'From early days of cinema, use of special fx has fascinated audiences. From George Melius to George Lucas and Disney, the possibilities of using film to produce illusions has been as intrigueing to film-makers as to their audiences. Until present-day cinematographers began to mesh with the inter-active level of viewing derived from video-gaming and Internet. The fact that the film had initially received quite mixed reviews only goes further to indicate that typical standards of theater were being used for film that was produced for entertainment. True, other reviewers may have been waiting for higher drama on the part of the acting personnel, but they may not have recognized the combination of action with animation and special fx. The scenarios used have gotten to be so stereotypic of the Gothic vampyre culture that usual histrionic scripting for the characters was not necessary. And $300M from the film tends to indicate the popularity of this form of entertainment. Though the sequences are often ludicrous as far as being possible or realistic, they endeavor to be realistic while still presenting the rapidly-paced fantasy. But to an audience acclimated to video and Internet interactives, these sort of stunts and transitions are still dimly credible. They actually seem to be de part of a continuous deliberate blur of animated faux-stunts that no longer rely on an actor's facial expression, practiced posturing and panache to convey an image; they twist, turn, spin, and swing along with nary the blink of an eye. They flip, flop, plummet and thud and never even flinch. But that's the way that today's audiences think, anyway. And though most of the settings and costumes have substance and evoke a sort of retro-fashion accuracy, there are some glaring discrepancies that could tend to bother the most fastidious of armorers, architects and alchemists. But then, unlike James Bond, the era of the film required that those components be fabricated or confabulated from thinner air than most action films. Even the semi-epitaph diverges from what could have been a cinematographic conclusion and nudges nearer to what must be considered a Gothic tragedy; the solitary Frankenstein creature paddles away as Van Helsing immolates the bier of Anna Valerius, the last of the 400 yr line of vampyre hunters.'Read full review
A great monster movie, but nothing spectacular If you're looking for the next great American movie, turn away immediately. However, if you're a monster movie fan and you're looking for an action/adventure film full of cool monsters and great special effects, Van Helsing delivers. Although Van Helsing is a little short on story, the action sequences and the monsters more than make up for that. I love monster movies, and Van Helsing fits as many monsters as it can into the 2 hour time limit. Van Helsing can be summed up by the following statement - Wall to Wall action scenes and monster battles. Final Verdict: 3/5 Rent or Buy?: Nothing spectacular, and unless you're a huge monster movie fan, you can get away with a rental. IF YOU FIND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE. Thank you.Read full review
This is one of the best Movies I own in my collection. It never gets old no matter how often you watch it. Full of suspense. Full of Action. Full of Emotion. A must have for sure.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
One of my favorite movies of all time. Also, the producer and director cuts convinced me that video editing would be something that I could do and enjoy. And that was true. This is what my copy reminded me. Thank you
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Don't listen to all the haters who talk smack or say this movie isn't spectacular! They are obviously wanna be movie critics who only like stupid movies that critics somehow label 5 star. Anyway this movie is an amazing movie and follows a very amazing story. Obviously some people didn't get the meaning of the movie. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who has good taste in movies and respect for such great actors and actresses such as Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale! This movie has everything you could possibly want if you are a movie monster buff such as myself, the wonderfully amazing Frankenstein, Dracula, the Werewolf and Van Helsing himself or the "left-hand of God" Its also one of the greatest movies ever made in terms of special effects! They took hours and hours on end into creating the special effects in this movie and used every technology they could find and it shows in the movie! It turned out amazing! I have seen this movie over 5 times before I purchased the DVD and still can't get enough of it! So take it or leave it you can't deny the hard work that went into this movie and you have to give it respect! I mean come on the actors even did their own stunts! No stunt doubles, you gotta respect that!Read full review
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