Monster (mish)Mash

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2004)

VAN HELSING (2004) ** Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Shuler Hensley, Elena Anaya, Will Kemp, Kevin J. O'Connor, Alun Armstrong, Silvia Colloca, Josie Maran, Tom Fisher, Samuel West, Stephen Fisher, Robbie Coltrane (voice). Jackman stars as the eponymous monster slayer in late 19th Century Transylvania attempting to vanquish all evil as he takes on the evil Count Dracula, the misunderstood Frankenstein's Monster and the doomed Wolf Man while teaming up with a gypsy girl (Beckinsale) to settle a personal score herself.
Director Stephen Sommers ladles on the overproduced production design with special effects galore and a thunderous soundtrack led by the utterly bombastic score by Alan Silvestri (in an uncharacteristic form) that sadly overwhelms the under whelming re-imagining of the formerly mild-mannered Universal Studios character facing their ultimate triumvirate that is lopsided in its bad acting (Roxburgh is awful as the vile count with a ridiculous Lugosi-like accent that fades in and out), lack of chemistry between a decidedly wooden Jackman and a miscast Beckinsale (who I both normally love) and unfortunate mix of computer generated monsters (the succubae brides of Dracula look a tad ridiculous instead of scary). However there is a sprinkling of good-natured humor and a decent action sequence involving a horse-drawn carriage ride. Overall a disappointment; give me the original three terrors and their wonderful portrayals by Lugosi, Karloff and Chaney, Jr. who gave what the film ultimately has a lack of : heart.