This review was originally posted in October 2011, and has been re-cut for this re-posting, 2m 8s from it's run time. Cuts have been made to tighten up film footage, and cut a few jokes I wasn't a fan of. For some reason, I didn't have the master for this episode (edited by my friend), just a converted FLV (that I used to upload to Blip to) that I had to convert to an MP4 to re-edit, hence why this looks a little lower quality than my other re-uploads. This appears to have quietly become one of my most controversial reviews (the "unofficial" version has a high dislike bar), and I do think I'm probably a little too dismissive of the film, but I do stand by a lot of what I raised here. Have fun! Also... WTF is going on with my hair in this one. Clearly my greatest fear was a hair cut.

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

Watching it back, I was surprised I was quite so hard on the film (I call it "stupid" a lot, in particular), which might have been an influence from my co-writer, who was more negative on it, although neither of us were fans. I like Sommers' Mummy films (the sequel grew on me, but its got a load of problems), but Van Helsing has a lot of very sloppy, contrived writing, but the CGI overload is what sinks the movie - I remember when it came out, and the effects looked very poor for 2004 (especially in a year of Spider-Man 2 and quite soon after Gollem in LOTR). The reason the Scorpion King effects were so bad was because ILM didn't have enough time to finish them, and Sommers didn't learn from that mistake because many of them here look just barely complete - he was being very overambitious for the time, and even today this very CGI-heavy movie might have had trouble.

@justdannyquinn

7 жыл бұрын

The CGI use in this movie is very gratuitous, but it looks marginally better than the effects on the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns. By the way, which film do you think is worse: Van Helsing or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

League is worse, it's an utter trainwreck. I reviewed that the year after I did this.

@justdannyquinn

7 жыл бұрын

I remembered really liking The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen back in the day. Don't judge me, I was a dumb kid. I'll probably need to watch it again sometime soon.

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

I saw both in cinemas back in the day, but I don't think I realized just how bad League was until I went back for the review. You can tell it was a hugely troubled production just from the finished result - at one point, they even had to paste a guy into a shot to cover a character who was entirely deleted from the final film.

Just watch "Penny Dreadful" for all the positive that this movie missed. Great creatures that includes Dorian Gray, Frankenstein, his monster, Vampires, Witches, Wolf Man, and more, in a great plot over three seasons. and most wonderfully, it is beautifully shot and costumed. Must see if you like all the Victorian stories!

@Meggimagine

3 жыл бұрын

Loved it... Until the end of season 3. Rushed and so clearly NOT where they expected to end their story. Such a disappointment!

The light grenade tearing everyone into skeletons was also done in Blade 2, and done against vampires as well in that one. Really Hollywood, you need to stop thinking that we can't remember these things from movie to movie.

@Shiirow

3 жыл бұрын

if you think they are ripping off Blade, then that means Blade has ripped off a dozen different vampire movies by that logic. which I answer, of course, how do you think mythos are created. you do know most of things that define vampires today has evolved over movies and books. most people dont include things and hope you forget the source, they just add things that seem cool and dramatic.

Fun Fact: the actor playing the monster also played the monster in Young Frankenstein, the Musical.

I don't know why (*coughvampirescough*) but when I was a child, I always thought this and Underworld were a same franchise. Didn't help that both main female characters were played by Kate Beckinsale.

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

Well, it didn't help that they were released only a year apart from each other. This is certainly a lot more fun than the first Underworld, which is a snooze.

@Dimensioneer88

7 жыл бұрын

That is surprising. They could have made Underworld the Van Helsing of the future.

@annnee6818

4 жыл бұрын

I like both. They're trashy af but by god they're entertaining 😁

@Shiirow

4 жыл бұрын

It was an Underworld, Marvel and Universal team up we didnt know we wanted. Selene and Logan team up to stop Dracula from taking over the world.

@devinharbert6071

3 жыл бұрын

Kate Beckinsale is one my favorite actors

I always enjoyed this movie and didn't really notice all the problems till your review. I can see the glaring problems now but I still think its a fun movie to watch. It's at least not boring.

I think i'm in the minority here. I enjoyed Van Helsing, it was a dumb popcorn movie, just turn your brain off and have fun.

@Nagoragama

7 жыл бұрын

I really had fun with it too.

