A very underrated Stephen Sommers film

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2009)

"Van Helsing" is about the famous vampire hunter in his earlier years. During this time, he is working for the Vatican, and he doesn't have any memories about his past life. His next mission, in this film, is to travel to Transylvania to kill the infamous vampire Dracula in order to prevent the Valerious family, who have been trying to vanquish Dracula for years, from slipping into purgatory. While in Transylvania, he also faces some other classic movie monsters: Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man.
I have to say, I liked it back when I first saw it in 2004, and I still like it to this day. It's a fun movie to watch, like the "Mummy" movies. Hugh Jackman is really good as Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale is good as Anna Valerious. But the person who steals the movie is Richard Roxburgh, who plays Dracula. He really gives an interesting edge to Dracula. He not only makes him romantic, but he also makes him like Dracula is in the Bram Stoker novel...in that his goal is to make more vampires.
Now, bear in mind, there are some things in this movie that could have been done better, such as the Van Helsing character himself. Sommers doesn't fully explain how Van Helsing forgets and remembers certain things from his past life. Also, you don't really care for the Van Helsing-Anna relationship that is in the movie. It's sort of one of those things that are like, "You know...you two don't make a very good couple, so don't even try." Other than that, it's still a good movie.