Stephen Summers' career is still rolling in werewolf poop.

Rating: 4/10 (24 May 2007)

When the first trailer of "Van Helsing" was released, a lot of people got excited. Seeing Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman on the big screen once again as well as Hugh Jackman playing the fabled monster hunter Van Helsing, it looked as if the movie would have launched Stephen Summers' career. Well. . . maybe not so much.
"The Mummy" was another tribute to the classic monster movie and though it did very well in theaters and DVD, it still wasn't the best movie out there. "The Mummy Returns" received less praise than its predeccor, and finally, "The Scorpion King" was just a shot-in-the-dirt, an odd prequel that only confused viewers, instead of giving them an insight on the past of the villain from "The Mummy Returns". Finally, it boils down to "Van Helsing", a tribute to three of horror's greatest creatures.
Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is in a predicament. All of Europe wants him dead, thinking he's a murderer. That's due to when all the monsters he kills turn back to their human forms and leaves him 'red-handed' in the point-of-views of the authorities. Well, after a job involving the capture of Mr. Hyde, Van Helsing comes back empty-handed, having killed Mr. Hyde (even though he changed back to Jekyll at the last minute and made Van Helsing's reputation as a murderer stronger), and within minutes, he is shoved into another mission to Transylvania to aid in the destruction of the notorious Count Dracula, who has been terrorizing the people there for centuries and Van Helsing must help Princess Ana in the hunt for Dracula, but it won't be easy. Dracula is on the search for Frankenstein's Monster, having killed the doctor (a mistake he regrets). After the monster disappeared, he and his 3 brides, along with Igor (who betrayed Dr. Frankenstein), are searching from the monster's whereabouts. Dracula also has a leash on the Wolf Man, which he uses to try and kill Princess Ana.
It's an interesting concept. All the monsters mix into the story well, as do Van Helsing who is practically in his environment. Yet the story lacks character development, and most of the little character development goes towards Van Helsing and his forgotten past (even though he never finds out about his past and the ending just leaves you hanging). Princess Ana is basically the female love interest for Van Helsing and she doesn't do that much fighting, despite her attempts to. Carl (David Wenham) is the comic relief, using the "Actually, I'm not a monk. I'm a friar" excuse to get away with swearing and to get a girl into bed. Princess Ana and Carl, along with the other characters in the movie, save Van Helsing, are all suffering from little development, so you don't become connected to the characters and the movie becomes . . . just a movie, not the action-packed careers-improving film that Stephen Summers hoped for.
In terms of music and CGI, fantastic. The technology in "Van Helsing" however is kind of out-of-date. It's the 1800s and Van Helsing is sporting an automatic crossbow that shoots metal bolts, as well as two hand-held buzz saws that also seem a little out-of-place in the world "Van Helsing" takes place in. There are also times where things are just awkward, such as when Van Helsing is protecting Ana from the three brides of Dracula, he can't seem to hit them with his crossbow on "automatic", but he hits his target when he switches to "single fire" and he seems to do it with relative ease. Then, there is the matter of the werewolf transformation to and from a human form. The Wolf Man literally rips off his own skin, exposing the alter ego underneath, but in a showdown against werewolf Van Helsing and Dracula, Van Helsing doesn't go through his phase one time and instead, just makes a quick transformation that is a bit out of the concept.
The acting is well done, but it is clear that Kate Beckinsale is struggling to get her career back on the right foot. After "Pearl Harbor", she went into whatever movies looked like they would please the audience, therefore get big bucks in the process. That hasn't been doing so well. She either starred in pure flobs, "Underworld" and "Underworld: Evolution", or movies that just didn't make it to the top 5 in Box Office, "Click" and "Vacancy". Her role in this movie stands out because she is the only actress that looks as though she isn't fully into character and is just going by whatever script in going through her head. She also has the fakest crying I have ever seen. Plus, Kate just can't seem to have her expression change much, a problem faced in the two "Underworld" movies, and even when a werewolf is stalking her, she acts calm and emotionless, because everyone knows there is nothing frightening about being hunted by a 7-foot-tall Wolf Man. Hugh Jackman, as well as the other actors and actresses, are all perfect in their roles, even though those roles still fall a bit short in spots.
"Van Helsing" was tailed by "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", then "Hellboy" and after the downpour of other box office movies that came after it, it was quickly left in the dirt and just couldn't seem to get Stephen Summers' career out of the werewolf poop. Try again, Stephen.