video game or movie you decide

Rating: 3/10 (5 April 2005)

Van helsing, noise, mediocre CGI, more noise, bad CGI, and yes more noise. Oh my! yes predictable lame summer blockbuster dialog didn't escape this 2004 blockbuster. Let me not be so harsh, there is some positive, Val helsing is a great looking DVD, perhaps one of the top five looking DVDs you will ever see. Got one of those LCD, HDTV TVs well this is a show piece of how good a modern movie can look on your new screen. As a movie Van helsing assumes you have seen movies about Dracula, Frankinstein, and Ware wolves, you won't learn anything new or to better put it there is nothing new. Van Helsing looks and feel like a video game, actors are set against the back drop of some beautiful computer graphics. One more positive production design is top notch. The lead characters Val helsing played by Huge Jackman and his co-op partner/player/actress Kate Beckinsale (see her in underworld recommended), they shoot, fight CGI monsters for over two hours, surrounded by a fairly decent musical score...more noise and CGI video game looking villains characters pop out of nowhere to keep our hero busy.
Jackman and Beckinsale play along, reciting dialog every so often while dogging/shooting flying things like in a video game, they solve puzzles like in a video game. Val helsing come down to " opportunity cost " Do you want to watch your favorite video game for two hours or play Resident evil 4, Castlevania or even Van helsing: the video game for two hours.
There are much better movies, books and games about Frankinstein and Dracula you can entertain yourself with, than viewing Van Helsing. But if you are into CGI, video games and state of the art home entertainment systems. Van Helsing will compliment your time but not your mind. 3/10 as a movie, 7/10 as a video game you are forced to watch for two hours and 9/10 as a DVD show piece. again opportunity cost.