 (14 May 2004)

After reading some comments, I didn't expect much from this movie. Still, I'm disappointed. For an action one, it was simply boring, I couldn't blame all those folks in the cinema who talked practically non-stop or laughed at wrong moments.
The biggest fault was destroying Dracula, and the character was destroyed from the beginning. What induced Sommers to force Roxburgh to play the Count in such a theatrical manner? It did remember me of Return of the King, when Jackson also slaughtered Denethor by poor script and poor staging and left Noble to pick up the debris. Sure, both Noble and Roxburgh managed their way, but it's a pity they were put on the losing position from the start. This could have been the best Dracula ever. I'd love to see Roxburgh play Vetinari (the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork from Discworld series), but only under a better director.
It would also pay to choose better actresses for the brides. The rest of cast were good, but the "Transilvanian" accents made ME cringe, and I'm not even a native speaker.
The stereotyping was awful, I'm damn happy I'm not a Romanian, I'd either laugh all the way through gritted teeth or fly from the theatre screaming.
Anyway, the music was good, the landscapes fantastic and the sets and camera work did manage to create some atmosphere.
I'm not sorry I saw this film, but I wish I had left ALL my braincells at home.
One thing helped me to go through this movie pretty painlessly, even through those moments when Dracula was not on screen - there was always something nice to look at: the leading male characters were handsome guys, the women at least had interesting clothes, the mountains were beautiful etc.