@thereevesfamily6970

7 жыл бұрын

Arneseus Martinez same here man. I thought some of the action was good.

@Shiirow

7 жыл бұрын

you arent in the minority, its clearly a dumb ass movie but you can find enjoyment in it. though doesnt change the fact that it has huge problems as a movie.

@JamiJR

7 жыл бұрын

I love this movie too. Loved it enough to buy both it and the cartoon prequel, read the book adaptation, and - well, wrote a crappy fanfiction in which Van Helsing teams up with The Phantom Of The Opera and the half-demon daughter of Faust.

@KageMaxwell

7 жыл бұрын

Arneseus Martinez Same here. My brother and I called Castlevania: The movie. Though, I do believe the Belmonts are much better at monster hunting.

It's a bad movie, but I gotta admit I always have fun watching it, especially the Dracula/Wolfman fight at the end. Over the top non-quality CGI, but it's a guilty pleasure for sure.

@SwiftNimblefoot

7 жыл бұрын

I love this movie, frankly I don't see that many problems with it. It is an action-adventure movie with minor horror elements and a lot of comedy, doing the same to Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein as Sommers did to the Mummy. The CGI of course looks dated now, but back then I found it amazing, especially the fur effects on the werewolves. I am still mad we never got any toys of them...

@Bezaliel13

5 жыл бұрын

Is a movie truly bad if it entertains?

@anti-matter5874

5 жыл бұрын

???? How is it bad?

@jakublulek3261

5 жыл бұрын

I see it as Castlevania: Rondo of Blood spin-off movie. It would be awesome to have Richter Belmond/Maria Renard to fight Dracula but we got, what we got.

@asifmetal666

5 жыл бұрын

i dont understand this so call movie review r. this is a action horror B movie type. for a movie like this its pretty good. i loved it. this type of review truly sucks.

23:07 I'd like to believe that was Hugh Jackman's genuine reaction once he realised how bad this movie was.

I found the creativity of taking something pre-existing and so many different monsters and melding it into one story is actually something to be admired in this film. They did it without it too much trouble - and it created a rich environment that hinted at more monsters. It makes you think it these monsters exist in the same universe, then what other monsters exist? Some characters may not have been necessary, like the Velarius family, but they were a reason for Van Helsing to go after Dracula. As for the action sequences, its a monster movie. You need the CGI for the stunts otherwise you wouldn't be able to show off their abilities to the fullest. Maybe it was overloaded with monsters, but it was a fun movie that people can watch and truly lose themselves in if they're not purists.

That bit with the cat killed me. XD

Vampire furniture? Why can't we have a movie about that?!

@Niobesnuppa

6 жыл бұрын

Our protagonist sits down in a chair. Suddenly they feel something bite them in the ass. There's blood, the furniture starts moving, and the chairs sprout giant bat wings!

@xRaiofSunshine

6 жыл бұрын

Niobesnuppa Kinky ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

@DiscoTimelordASD

5 жыл бұрын

If we can have a movie about a killer tyre, then surely vampire furniture isn't too much to ask? Lol

@TheBonkleFox

5 жыл бұрын

It's called "death bed: the bed that eats." It's absolutely fucking amazing

@scottylewis8124

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheBonkleFox boy the 70s were strange.

I liked Van Helsing, too. It's meant to be campy. I think the brides were the best thing about the movie, they should've had their own movie.

As a Bulgarian the "Van Helsing turns into wolverine" joke was even funnier to me because in Bulgarian Wolverine's name is translated to "The Wearwolf"(Because I guess the translators thought wolverines weren't intimidating or something)

It's called Lycanthropy, btw... ;) Though I am guessing you call it "werewolfism" as a joke?

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it's meant to be a joke, mostly because it sounds funnier.

Surprised you didn't make the comparison to the way he holds Anna's dead body in his arms to the way he holds Jean Greys dead body in his arms in X-men 3.

@Batman43221

5 жыл бұрын

But this came before.

@LaineMann

4 жыл бұрын

Or the fact that after Vanhelsing knocks Anna unconscious and she wakes up COMPLETELY NAKED it's NEVER BROUGHT UP!

The best advice in this movie is also line from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by the way.

I love this movie. It's really bad but in such a good way. The stagecoach exploding is always hilarious.

