An okay movie

Rating: 5/10 (13 December 2006)

I don't consider Van Helsing as a wonderful movie, but it's not very horrible either. Some parts of it are entertaining to watch but you take a nap or daydream about something else during the other scenes. The problems I have with the movie are: storyline (not very good) and TOO much CGI and action scenes. I think Sommers intended for this movie to be scary, but unfortunately, it's not. It seems to be a LOT more of an action movie than horror.
The problem with the storyline is, well, vampire babies??? Why couldn't the vampires just sire a bunch of people and start some kind of chain reaction. The only good part about the storyline is Gabriel's background and amnesia and connection to Dracula, but we don't see enough of that. Sommers tries to combine the stories of vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein's monster all in one movie, but it just seems like everything is simply thrown together. The only reason Frank's monster is there is for the vampire babies and the only reason the werewolves are there is because they are deadly to Dracula. Speaking of which, the issue of the werewolf antidote and Dracula's control over werewolves is very confusing. The acting wasn't bad, but the accents certainly were. The brides acted over the top at times.
On to the good points. Visually, this movie is great. The architecture of the castles and buildings is beautiful. The monsters are all taken to the next level. The vampire brides turn into harpy-like beings and Dracula transforms into a gargoyle/bat-like demon (though it looks very CGI). The design for Frank's monster was really cool. The werewolves have huge fangs, move very fast, and transform by ripping their skins off! (But they also look CGI).
Overall, I give it 5 out of 10. It would have been great if there were less over-dramatic action scenes and explosions and more attention to a better story that actually keeps you interested. I keep wishing that Sommers had made some kind of a psychological thriller with these characters. That would have been awesome and we would have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the characters and events in the story.