At first I didnt know what this was about, thinking it could be something gangster type or action.
Van Helsing is actually the name of a bounty hunter if you like. He helps the church ( irony) in getting rid of bad characters. These are fairytale characters or known names like Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde, or Frankenstein.
It stars wolverine, which is funny as he seems to be type cast!
His next mission is to kill the head vampire. He takes along a funny sidekick monk, and off they go.
On arriving, we find Kate Beckinsale having fun with a transylvanian accent, the last surviving member since a hunting trip for werewolves caused her brother to become one. Her family were the chain to kill vampires, so she and wolverine hook up to try together.
The brother keeps appearing as a werewolf, and she stays loyal to him even though he keeps trying to rip her head off. We see the vampire is attempting to bring life to his children who are born dead, and he has the machine made by Dr Frankenstein ( killed earlier by the bountry hunter).
As a result, he cant get it to work, and uses her brother as the core to the power, but although it gives enough energy to birth the children, they die very fast.
Frankenstein's monster then appears, and is a nice chap. He only wants to live for real, but he knows he has to go in the machine. He is the secret key. The brother turns fully into a werewolf, and tells the vampire this, and so it becomes a hunt for the monster.
Eventually without giving too much away, the bounty hunter fights her brother, and gets bitten. He then has the werewolf in him, although its not permanent til the next full moon.
On the next full moon, we find the monster in the machine, and a big showdown between wolverine and the vampire. The vampire is shocked when he sees him change into a werewolf and they have a fight.
We then find out that the vampire has met him before. The church had wiped wolverines memory, and we find out he is called Gabriel because he is GODS ASSISTANT! Gabriel - angel blah blah.
This gets a bit daft. Then as wolverine kills the vampire, he then mistakenly attacks kate, and kills her. He turns back into a man and we see the sky as her face, her spirit goes up which is strange since she helped kill so many but hey ho :-p
Then its simply on again to the next mission.
The special effects are rare, but the sets are very convincing.
Im not sure if it is a comedy but the accents are funny as they slip in and out of them yet noone minds haha, good for older kids but not for young ones. Its kind of an adult fairytale.
Thanks to those who rate this :)
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Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Scott Derrickson - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Craig Sheffer, Nicholas Turturro, James Remar
Re-rated based on Ciao's insistence that such reviews are no longer considered "Off Topic"
Soho_Black 12.03.2006 18:32
I see you've posted this as a DVD review, but you've not mentioned the DVD. Are there any extras? If so, what are they and are they any good? If you add to this, or if you change it to be posted as a "Film Only" review, which can be done by accessing "edit review" in the top right of the review and changing the drop down menu under the "Which format are you reviewing?" question at the bottom, please let me know and I'll re-rate.
mysterygirl77 03.03.2006 11:49
I really enjoyed your style of writing .. and saddo that I am I adore comic book based film and good make believe, plus Hugh Jackman, when he plays these rugged character just makes my toes curl. So no disrespect but I found the review a bit sketchy
and Van Helsing (aka The Right Hand Of God) didn't kill Dr Frankenstein (sorry)!
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: Temporarily out of stock - This item will be dispatched as soon as it arrives - We cannot guarantee Christmas delivery...
Has Evil finally met its match? Legendary Monster Hunter Van Helsings is sent by the ... more
Vatican to distant Transylvania, a land terrorised by the powerful Count Dracula. Joining forces with a valiant Gypsy Princess who is determined to end an ancient curs...
Advantages: Wonderful fairytale "Transylvania", great monsters, especially the vampire ladies Disadvantages: Weak plot, awful one-liners and James Bond references
scarletpurity 06.09.2008 (02.10.2008)
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Review of Van Helsing (DVD)
Mar 1st, 2006
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