Van Helsing (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale massive slaughter of bad guys. Yeah i like it.

• Michael M

  
  CGI overload and a boring story that's been done before. However there is a good performance by Hugh Jackman and the creatures aren't so bad either. Still the story let's Van Helsing down.

• Phil H

  
  Such a cool idea, I love it, but they wrecked it! The start is great, in the village against the vamp brides and the black and white homage to 'Hammer', the very start was so good and looked like it was going down the right route. The werewolves look amazing (best since… More
  Such a cool idea, I love it, but they wrecked it! The start is great, in the village against the vamp brides and the black and white homage to 'Hammer', the very start was so good and looked like it was going down the right route. The werewolves look amazing (best since American Werewolf in London - cgi versions) but Dracula is sooo camp, Frankenstein's monster is shit and eggs hatching into vamps?? what the hell! Beckinsale is white hot and Jackman is a good hero, but they just loose the whole film from the midway point, it gets so tacky with terrible cgi and bluescreen, almost like a music video with Roxburgh as Dracula, and the whole 'Bond' gadgets sideline is too much of a blatant idea rip.

• Anthony L

  
  Such a great idea, completely wasted. The direction was shoddy, the editing atrocious, the script was pitiful and the general writing laughable. A huge missed opportunity. The actors were totally misused and I can't help but think Kate Beckinsale was cast purely for her breasts… More
  Such a great idea, completely wasted. The direction was shoddy, the editing atrocious, the script was pitiful and the general writing laughable. A huge missed opportunity. The actors were totally misused and I can't help but think Kate Beckinsale was cast purely for her breasts and that is why she seems to spend the whole film running. One big CGI mess but I'm grateful for these horrid action films of the mid 00's, they were so bad that everyone seems to have upped their game since. Well apart from Stephen Sommers that is.

• Unknown H

  
  Although I have to say I enjoyed this movie I did find myself nodding off in the cinema. Diluted through years of movies being made about the same thing, and getting, in my opinion, an unlikely actor to play the fabled vampire killer, I was lost for half of the movie in bad accents… More
  Although I have to say I enjoyed this movie I did find myself nodding off in the cinema. Diluted through years of movies being made about the same thing, and getting, in my opinion, an unlikely actor to play the fabled vampire killer, I was lost for half of the movie in bad accents and even worse plot thickening. Not completely diabolical but not one I will remember fondly.

• Jeff "

  
  Where to begin with Van Helsing? The film lacks anything good, and the film relies purely on special effects to create a striking visual portrait. Unfortunately you cannot hide from the poorly developed, clichéd story filled with every vampire stereotype in the book. I felt that Van… More
  Where to begin with Van Helsing? The film lacks anything good, and the film relies purely on special effects to create a striking visual portrait. Unfortunately you cannot hide from the poorly developed, clichéd story filled with every vampire stereotype in the book. I felt that Van Helsing pure crap. A mindless, action horror film that has nothing going for it. The film breaks tradition, and not in a good way. The acting here is poor, and the script is equally poor. The story could have been much better and there was potential for this film to be something truly great. But it fails and it doesn't do anything aside from providing a good visual style, and that's not enough to save this lackluster film. As a diehard fan of vampire films, I thought this film missed the mark; it broke so many rules and made vampires look stupid. Along with Twilight, Van Helsing is a mockery of the vampire lore, and it doesn't try to do anything amazing that will entertain the viewer. I thought this film was a failure both as a vampire film, and as an action film. Though the film looks good, it's not enough to create something effective on screen. I can't believe some of the praise this film has gotten. Good visuals should be accompanied by a good story, if this was the case with this film, then it might've worked, but it's a poorly made film with a bad story, bad acting and bad directing. If you love old school vampire and monster films, pass up on this one, there's nothing good about it.

• Dead A

  
  Okay, this is getting boring. the vampire thingy. Why can't they come up with something <b>new</b>? Anyway, this movie was okay. Nothing special.

• Conner R

  
  When this movie came out, you couldn't find a bigger fan of all things Van Helsing. This for the most part carries the tradition of the Mummy remake on by combining pulse pounding action with the Universal Monsters. Hugh Jackman takes on the three big titles wit his Gatling… More
  When this movie came out, you couldn't find a bigger fan of all things Van Helsing. This for the most part carries the tradition of the Mummy remake on by combining pulse pounding action with the Universal Monsters. Hugh Jackman takes on the three big titles wit his Gatling Crossbow and werewolf strength. While this might come off as cheesy to most, I think it brings the kid out in everyone. Stephen Sommers makes movies that all kids want to see, but also makes it fun for adults. I think it's another genre entirely. To say this is an action movie is wrong, but it isn't really a horror or comedy either.