@hiattgrey9161

Жыл бұрын

It's a guilty pleasure of mine. Same with The Mummy Returns. I love them because their dumb fun.

21:19 Personally I feel like it would've been more appropriate to use Darkstalkers music here

@scottylewis8124

5 жыл бұрын

Darkstalkers was my shit.

You have to admit though, the transition from the universal logo to the movie was pretty good.

Given that the movie has a Sleepy Hollow vibe to it in places, wouldn't it have made more sense for the studio to put Tim Burton in charge of directing? They can still credit Sommers as the writer, but these characters are far better suited to Burton's sensibilities.

This movie is a huge guilty pleasure for me.

The classic Universal horror films. A line-up of movies so awesome that even some of their lesser installments like Man Made Monster and Captive Wild Woman were surprisingly good. The reason they were so good? Universal knew how to make you love the villains. Not in a "Ooh, they're so bad" way (aside from maybe Dracula), but in a tragic, tortured, sympathetic way. This movie doesn't really do any of that. It's too busy with action scenes and its questionable plot. This movie renders the intriguing and alluring Dracula into a camp over-actor and the dangerous but misunderstood Frankenstein's monster into something of a marshmallow. As for the Wolf Man, the Velkan Valerious character is no where near as good at selling the monster's pathos as Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Tallbot could. So, did Universal learn anything from all this. Not if their new Mummy movie is supposed to show it.

25:29 - To be fair, I don't want to meet the person who can take a tackle from a nine foot wolfman with the strength of twelve linebackers and get up like it's nothing

Who was the brilliant idea to turn the exposition fairy erudite character Van Helsing and turn him into a bad ass vampire hunter? Van Helsing was elderly and a scholar in the book, not a James Bond Ripoff

@GOFFBITZH666

7 жыл бұрын

If Abraham Lincoln can turn into a vampire slayer, why can't this (not being serious BTW)?

@IAmTheUnison

7 жыл бұрын

My guess is somebody who wanted to make "Castlevania: the Movie", but couldn't get the rights. Seriously, I can't be the only one who feels like they just took Simon Belmont from the games slapped on a little James Bond and Batman and then called him "Helsing" just for name recognition. :/

@sebastianrosa7935

5 жыл бұрын

@@IAmTheUnison 8:50 look at that map and tell me you don't see "Castlevainia" for a split second.

@AlucardsQuest

4 жыл бұрын

@@IAmTheUnison They also must be been a fan of Vampire Hunter D, and the Anime Helsing.

my thought after watching this movie was that it would make a great wolverine prequel. why is wolverine so animalistic? why does he have no memory? why does he side with the xmen? his anamantium skeleton history was just the latest in a very long line of adventures, starting from hundreds of years before this movie took place. and the big reason he is likened to a wolverine in xmen?,... because at one point, he was actually a wolf(man). how about that for an origin story?

I don't understand why this video has a high Dislike Bar this was one of your Best Reviews Including your Transformers 2 review, Legend of Chung Li Review, The Ugly Truth Review, and your Gamer Review

How in the world does a movie with Frankenstein’s Monster, vampires, werewolves, and Hugh Jackman end up being mediocre?

@timefallfarmer3912

3 жыл бұрын

Terrible writing, awful cgi.

@scottylewis8124

3 жыл бұрын

@@timefallfarmer3912 even for 2004.

@scottylewis8124

3 жыл бұрын

@@timefallfarmer3912 I mean, this was the same year as Spider-Man 2 for God's sake!

@devinharbert2245

3 жыл бұрын

@@scottylewis8124 Including Resident Evil Apocalypse, Hellboy,

@humbertoventura1344

2 жыл бұрын

if you actually read any of these novels where these characters are, you would know from the start that this movie's premise is basically a piece of shit on an idea. Filmmaker's just don't read the source material before making the script, that's why it cant work. Ever.

Funny thing I just realized, the Church is afraid that the Valarious family will be stuck in Purgatory if Dracula isn't defeated. Yet, a majority of Transylvanians (and Romanians in general) are Orthodox Christian and don't believe in a Purgatory. Edit: There actually is a substantial Catholic influence in Romania.

Definitely one of my favorites of yours Matthew! Brings back memories of watching this with family n friends on Halloween.

I know I am one of the very few people who didn't hate LXG...

