Ok, so call me cheesy!

Rating: 5/10 (6 May 2004)

But I liked the movie. Sommers returns after quite a long absence with a groundbreaking kind of a film. A perfect popcorn movie. A total 'you'll have fun seeing it!' flick. Of course not to forget that seeking any sense in this movie is totally useless, for you will not find it. What you will find though is a good shaken plot, with a wonderful WETA Digital special effects olive, in a perfectly clear Hollywood pre-summer blockbusters glass (still waiting for 'Troy' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'). So, what's it all about? Van Helsing, the man with a mission to kill the all existing evil, is sent to Romania to take on his greatest challenge ever - Count Dracula. What he doesn't know is that this task will be more than just challenging. I won't re-tell the story, though, you just got to see it for yourself.

Having Hugh Jackman on board is a great plus to the movie. Despite the fact that he somehow reminds me of the good old Rick O'Connell of 'The Mummy'. But in a good way, not that he copies him, he feels like a relative. Jackman delivers his edgy side, familiar to the fans of X-Men (Wolverine is my favorite), but all the same with grace and razorblade sharp phrases along with the weapons. His assistant - the geeky-looking Carl, monch-to-be, played by David Wenham (LOTR fans - ye be warned, brace yourselves, no sign of noble Faramir there), is Van Helsing's sidekick, who's there to break the tension after every major action scene with a funny thing he says or does. Kate Beckinsale - the girl still has her rough skills from 'Underworld', where she also dealt with vampires, but was on their side. Richard Roxburgh - the always pale, always hungry Count Dracula, who has an evil plan to destroy our world, which isn't news to any of the viewers.

In short: the movie is packed with clichees, most of it is CGI, the story about the Dracula is nearly as old as the cinema itself and some moments are predictable for any fan of the genre. So why go and see it? Because the movie has its own charm, the typical Sommers touch. Because it made me feel like a child, such a fairytale-feeling it gave me. Because it fits action, romance and great plot twists along with the last battle, which I didn't see coming the way it did into the 2+ hours, which fly like the Brides of Dracula. So, relax, get yourself a bucket of popcorn, some Coke and let Van Helsing take you into his world of 1888, when good fought with evil in the name of God.