• KJ P

  
  Van Helsing is an over the top vampire movie with no heart and soul and nothing to save it from it's horrible script and story, along with it's dreadful CGI. This film is one of the worst I've seen in recent time and that's not going to change!

• ♥Robyn

  
  Van Helsing is a great monster mash,and the visual effects are really a treat !!

• Richard C

  
  B

• Morgan S

  
  i love this movie. it is awsome. the way they made it black and white in the begging makes u think of those old movies with bela lagosi richard roxbrugh is one of the best draculas ive seen for a long time ...if u watch the bloopers hugh jackman has such a creepy laugh!

• Wahida K

  
  Is Van Helsing a Comic character? If yes they changed his background everytime they made a new movie based on him.

• Jason O

  
  I and everyone thought this movie would be awesome, but man, what a disappointment!!! Especially considering I saw this on a night I was about to get sex, but didn't because there were no free bedrooms - this movie wasn't a good substitution.

• Cassandra M

  
  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… More
  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

• Coxxie M

  
  oh wow this brings back a headache i had 5 years ago! got why did you have to remind me of this sperm-dumpster!!!

• Film C

  
  Again this is my favourite hugh jackman fan and he doest disappoint and neither does kate beckinsale as her accent isnt that bad and she looks gawjus in it! this film is funny and exciting and a good fantasy vapire/werewolf film , theres a fantastic werewolf fight scene against… More
  Again this is my favourite hugh jackman fan and he doest disappoint and neither does kate beckinsale as her accent isnt that bad and she looks gawjus in it! this film is funny and exciting and a good fantasy vapire/werewolf film , theres a fantastic werewolf fight scene against dracula and is a fantastic movie and one to watch on a rainy day !

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"The One Name They All Fear"</i> 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. <center><font size=+2… More
  <i>"The One Name They All Fear"</i> 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. <center><font size=+2 face="Verdana"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> No doubt many a viewer will want to slow roast this piece of cinematic excess over a crackling fire, and perhaps maybe the director and cast as well. While Van Helsing may be no masterpiece, it is certainly a bit much to say this is the worst film ever made. Granted, there is more CGI here than there is actual cast, and it gets to be nauseating. The problem with CGI is that it just doesn't look real. You can tell that forbidding castle and those green-baby-bat-things and are fake. The only thing less genuine in this movie is Kate Beckinsale's atrocious Romanian accent, which simply grates on the ears. (I haven't been this offended since Dennis Quaid tried to do New Orleans in "The Big Easy.") Hugh Jackman's a poor actor, and this is rather poor material, so at least there's a match there. Nevertheless I have to give the devil his due. "Van Helsing" turns out to be good, campy, badly-acted fun. If our senses are overloaded with monsters, explosions, and relatively bloodless violence, at least we enjoy it. It's everything a campy movie should be: A fix of mindless testosterone injected straight into the cerebral cortex. If we've all turned into culture junkies then at least here's a good score.

• Bruce B

  
  When is the sequel coming. I thought it was an excellent film, I remember seeing it the theater when it came out, and I found it far more enjoyable yesterday at home. Van Helsing is working for the Vatican (Bet they loved that) and running around Europe killing all the best monsters,… More
  When is the sequel coming. I thought it was an excellent film, I remember seeing it the theater when it came out, and I found it far more enjoyable yesterday at home. Van Helsing is working for the Vatican (Bet they loved that) and running around Europe killing all the best monsters, his opening bout is with Dr Jeckle / Mr. Hyde. Pretty cool when he blows his arm off. Van Helsing has all this cool secret agent gear that James Bond can only dream and wish for. He goes after Dracula and on his way bumps into the wolf man, Igor, and Frankenstein, in this movie Frankenstein is a pretty cool dude. Anyway movie closes with all the possibilities of a sequel so its been 5 years where is our sequel. Its in my collection, I imagine on a 42 inch flat screen it would be awesome. 4 stars.

• Mike S

  
  Weak script, laughable effects and a whole lot of potential gone to waste. Certainly not a proud moment for Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale.

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