High-budget "Beowulf"

Rating: 5/10 (23 November 2004)

SPOILERS MARKED BELOW!
The movie is not that bad in itself. We have an amnesic VAn Helsing (not Abraham, this one's called Gabriel) who goes after Dracula, to protect a gypsy girl from the Lord of the Night. We have fun, the scenery is slightly impressive, KAte Beckinsale is hoooooot, but... somewhat lacks originality.
Right from the start, we have VH hunting Mr.Hyde in France. First ripoff here: "The League of xtraordinary gentlemen". Unfortunately, the writer of this also forgot to read Stevenson's book. Hyde is small and grunty, not a hulk. But of course, VH is also hunted, by the local police (I recall... "The Punisher").
Back to his quarters (in the Vatican), he is sent after Dracula. Suddenly, he is faced by the Italian 1800-ish version of Q (James Bond's weapon provider). But the worst is... not only it took stuff from such films, "Van Helsing" also has a character who walks around crammed with weapons... like "Beowulf" (yes, the highly criticised Christopher Lambert's version). It's too similar a film to that one, except that there's no "Mortal Kombat" feeling, and the FX are way better.
In short, something fun to waste a bit more than 2 hours of your life.
5/10
NOW COMES THE SPOILER! (You were warned!)
Another creepy copy is the final battle... "Mortal Kombat Annihilation" with good CGI!