@oliviawilliams6204

7 жыл бұрын

I can,t hate anything with Sean Connery in it

@kirby2190

5 жыл бұрын

I didn't hate it. I like it

@scottylewis8124

3 жыл бұрын

May he rest in peace

I honestly enjoy this movie a lot. It is just pure dumb fun. This movie has the best iteration of a werewolf I have seen in any movie. It actually looks badass

I consider myself a fan of this movie. I also tremendously like that dramatic zoom-in on that nonchalant cat while you're screaming your heart out. Keep doing what you're doing.

Another Van Helsing movie can be made. It just needs a better script. And have Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character.

"12 years and you dont know what it does?" "Of course I know what it does, I just dont know what its for." a true inventor, just invents shit and hopes its true purpose comes to light afterwards.

@scottylewis8124

3 жыл бұрын

Oof

The cat was a nice touch :D

Van Helsing was a fun movie. Still enjoy watching it.

Eh, I loved it. I can handle the pace just fine. The only thing about the movie I don't like is the DVD for it when I go to play it in my original Xbox, as it automatically loads a demo for the movie's game _before_ asking me if I want to play it or not.

Love this review and your work in general! :) Though I will shamelessly admit that I'm a big Stephen Sommers fan, and wish he would get more work these days. I really get the feeling watching his films (and his interviews) that he's a big kid at heart whose just having fun bringing his wildest ideas to the screen, and there's actually something sort-of admirable about that. Even his worst films are usually at the very least entertaining and fun to watch, and I view "Van Helsing" in much the same light. It's technically a bad movie... but it's "fun-bad." Sure, it's frequently a complete mess and it's too over-excessive at times, but the jokes usually land well, the set-pieces are imaginative even when they don't obey the laws of logic or physics, and I really like Hugh Jackman in the lead. It's an ultimate "guilty pleasure" film for me. I watch it (alongside the "Mummy" movies and "Deep Rising") almost every year in the lead-up to Halloween, alongside other goofy "horror/comedy/adventure" films like "Sleepy Hollow." (Though I set aside Halloween day to watch actual good horror flicks, lol.) It's a shame Sommers' last film "Odd Thomas" film didn't get the theatrical release it was supposed to, because it was pretty darned good.

@FilmBrain

6 жыл бұрын

I liked Odd Thomas a lot when I saw it, not long after Anton Yelchin's death, sadly.

@MaximumMadnessStixon

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it was a really fun film, and Yelchin was fantastic in it. I had always kinda hoped that since Netflix hosted the movie pretty much non-stop once it came out, maybe they'd bring it back as a series, as I feel the character might work well in an episodic format, at least based on the film's portrayal. (And assuming the legal issues that stopped the theatrical release had been settled.) But it doesn't feel right doing it without Anton Yelchin.

i kinda like this movie :) its pretty funny :) its one of my many guilty pleasures...alongside beowulf (the christopher lambert one)...hey FILMBRAIN...ever thought of doing Beowulf ??

There's just something about Matthew yelling "Absinthe" that gets to me.

This movie is actually a guilty pleasure for me. Aside from the novelty of having so many monster creatures in one movie the movie does try to make the creatures similar to the books. Best portrayed by the Frankenstein monster being brought back to his roots of gaining his knowledge via the bible. Van Helsing being turned into a bad ass is the biggest change from the source material. I understand not wanting to do the old man version from the book but they could have kept him being knowledgeable and simply made him young. It would helped with the whole castle mystery angle and made Van Helsing a more interesting hero if he used brains instead of muscle.

@dreamlandnightmare

6 жыл бұрын

The production design is good, but otherwise, it's the apotheosis of a big, dumb Hollywood explosion+CGI fest.

Wait, Kate Bekensel as a badass in a vampire movie? What a suprise! Also, a Vampire hunter called Gabrial? Was the writer playing Castlevania?

They should remake this movie except Van Helsing uses fidget spinners to fight monsters

@azraelswrd

7 жыл бұрын

Don't worry -- they're rebooting this concept into the new Dark Universe Universal Monster movie universe that Universal is trying to push, starting with the rebooted Mummy. ......can't wait (?). Trilogies are so yesterday. Everybody wants that universe movie franchise.

