A disappointment...

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2004)

**Spoilers ahead**
I really wanted to like this movie, I really did. I watched the trailers and TV commercials thinking how cool this movie looks. Unfortunately Van Helsing is marred by some glaring flaws that keep me from recommending it.

This is not to say the movie is all bad. The most obvious high points are the fight scenes. My attention was definitely grabbed when Van Helsing started wailing on some vampires with his automated crossbow. Also Hugh Jackman is pretty good (although not great) in this movie with his somewhat comedic dialogue. Kate Beckinsale is also smokin hot in this movie, although you wonder about the practicality of fighting in high heels.

My main beef with Van Helsing is with the monsters. Particularly with Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dracula's wives. The acting and dialogue spouted by these characters is bad. I mean REALLY bad. I cringe whenever they start talking, not because it's scary, but I'm afraid they might not stop yapping. The CGI for some of the monsters, such as the Mr. Hyde monster, at times looks obviously fake. Yeah I know they're fake to begin with, but I think an actor with some good monster make up would have been a better choice instead of computers. Lastly, this movie relies too much on special effects instead of character development. In a movie like Van Helsing you expect a lot of special effects to be used, but other movies (like the Spider-Man and X-Men movies) have shown that you can have great effects and great character development as well.
I would like to leave off by saying that Van Helsing was not a totally bad movie, but it does nothing to propel itself above just being an average one. However, if Van Helsing 2 ever comes out, I am willing to give it a chance, in the hopes they have corrected a least some of the mistakes from the first movie.
I give Van Helsing a 6/10.