Review of Van Helsing (2004) by Bradysmith — 16 Apr 2015

Ok, so it's not anywhere near a masterpiece. I'll also admit that it's at times cheesy, and it does really, really overuse c.g.i. But it's also undeniably fun. Jackman is awesome as Van Helsing and the movie is super energetic. Those are its two main strengths but it has more. I liked its imaginative take on some of the classic monsters. Frankenstein's monster is usually depicted as dim witted, but here he's basically a genius. The action is indeed ludicrous but it can also be exhilarating at times. I thought the plot was pretty interesting to be honest, especially how it depicts Van Helsing as professional monster killer. If you don't take it too seriously I'm sure the movie will give you a good time too. I think the main reason the critics didn't like this movie was because they were expecting an actual horror movie. It's not. If they were expecting the fantasy adventure that it is, I think it would have gone down a little more smoothly.

If anything, it's a thousand times better than Hansel & Gretel.