What a bad movie

Rating: 3/10 (8 May 2004)

I must admit: I got caught up in the hype that led toward the opening of this movie. Marketers are good! I was expecting a respectful tribute to the thrillers of old with a touch of humor. I got neither. It seems that the director was so intent on spending the budget money toward special effects that he forgot some important concepts: plot and character development. "Van Helsing", the movie, was shallow, hard to follow due to the director insisting on relying on special effects that were often times too fast, and lame with its attempts at humor. My only hope is that this movie, the first shot by a movie company in the upcoming summer barrage, is not an indicator of things to come. This movie was so bad I wouldn't even consider it for a rental.