Some bad acting (It may be intentional but it was annoying as hell... Dracula's Wives... *Shudders*) and cheesy special effects but I have to admit, it was a pretty damn entertaining movie for me at least. Hands down my guiltiest pleasure of the year.

- B-

Just like PublicEnemy said. This movie is no oscar-winning movie. There are no good performances whatsoever. The storyline is not good. The special effects can be cheesy sometimes. But, it's definently an enjoyable summer blockbuster.

B+

I really enjoyed this movie. Not bad like some people say. It's an enjoyable movie

8.7/10

Good effects, bad acting..B

Sometimes I hate this movie and sometimes I really enjoy it. Well about a B.

Not anywhere near as good as it could have been. The effects were good, but much of the story was sacrificed for grander effects. The acting was just bad. C+

its a good enjoyable movie, i didnt even notice the bad acting :? :?

i really liked it!

B+


you people look to much into things!, just enjoy them, HAVE FUN!!

So true. That doesn't apply to everyone, but some people forget the purpose of movies... entertainment.

im not saying everyone!

for a moment there i thought i was going to get bashed for what i said

Why would you get bashed? It's true. And no, it's not for everyone. I agree. It's not necessarily people on this site either, just an overall thing. Some people just go to movies excepting oscar winners these days instead of pure entertainment.

I agree. There are plenty of movies that are just for that, entertainment. Sometimes however, as in the case of Van Helsing, I can't have fun, because what I am watching is so dreadful.

C

It was ok. Nothing special.

See, this is what pisses me off. I often get flamed for not liking a popcorn movie. Honestly, isn't it possible for a popcorn movie to be BAD, and even in the entertainment part?

I mean, I love popcorn flicks. Spider-Man 2 is, to me, the third-best film of the year (behind The Incredibles and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). I love The Rock and Die Hard. I unabashedly liked Troy, which a lot of people denounced. But I hated Van Helsing.

Sommers just doesn't know how to handle a popcorn film. The movie is a good half-hour too long, and it feels about twice as long as it really is. Also, Sommers suffers the Lucas syndrome: he thinks throwing 130 minutes of unimpressive yet highly expensive special effects at you can entertain. It doesn't. Emphase on "unimpressive". Most of the effects work is surprisingly bad, considering how much time, money and effort was put into them. It gives me flashbacks of his Mummy Returns, especially reminding me of the awful-looking pygmies and the nightmarishly awful scorpion. What happened here? Did he run out of time to have the effects refined like what happened to MR?

Oh yes, and it also manages to pillage classic horror characters. Roxburgh isn't menacing as Dracula, he's very blah. Frankenstein looks like John Goodman on steroids. I don't want to get started on the Wolf Man, who looks like something a haywiring computer at ILM puked up and they decided to stick into the film. It also wastes Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Ugh.

Is it wrong I hated this film for being a bloated would-be blockbuster not even impressive in effects? Is it wrong that I hated it even more by butchering immortal classic horror characters? I don't think so.

I do have one good thing to say, though: The opening sequence is great. Very retro, very cool. Too bad the movie didn't stay like this.

3/10.

So am I some boring bastard who can't appreciate a popcorn movie? No. I just hated this one.

Very uninspired. Bland acting. Some good comedy from David Wenham, and that was it's main saving grace. Cool action and special effects. Kate Beckinsale is fucking hot.

I give it around a C-/D+, because the story and the acting pissed me off that much.

Umm, no. I didn't say that you were one of those people. I didn't specify anyone was. It's just something where a movie is made for the purpose of entertainment and not oscar glory, and people look for oscar glory. I've seen a few popcorn-type flicks and didn't like them. It depends on the person and what kinds of movies they like.

What I said about people forgetting about the purpose of movies was a general thing.

It was OK. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. I guess it was a decent popcorn flick.

C+

The worst movie of 2004 and one of the worst ever. This is soo bad, there are hardly words to describe it. Shameless over-acting by all not named Hugh Jackman (just listen to the hammy accent by Kate Beckinsale or Richard Roxburgh). You could excuse that for a summer-blockbuster, but just look at those errible effects. The bats looked nothing better than what Hitchcock did with "The Birds". And the action was so uninspired and boring. This is an all-out catastrophy (F)

Van Helsing - B+

I really enjoyed it. One of the better films of last year. Not dissapointing at all. Kate Beckinsale, despite her strange accent, was delicious. Hugh Jackman was good, by the end of the film he seemed believeable, but at the beginning he wasn't so much. The graphics were brilliant, very good for the film it is, and the folk adventure theme was truely awesome. I am starting to re-think my grade already, although i dont think it deserves to go up to the 'A' area just yet.

I didn't think it was too bad, nothing great or anything, but a film to open up to Summer 2004.

7/10 (B)

Bad acting. Ridiculous 'faces in the clouds' ending. Terrible CGI. And Dracula can be killed by a werewolf? Puuuleeezzz. But I will still admit I was entertained. I remember watching Hammer Studios vampire films late at night as a kid and this actually reminded me of those films. My grade: C+.

Growing up as a fanboy of Universal monster movies, I enjoyed this when I saw it in theaters, but didn't love it like I wanted to. Over time, I've grown to like it much more. It's a guilty pleasure, although my original grade hasn't changed.

B

F

I still haven't quite finished it. I've never been compelled to watch those last 15 minutes or so. Someday.

I am pretty sure the first time I read your grade it was a B+, hehe.