Everything about the “VanHelsing” DVD is great except for the actual movie, unlessyou’re a fan of movies about Dracula, vampires andFrankenstein. Van Helsing, played by Hugh Jackman, is a man whohunts down evil monster. His name is legendary, but because of whathe does some have called Helsing a hero and others have called hima murderer.
He is assigned a mission to go toTransylvania where he teams up with a princess he is supposed toprotect, Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsdale) to fight hordes of evilenemies under the control of the king of vampires, Dracula (RichardRoxburgh). Many parts of the movie are filled with stale humor andloud voices and music, especially the beginning. There are scenesthroughout the movie of Beckinsdale crashing into various hardwalls and trees which, comparable to when George of the Junglecrashes into trees.
Surprisingly, the movie pulled it alltogether towards the end. “Van Helsing” excelled whenit came to special effects. It looks like most of the actors spendvast amounts of time in make-up to look like the monsters theyplay. Also, the movie does not lack in the action department.Almost every scene included some actor doing stunts or showing offtheir fighting skills, but the movie does not have many intenseromance scenes.
Fans of mythical monsters can expect tosee some of their favorites in Van Helsing including, Frankenstein(Shuler Hensley). The looks for these monsters, however, differfrom the concept people usually have of them. For one thing,Dracula is not as deathly pale as some people remember him to be,but he does have no reflection in the mirror like in legends. Asidefrom the movie, the DVD itself is worth every cent. Not only doesit have an eye-catching outer foil covering, but it also is packedwith cool special features. One of the better features lets youexplore Dracula’s castle. The viewer can direct an icon tohighlight certain objects on their television screen. “YouAre In The Movie” is another good feature. This one letsviewers go behind the scenes of “Van Helsing.” Viewerswho have an Xbox can insert the “Van Helsing” DVD intotheir system and play the first level of the “VanHelsing” video game. It might be a good idea to watch thefeatures first so viewers can get a chance to know the actorsbetter, but there are definitely spoilers included in thefeatures.