@culwin

7 жыл бұрын

A Mummy movie with fidget spinners? I CANT WAIT

@Dimensioneer88

7 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, the new Mummy movie is kinda bland and generic. Not that Van Helsing is better writing wise, but Van Helsing at least has a visual advantage by taking place in the Victorian era. Plus, Hugh Jackman has more charisma in his pinky finger than Tom Cruise has in his whole body.

@azraelswrd

7 жыл бұрын

Yep, the Mummy tanked hard in the USA but internationally.... did okay. But Universal is committed at this point to do their DU franchise. I think Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man is next.

@culwin

7 жыл бұрын

Invisible Fidget Spinners... I LIKE IT

ah yes, the early 2000s. The golden age of CGI overuse and poor story telling. What a time to be alive.

This is a great review. So much fun and leg-pulling. None of the awkward speech patterns, luuurrrrveeee.

I always considered this movie to be somebody's sad attempt at trying to create a "Castlevania" movie, but since they clearly couldn't get the rights to the name and characters they just morphed it into this bullshit excuse for a Universal monster movie reboot/homage. It would certainly explain why they felt the need to turn elderly old Van Helsing into motherfuckin' Simon Belmont! :/

*spoiler alert* My biggest question is, in the end when Dracula realized that Van Helsing is turning into a werewolf (i.e. the only thing capable of killing him), why didn't he just fly away?! Literally all he had to fly away and let his children do their thing...

I watch this film every Halloween, as it's a MASSIVE guilty pleasure of mine! It's so full of itself and how dramatic it thinks it is, which means I can't help but laugh at it every time. This is a perfect movie to riff on with your friends during a Halloween movie marathon!

I always took it as the film was intended to be clearly derivative, as the original films had been redone dozens of times. It was like a roller coaster, you know the entire run but you still enjoy the ride

We all know that Van Helsing is really Logan in disguise, he just grew his hair out bub and grew out his chops into a full beard.

This movie can be kinda enjoyable to watch as a spectacle.

Things that would have been important to set up the story first: - The father gradually piecing together the way to get to Dracula before he was mysteriously taken. - What life was like for Anna and her brother when their father disappeared. How did they cope? What did they do? - How was Doctor Frankenstein found and convinced to work for Dracula? - How did Dracula learn the monster could give his children life in the first place? Imagine if our first introduction to Van Helsing was him entering the room, only to be told that he must once again atone for his sins and he would now be shipped off to Romania with "Carl to watch over him". Killing Marishka could have been our introduction to him in action and the plot with him, Anna and Carl carried on from there.

Wait wait wait, they went south, towards the carpathians and Bulgaria, yet somehow ended up Northwest to Czechia? Keep in mind you have to go through Hungary (Home of Bathory[not the band]) to get there. At least they didn't add another character there

This is my guilty pleasure movie. I know it's awful, but I love it, absolutely love it. I even have the cartoon prequel. And it's way better than Underworld.

Universal is still trying to push this all-monster cinematic universe on us huh?

@oliviawilliams6204

7 жыл бұрын

Well they think they need a Cinematic universe to compete with Marvel and DC, and it'S pretty much all they have... So yeah. Will see how the Mummy turn out i guess, i'm not really interested by it, but who know it might surprise us

I took my mom to this for her birthday and she hasn't quite forgiven me since...

19:29 DAT cat

Am I the only person who prefers the Hammer Horror films over Universal Horror?

@thecinematicmind

7 жыл бұрын

Henry Barnill As am I also.

@HBarnill

7 жыл бұрын

The Cinematic Mind I just think they have better atmosphere and acting. I love Bela and Boris but they can't compare to Lee and Cushing. They just can't.

@SwiftNimblefoot

7 жыл бұрын

Yeah, same here. Christopher Lee was a great Dracula and to see him and Cushing together...

@AdamYJ

7 жыл бұрын

I grew up watching the Universal movies so they have my heart, but for Hammer I like the monsters that they did and Universal didn't. The ones they sort of added to the "Pandemonium of Monsters". I like The Gorgon and own it on DVD. I also really like The Reptile and Plague of the Zombies.

