Van Helsing
Starring Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, David Thewlis
Trailer uploaded by hellangel54
The basic plot of the film is that Van Helsing is a famous monster hunter, in the employ of the vatican and tasked with tracking and killing Count Dracula, with the help of a monk named Carl, the pair are joined by Anna Valerious, a woman whose whole family has been killed by Count Dracula and his brides.
It’s not a film to try to take seriously, and almost seems to be trying to mimic monster movies from the past. It’s fun, if a little gross at times with certain death scenes, and it’s certainly got impressive stunts and fights.
Jackman’s version of Van Helsing is worlds away from the original character in the novel, acting as a hired gun for the Vatican and tracking down famous supernatural creatures such as Frankenstein’s creature, and Mr Hyde over the course of the film. There’s not many memorable traits in the character, though, I can’t actually remember anything stand out about him, aside from his physical abilities.
Beckinsale’s Anna was one note as well, I didn’t really like her. I felt for her, given the back story, but was distracted a little by her accent, and didn’t really care about the blooming relationship between her and Helsing. Obviously she’s meant to be a remarkably brave woman, something that runs throughout the film, but I didn’t feel like she had much empathy within her, as shown in this clip uploaded by Movieclips, from the opening scene with her brother.
The special effects are impressive, such as the beginning of this scene, but the performances were a little overblown, and some of the gadgets that Helsing is supposed to be supplied with, considering that it’s set in the 1890’s are unbelievable. Clip uploaded by movie clips
Musings of a thirtysomething woman 