Mixed bag.

Rating: 9/10 (9 October 2004)

Well, let me first say that if you expect this to be a Great Movie, stay far away. If you like the old monster movies so much that you worship them, likewise, stay far away. If you just liked the old monster movies a lot, or just like these now-archetypal monsters, by all means, do watch it.
As a movie, Van Helsing has a hopelessly basic plot and some of the worst dialogs ever. So, we're by default not talking of a Great Movie. But if you go watching it expecting some campiness, usually predictable action movie humor, and especially these very very cool 3D effects... you'll like it. The movie looks impressive, sounds impressive, and (as a sort of fan of old classics and especially modern effect movies) I found it *satisfactory*.
So, in short: Turn brains off for a while and watch it, it's *very* good that way. There's a lot of epic and great stuff. Just don't go watching it expecting it to be a masterpiece of cinema, it just isn't. It's just a very very fun action movie. I liked it.