21:19 Me (A Persona fan); There are some good PS2 cutscenes

When I was watching this movie (a few hours before watching this review it was at 8:23 where I kept thinking of Dracula in hotel Transylvania and if you listen closely it sounds like Adam Sandler’s impression)

This is honestly not a good movie but it's a guilty pleasure. There are good actors in this mess but they get nothing to work with. I ❤ Kate Beckinsale

I remember seeing this movie once as a kid. It felt actually pretty decent at the time but im pretty certain it hasnt aged well.

I enjoy this movie!

21:18 the funny thing is there is a helsing game on the playstation 2

What are your thoughts about Van Helsing: The London Assignment?

The whole mirror thing is one of many things about Hollywood that pisses me off. They didn't have to cgi the reflectionless vampires, all the needed to do was to build a much larger set and split in two with a wall with a hole where the mirror is supposed to be and then just arrange replica set pieces on the other side of the set. Then they just need Kate Beckinsale do the dancing all alone on the opposite side and then do the dancing with Richard on the other side and then just splice them together.

Igor looks like Radu from Subspecies. :)

When he says the movie ripped of Fellowship of the ring, what part was he taking about? I’m not disputing it, I just want to know what part.

@basquat76

3 жыл бұрын

I'm wrecking my brain over that one too. For the life of me can't remember that either.

I think you may have been expecting a bit too much from this movie I think it's supposed to be a dumb but fun popcorn monster film and for that I think it serves its purpose well.

A bit harsh... It's an enjoyable movie, not to be taken seriously! Sure the effects are not the best, but it's not that bothersome. The creatures are fun to watch. Wasn't expecting any Coppola or Kurosawa movie when I watched it the first time but I wasn't disappointed :)

Is a good movie

I saw this in theaters on opening weekend. It wasn't just a bad movie, it was poorly made. During a close up with Kate and Hugh the boom drops into full view. It had several other technical issues, but it was a long time ago and if really rather forget. Why am I watching this....

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

That might have been because the projectionist hadn't aligned the print properly, exposing the headspace at the top of the frame. I remember when I saw Spider-Man 2, the thick heavy cables to pull the chairs when Doc Ock throws the vault door at Peter and May were clearly visible. They've been digitally erased from home video versions.

14:20 - that isn't any worse CGI than Legolas jumping around the Mumakil in "Return of the King".

I thought that the film wasn’t that bad.

The movie needs Abbott and Costello

Individual elements yeah. The castle near the end, huge fucking physical model. It even had small window lights.

Well the movie and the book was based about the Vlad the impaler known as The Dracula

I want a GOOD movie with this Uberwald aesthetic, dammit!

So why didn't the Valerious siblings just have more children?

I always thought the cheesy b-movie feel was what Sommers was going for on purpose. I know the movie is bad, but I still like it somehow. Worse than The Mummy, better than that Underworld shit. Edit: Refreshing the page to see my comment...aaand everything has already been ninja-posted by others. Brilliant. ;)

That gobot Frankenstein though.

I kinda like this movie. The idea is pretty awesome, & I know I've been inspired by it with my writing, as shitty as my writing is. Overall it's (In my opinion) campy & fun, kinda like the Universal, & Hammer films.

Thank god you noticed the ghost furniture too! 😂😂😂 This really was aweful.

why do they keep making mr. hyde big? in the book he's smaller than jekel. in the league of extraordinary gentlemen (comic) they kind of explain it but they seem to do it in every version. is it a reference to the league? to the hulk? some sort of missguided cinematic shorthand?

@LynetteTheMadScientist

6 жыл бұрын

*Sophie Talia* As a huge fan of the book, that's always bothered me

I really liked the concept of this movie

Hmm I don't know if Universal produced this but they distributed it. It seems the whole Monster Universe thing recently probably started with this and when that failed Dracula Untold. I guess 3rd times the charm?

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

It's very much a Universal production (along with Sommers's production company). They gave Sommers keys to the kingdom after The Mummy films.

I thought that "If you're going to kill someone, don't just stand there talking about it line" was kind of funny... until I realized it was cribbed from the first Die Hard.

This was very enjoyable to watch as Van Helsing is pretty much the definition of a guilty pleasure for me-- I know it's horrible but find it endlessly amusing and it's my go to "I wanna rewatch something but don't know what" movie. A lot of this is due to the fact that I have this teory about how Anna's character was thrown in at the last minute after a studio executive (or something like that) sat in on a script reading and went "...this is just a bit too gay, could you perhaps put a chick in there?"

