Van Helsing
Release Date: May 7, 2004
Rating: PG-13 - nonstop creature action violence and frightening images, and for sensuality
Genre: Action, Suspense
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, and Richard Roxburgh
Director: Stephen Sommers
Van Helsing is a wicked cool movie starring Hugh Jackman as the legendary monster hunter Van Helsing. The movie opens with a black and white intro featuring the creation of the Frankenstein monster. Dracula also happens to appear in the opening; he ruthlessly searches for the monster, and steals the machine created by Dr. Frankenstein. The monster disappears, the creator dies, and then we move on to Van Helsing. When we first see Van Helsing he is in Paris fighting the legendary Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde. After killing the monster, Hyde returns to his Dr. Jekyll form, and Van Helsing is called a murderer; he thus returns to the Vatican City, Rome. There he is given his new assignment: to help the princess Anna (Kate Beckinsale), and her brother kill Dracula. Along the way we run into the Frankenstein monster again, the brides of Dracula, and a werewolf.
The movie is outstanding. The acting is wonderful. I thought Beckinsale was much better in this than she was in Underworld. The visual effects of the movie were just stunning. The sets that were created for this movie areunbelievably real, and the shooting location is beautiful. The story is great. Stephen Sommers did a really awesome job with this movie.
The only thing that I didn’t really care too much for was his version of Dr. Jekyll. I liked the Dr. Jekyll in LXG (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) but the monster fit with the overall theme Sommers was trying to go for - a constant struggle between good and evil, so it was necessary to put it in.
Overall just a really great movie, and I recommend it to any sci-fi fan out there, especially those of you who were disappointed in Hellboy.
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