A waste of two hours and 10 dollars

Rating: 1/10 (16 May 2004)

I did not expect Stephen Sommer's "Van Helsing" to be an epic, Oscar-worthy piece, but I did have hopes that, with a cast of such talent, it would at least be entertaining. I anticipated the witty humor and intriguing action of Sommer's past film, "The Mummy." I was extremely disappointed. The plot, or should I say lack of, is simply a device to propel continuing action scenes. The characters are flat, undeveloped and uninteresting. The attempted witty dialogue fails miserably. It is the most awful screenplay I've ever encountered. The directing was beyond horrifying, reducing the performances of Jackman, Roxburgh, and Beckinsale to cheesy, overacted stereotypes, and what is with Dracula's brides striking "vogue" poses in the background all the time? The only saving graces of this film are the special effects, action scenes, and the wonderful comic relief performance of David Wenham. And, unfortunately, these are not enough to make the movie worth the time or money required to see it.