If You're in the mood to watch Kate Beckinsale and Hugh Jackman fight practically every monster, or enjoy the work of Stephan Sommers, see it, if not...

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2004)

I must start out by saying something about this movie; it is NOT for everyone. There are elements here that for some people will just not gel. What we have here is not a horror film, but an adventure movie with monsters, that said, there may be minor spoilers here.
It was really different from what I thought it was going to be. Originally I expected it to be a story about Van Helsing. THE Dr. Abraham Van Helsing of Bram Stoker's novel. Secondly I expected it to be a really dark horror movie. What I found was, it was more of an adventure/action movie with horror characters, this is because it's a Stephan Sommers film, the dude that did the Mummy films. In Van Helsing, essentially he took these horror characters/monsters and then created his own bigass story. Van Helsing really isn't the Van Helsing of the Dracula novel, but a monster hunter of a similar name (Gabriel Van Helsing, not a doctor). I think you really have to walk into that movie knowing this won't be a film that purely reflects any of the stories that inspired it. Such characters as Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde, Victor Frankenstein and his Monster, Igor, the wolfman, even Dracula and Van Helsing are almost recreated specifically for this film.
As I said, Van Helsing exists purely as a monster killing tool, he isn't a professor or anything like that, much as the other monsters exist in this movie for the purpose of him eradicating with them in some manner, mostly killing them with a variety of Blade-type weapons. It's a monster movie without being a horror movie. It's visually dark, yet maintains the light adventure nature of the Mummy films. This may or may not be a bad thing, depending on what you want to see. I think given what this film was going to be about, it all fit together surprisingly well. I mean, I was rather worried about how all these characters would all fit into a 2 hour movie without being ridiculous like the always s****y 'Street Fighter', and what I found was rather cohesive, and at the very least, entertaining. Of course this film would've worked perfectly had it solely been about Van Helsing and Dracula without the other monsters, and could've truly embraced the dark horror element, but went in the direction of the Mummy.
As far as casting goes, Hugh Jackman is easily the next badass of action films, and we even get some Wolverinesque moments. Kate Beckinsale rules as always, though her accent in the film, as most characters, isn't as convincing as it could be. Regardless of this, she not only kicks ass, but looks great doing it. Casting wise, the more interesting thing, for me anyway, is to see David Wenham playing a character so far removed from Faramir (Lord Of The Rings). He was quiet, shy, and even his posture felt small. His character was said to be about 5'7", meanwhile he in real life is 5'11" yet his posture and acting pulled it off completely. His character was also cowering behind Jackman for most of the movie so that might've had something to do with it. Another great turn in the casting was Kevin J. O'Connor (also from The Mummy) as Igor. Though visually unrecognizable, his voice and acting filtered through his make up and just put a big smile on my face. Without getting into the plot too much, I will say this; I enjoyed the portrayal of the Frankenstein Monster. Unlike what most movies have done, they showed him for what he was. He wasn't evil, he was just a monster. He didn't ask to be made, but yet he was. The debate over the right for him as an individual to exist is addressed quite nicely in the film. Van Helsing, a man who exists to destroy monsters even sees he is not evil even when Anna (Beckinsale) and Carl (Wenham) cannot.
Now, besides the fact that I REALLY wanted to be watching a badass horror movie and didn't get that, I did have other problems with the film. Namely, the insane use of CGI. I understand with a film in a setting like this, CGI is needed, that's great, I accept that. However, the unnecessary use of it really can kill a film. I love a CGI character as much as anyone else (go SmÃ©agol) but the extent to which it is used for nearly every creature in the film actually really annoyed me. The thing with using mad CGI is that you see so much of it in a frame that it no longer becomes movie magic, but just a lazy effect. Some films do it great, like the Lord Of The Rings films or X2 (go Nightcrawler sequence), and some films really can't master it in full, like The Hulk, or even the first Spiderman. The effects in this film essentially use the same style of the Mummy creatures, and transplant them onto vampires and werewolves, and Mr Hyde. Sure it's great I guess, but it starts to take away from the film after so much of it is used. Not to mention, the vampires got progressively predictable as the wanted to feed because their mouths kept extending much like the warrior mummies in The Mummy Returns.
I've always been impressed with great makeup and prosthetics and this film kinda bummed me out at the fact some great monsters were reduced complete CGI trash. While Frankenstein's Monster was pure makeup, the werewolf was all computer, and it bugged the Hell out of me. There was so much potential here, but it was wasted. I did enjoy the way Dracula and his Brides were represented in their pure vampire form though CGI, well, more the Brides, Dracula looked rather tacky at times, specifically in the end. But my favourite parts of the film only were about a minute, maybe, combined, but did make it interesting. No movie before that I've seen has attempted and succeeded in representing werewolf or vampire sight, this film does. The werewolf point of view shots are very animalistic, blurry and black and white, and really put you into its head. The vampire sight is something I've only read in books. As much as vampire movies try to illustrate how vampires see different, it has never been shown. Even the Anne Rice novels which go to great detail to describe this, weren't translated into the films based on them. This film does it and does it well. We finally see what a vampire sees as it hunts in the dark. It's wonderful.
In any case, the film probably isn't for everyone. If you want to watch Kate Beckinsale and Hugh Jackman beat the s**t out of almost every major monster in literature and classic film, and/or appreciate the work of Stephan Sommers, see it. If not.. well, chances are you'll leave less than impressed.