Van Helsing (Two Disc Collector's Edition) [2004]

See Larger Image	Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley, Will Kemp Directed By: Stephen Sommers Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5050582290813 Format: Anamorphic Label: Universal Pictures UK Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Number Of Discs: 2 Number Of Items: 2 Publisher: Universal Pictures UK Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2004-10-11 Running Time: 126 Studio: Universal Pictures UK Theatrical Release Date: 2004-05-07
Accessories Van Helsing: The Novel (Van Helsing) Van Helsing Van Helsing (Xbox) Van Helsing (PS2) Van Helsing (GBA)
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Editorial Reviews: Like a roller coaster ready to fly off its rails, Van Helsing rockets to maximum velocity and never slows down. Having earned blockbuster clout with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, writer-director Stephen Sommers once again plunders Universal's monster vault and pulls out all the stops for this mammoth $148-million action-adventure-horror-comedy, which opens (sans credits) with a terrific black-and-white prologue that pays homage to the Universal horror classics that inspired it. The plot pits legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp) in a two-hour parade of outstanding special effects (980 in all) that turn Sommers' juvenile plot into a triple-overtime bonus for CGI animators. In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny, and there's so much good-humored action that you're guaranteed to be thrilled and exhausted by the time the 10-minute end-credits roll. It's loud, obnoxious, filled with revisionist horror folklore, and aimed at addicted gamers and eight-year-olds, but this colossal monster mash (including Mr. Hyde, just for kicks) will never, ever bore you. A sequel is virtually guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: doh Comment: complete rubbish that is not worth bothering with.theres no gore,no scares the werewolves,vampires and frankensteins monster all look cheap and shoddy,the acting is awful, the script is worse Customer Rating: Summary: Crash! Bang! Wallop! But not much else. Comment: This is a film that tries to do many things, but only really manages to be incredibly noisy. There are nods to other movies (including James Bond and M) and an attempt to marry horror with wit (not easy, but watch Buffy the equally famous Vampire Slayer to see how it's done). Hugh Jackman plays in fairly straight in the title role, Richard Roxburgh hams it up as Dracula and Kate Beckinsale struts her stuff in ridiculous heels, a wasp waisted corset and a blouse that tries to make her look bare breasted. Unfortunately the thin storyline (haunted vampire hunter Jackman wants to kill Dracula. So does Kate) is not helped by the thin script, and being battered by CGI effects and the sound track ended up making me feel slightly mind boggled and just plain disappointed. If you want to turn off your brain and simply admire the clever technology, give it a go. If you want substance, character and something to get your teeth into....give it a miss. Customer Rating: Summary: SHALLOW FOR SURE BUT AMUSING Comment: When you want to make one more film on Dracula who counts several hundred films already, both as assets and as drawbacks, you have to be original. No problem ! Let's patchwork together dozens of allusions to other films and create the first ever vampiristic salad. So Dr Frankenstein and his creature will be there. The use of the lightning to get electricity like in Back to the Future 1. The use of strange weapons halfway between Back to the Future 3 and The Lord of the Rings. The costume, dress, apparel of Van Helsing looks like Clint Eastwood's in a spaghetti western, and at times like the main hero's in the Matrix trilogy. The cows in the village are similar to those in Salem's Lot 2. Even the dance scene with the vampire reflected in a half empty mirror is borrowed from Dance of the Vampires. I would need a volume to quote them all. So what's left after all that composing of tidbits? A superhero Van Helsing who kills Dracula's three fiancées, the thousands of baby vampires that look like upside down Aliens in their suspended pods, and Dracula himself. And all that on the order from the Vatican, the Pope and the good old godly Catholic church. That's a counter-allusion to the Da Vinci Code. The film then is more dictated in its plot by the brand new topnotch state of the art digitalized image processing of the modern world than the reverse. So the plot is a vast ballet between mountains and from abysses to cosmic skies. It is thus an amusing entertainment as shallow as the Thames River twenty kilometers before its spring. Or is it the Mississippi river? Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines Customer Rating: Summary: A little too camp for my liking: Comment: Dracula is a parody of a Eurotrash Count. If you can get past that this is kind of fun, however, Van Helsing is more than a little wooden too, so the best comes from the supporting cast. Well made, even stylish, but lacking that certain something that sets it apart. Stephen Sommers was much better with The Mummy. Customer Rating: Summary: Not at all imressed. Comment: This simply has to be the worst film I've seen for years, and in that I include the cheap one pound films sold in poundland with shocking b-rate actors. Too much of this garbage was shot in the dark and that made it difficult to see what was going on. Kate Beckinsale's Eastern European accent was absolutely cringeworthy and totally unconvincing. Admittedly I purchased this film in the cheap DVD offers section in a local superstore for three pounds and reckon I was ripped off even at that low a price. I don't think I've ever enjoyed so much the experience of handing this poor excuse for a film over to a local charity shop. Avoid this tripe at all costs! More Reviews