I can't make up my mind

Rating: 5/10 (10 May 2004)

And neither could this movie.
Now I appreciate it when a movie does a good job of combining several genres, and I could see what the makers of Van Helsing were trying to accomplish. Unfortunately that seems to be the theme of movies today. Trying.
The first try was the horror aspect. There were times when I literally jumped in my seat from fright. At one point I almost screamed. But these moments were so few and far between that calling this a horror film just doesn't quite fit.
The next try was the CGI. A bad try. The effects were sloppy at best, and so over the top in their attempts to make the actors look like they were the greatest gymnasts ever born that they were laughable. Come on moviemakers! Whatever happened to a good old fashioned fight without having to hurl characters all over the horizon?
The third try was comedy. This actually worked. The friar who was a Q ahead of his time was hilarious. If only we could have seen more of him and less of the action sequences!
The fourth try was action-adventure. The problem was, instead of making Van Helsing a truly original character, they made him into a Wolverine brooding, Indiana Jones wannabe who dressed like a character from the Matrix. Now I'll give kudos to Kate. She looked awesome. Better then I've ever seen her. And the vampire brides were absolutely stunning on the ground. Too bad they turned into really bad CGI whenever they took flight.
So, what did I think of the movie? I found it trying.

Rank: 6 out of 10