Van Helsing (2004)

Director:

Stephen Sommers

Writer (WGA):

Stephen Sommers (written by)

Release Date:

7 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The One Name They All Fear

Plot:

The notorious monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for some sinister purpose.

Plot Keywords:

Van Helsing | Dracula | Monster | Vampire | Transylvania

Awards:

2 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Hugh Jackman	...	Van Helsing
Kate Beckinsale	...	Anna Valerious
Richard Roxburgh	...	Count Vladislaus Dracula
David Wenham	...	Carl
Shuler Hensley	...	Frankenstein's Monster
Elena Anaya	...	Aleera
Will Kemp	...	Velkan
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Igor
Alun Armstrong	...	Cardinal Jinette
Silvia Colloca	...	Verona
Josie Maran	...	Marishka
Tom Fisher	...	Top Hat
Samuel West	...	Dr. Victor Frankenstein
Robbie Coltrane	...	Mr. Hyde
Stephen Fisher	...	Dr. Jekyll (as Stephen H. Fisher)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for nonstop creature action violence and frightening images, and for sensuality.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA | Czech Republic

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

France:U | Malaysia:18PL | Italy:T | Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-15 (original rating) | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Downey Studios - 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The film was storyboarded and previsualized with the intent of shooting the film in the anamorphic 2.35:1 format, like Stephen Sommers' previous films. The aspect ratio was changed to 1.85:1 in order to better accommodate Dracula's vertically-oriented castle without having to extend the sets.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The glass of blood one of the Brides drinks leaves a pulpy residue on the glass - a trait of tomato juice.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Victor Frankenstein:It's alive. It's alive. It's alive!

Movie Connections:

References Papillon (1973)

Silly, lacking in plot, but good fun

It's big, it's dumb, it's cheesy as hell, but I found it to be enormous fun. This was made to be a roller-coaster ride and by that token it should be judged.

Actually after the opening pastiche of the Boris Karloff Frankenstein movie, I thought this had the potential to be a 5 star movie. It was very atmospheric and had me hooked. However the film never really captures any sense of magic from there onwards.

The main body of the movie does go on a bit, and it could have done with some attempt to create engaging characters. Plot and story are not always necessary for fun movies, but you do need characters with a level of interest to capture the mind, otherwise you tend to find yourself not giving a s**t. I felt Van Helsing did verge into this territory, but for the most part it's so fast paced this doesn't matter so much. The points where it does try to introduce plot are the moments where it really does fail. In fact there is too much going on that is never really explained, and I think it would've been better not to have bothered at all, than use the nonsense Sommers resorts too. For example the attempts at backstory to Van Helsing. Better to have one of those interlude chatty scenes you have in the Indy films, where it establishes he's a dude, rather than the poor attempts at angst and pathos. Really bad was the moment he gets upset over Frankie's Monster. What the hell was that all about?

Hmm maybe I took that a bit seriously, but the movie knows what it is, why try be something else. I also thought that that masked ball sequence was a natural conclusion, the eventual finale at the castle felt like an add on, which lacked any real punch.

Far better was Van's introduction to Transylvania, with the benefit of some neat angles and panning shots, the crossbow battle with the brides was cool. The coach chase was exciting without being exhilarating, but kept the flow going, so it's a shame some more bad plot gets thrown in, especially when it was involving the underwritten Velkan. That's the film's main problem - overkill of characters, with little space given to any of them to evolve.

Finally a word on the CGI. I thought it was very good, especially the morphs that were used. The very first moment Drac starts to turn made me jump a touch, and when the vampires turns into their fanged, contorted state it looked pretty scary to me. The wolfman transformation, with the ripping flesh looked genuinely painful. At this point I was thinking the CGI was genuinely stunning. I'd have preferred the finale if it had just been Van vs Drac though, having CGI characters fight felt uninvolving, and Drac in snarly state was far better than the beast he turns into.

This is a movie to genuinely switch of the brain and enjoy. At times there's too much going on and perhaps a bit too much swinging about for my liking, but it's an adrenaline filled ride. I'd probably give it 7 out of 10.