| Posted by: urbanlegend23 at May 8, 2004, 5:41 pm | | Topic: Reviews: Van Helsing Forum: JoBlo | | VAN HELSING (2004) THE GOOD: --Aside from the middle section of the film, "Van Helsing" is pretty much non-stop action sequences. They're all very well constructed and with excellent effects, and most are terrifically exciting. The great beasts dreamed up for Van Helsing to fight are beautifully animated and very creative. I especially loved the vampire girls, they were very cool and the actresses gave wonderfully melodramatic performances. There are two especially memorable action sequences. The carriage ride was one of them; it just left me breathless, even if those horses leaping over the canyon was a little too far-fetched. The final showdown at Frankenstein's mansion was also quite exhilarating, but by far my favourite scene of the movie was Van Helsing's arrival in Transylvania. We get quick introductions, enough for us to like the characters, and it's right bang into smacking down those vampire girls! Awesome stuff. --Hugh Jackman proves again he can hold centre stage of an action film and plays Van Helsing with the style and courage the character deserves. It's an underwhelming performance when you compare it to his performance as Wolverine in the X-Men films, but otherwise he makes a strong hero. Kate Beckinsale is better, and has more to do in the film. She puts on a very believable Transylvanian accent, makes her character sympathetic and the most believable of the film. The girl is bloody beautiful and looks hot kicking ass in her tight corsets. She loves the werewolves, doesn't she? David Wenham's attempts to liven the film with a bit of comedy are spontaneously successful, but the actor himself does a good job and it's good to see him getting more work. --Van Helsing is a more conflicted character than he first appears. His connection with Dracula kept me intrigued the whole way through. I'm not really sure what that 'left hand of God' thing meant near the end of the movie, but I found it interesting nonetheless. I also found the twist at the end very surprising (good to see these superhero movies taking some more risks) and it furthered the question 'is Van Helsing a murderer or a holy man?' A bit of both, perhaps? The final scenes will leave you thinking about it. THE BAD: --Richard Roxburgh's Dracula isn't one of the better performances of the notorious vampire. Roxburgh starts out well, making the character extremely cool, but his performance catapults into an overplayed and annoying mess. He doesn't make Dracula threatening and has little screen presence. I also thought that the character seemed quite gay during the movie, which isn't a bad thing, but doesn't necessarily fit with the character. --The first half of this film is just brilliant. I was thinking about a 9/10 then, as the film was entertaining me so much. The middle section doesn't kill that enjoyment, but it brings the movie down sufficiently. It's when Roxburgh's performance becomes annoying and it's when things slow down and become rather dull for a while there. There are marvellous action sequences but the story seems plodding at that point and it shows. The final third redeems the film somewhat, but nowhere near enough to get that original rating back. --Exposition dialogue is not my favourite thing. "Van Helsing" has a good deal of it near the beginning. The scene in the confession booth where the priest practically spills the beans on Van Helsing's life is rather ridiculous. I just felt at that point of the film like saying to director Stephen Sommers - can you show me this, instead of have a character out-of-nowhere tell me? RATING: 6/10 - Well, "Van Helsing" was better than I expected. That said, I did expect it to be one of the worst films of this year, and it is just an average popcorn film. IF YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE I RECOMMEND: Daredevil (6/10) Dracula/1992 (4/10) Hulk (6/10) The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (4/10) X2 (9/10) |
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