It is so weird that here in New Zealand everyone I have ever talked to loves this movie and thinks It is really good and when I was a Kid everyone in New Zealand thought this movie was great yet when I went online Americans and lots of movie reviews and rotten tomatoes talk about how this movie is bad and is not considered a good movie and I tell People in New Zealand that and they are really surprised and sometimes don't believe Me and they all thought the movie was really good and have never meet anyone who didn't like it I told One Person about how one person online thought Van Helsing was a boring Character and he said anyone who thinks that is a idiot and that Van Helsing was a Awesome Character

You know what they say "keep you friends close. But your enemies closer."

I Have a Crush on Kate. Beckinsale

in this film they pronounce it draculea which is historically accurate

Dear Film Brain, Just a small thing; It is not called "werewolfism" or however you pronounce it. It is called Lycanthropy.

@timefallfarmer3912

3 жыл бұрын

Umm, well actually.....

@scottylewis8124

3 жыл бұрын

@@timefallfarmer3912 what?

Something I don't understand: Since when did Viktor Frankenstein have a moral compass? Didn't both the book and most of the movies bar the Mel Brooks one make it clear that he's the monster of the story moreso than his creation? Pretty sure a real reason he'd oppose Dracula was because the latter wasn't giving him a big enough paycheck to do what he loves the most anyway Also, if I want to watch a vampire acting up the wall, I'll settle with Patrick Seitz in JoJo: Phantom Blood, thank you

Van Helsing is I, Frankenstein.

1:30 and both are named stephen

Will never understand why so many critics hate CGI so much. Did old movie critics hate claymation and costumes and makeup too until they became mainstream? I know this is an old review, but really, move with the times, CGI is here to stay. And I am thankful as this movie gave us some of the best looking werewolves in movies ever, as compared to how very little of them can be shown if they use makeup (the Howling), turning them into naked furless humans with wolf heads (Dog Soldiers), or the abysmal The Wolfman reboot that had them looking like chimpanzees. Also, Planet of the Apes reboots... Should human actors in terrible makeup (Tim Burton's version comes to mind) play the apes instead of the really lifelike CGI? I certainly would vote for CGI there. It's used to do stuff you cannot do with regular sets and makeup.

@FilmBrain

7 жыл бұрын

It's not the CGI that's a problem in of itself, it's how it's used. It's a tool, and like any tool it can be used effectively or incorrectly. A large problem with the effects in Van Helsing is that they're not very good - as I say in other comments, Sommers got overambitious, and you can tell the film was struggling under the number of complicated shots, and the result is that a lot of them look poor (the transformed Dracula is a major eyesore). I'm not arguing they go all practical, but a combination of effects might have worked out better - practical effects are something tangible and real, and while they have their limitations, they can help sell the effect. You mention that Apes 2001 remake, I think the make-up work on that film is pretty incredible, and while I think the work they've done in the new Apes films is terrific, there's definitely a few shots that aren't as impressive (largely in Rise).

@SwiftNimblefoot

7 жыл бұрын

Yes, but that was simply because CGI at the time could only do this much. You mention Scorpion King in the review - and yes, that CGI Rock looked terrible in that movie. But that was kind of the only way to do it - if they used a costume or claymation, he could have barely moved and would have been a terribly slow thing, like Goro in Mortal Kombat (I to this day find his defeat laugheable). But at the time, as a kid, I LOVED the Anubis Warrior effects in Mummy Returns, to me they looked amazing then and I don't find them bad now. Same goes for the Werewolf effects in this movie. I do admit the vampires, especially Dracula himself, have some really bad CGI (when his mouth enlarges while he is in human form, for example). The make-up in the 2001 movie was indeed good, the story was what was terrible. But honestly they felt more unreal to me than CGI creatures - I can tell there is a human under that mask. There are some artists who can make it work - STar Trek had some amazing masks especially in DS9. But I think CGI faces like Gollum or Smaug are the way to the future, because you cannot really reproduce not-humanoid faces (those with snouts) like Smaug's using a human actor and a mask.

I hated this movie so much and as a Universal fan I was so excited for it. :(

@scottylewis8124

5 жыл бұрын

I'd rather play the game.

Loved Hugh Jackman mostly as Wolverine.