Wanting and wacky

Rating: 5/10 (17 May 2004)

In this age of FREDDY VS. JASON, LEAGUE OF EXTRORDINARY GENTLEMEN and the upcoming ALIENS VS PREDATOR, where team-ups and dream duels are getting attention, siccing one of the original monster hunters onto the phalanx of Universal's monster stable seems like the ultimate idea borrowing from such great premises as FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and Dracula VS. FRANKENSTEIN. Unfortunately VAN HELSING is more akin to ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.
Perfect in concept, Stephen Sommers sets Man of the Church, Vampire Hunter Van Helsing to confront and destroy the most unholy of monster triumvirates, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and the Werewolf  and throw in Mr. Hyde to start the adventure off. Beautifully paying homage to FRANKENSTEIN at the film's start, VAN HELSING soon degrades into clichés and the convenience of unoriginality. From the scene in Rome where Friar Carl plays Q to Van Helsing's Bond to Van Helsing and Anna wading through hordes of unborn vampire sacs ala ALIEN's Ripley to the Indiana Jones-style stunts, the overused familiarity of the scenes became tedious. Sommers even had nods to Sam Raimi's ARMY OF DARKNESS and if the Frankenstein Monster broke into song and soft shoe like Peter Boyle in YOUNG FRANKESTEIN, well, that wouldn't have been too surprising.
What VAN HELSING does offer is some fun action, cool stunt work and great camera angles taking the viewer along on this magical monster tour. Hugh Jackman proves, once again, that he is indeed a great action hero and holds together a mediocre script on a rather good- looking film with a solid cast. Richard Roxburgh's Dracula will hopefully be remembered and Kevin J. O'Connor's Igor blended both horror and humor. Alan Silvestri's score was perhaps too good for the likes of this movie and is a definite high point.
If sequels are to scare up, hopefully Sommers will bring the Van Helsing character back to its more creepy and mysterious origins. One needs look no further than Coppola's 1992 Dracula with Anthony Hopkins in the hunter's role. Adding too much 'super' in the 'supernatural' role made VAN HELSING, like it's final battle scene, both wanting and wacky.