Van Helsing

[klwilliams]

I saw Van Helsing this evening, and it has everything a great monster movie should have: Dracula, werewolves, Hugh Jackman, a secret Vatican Order, Frankenstein's monster, Igor, Hugh Jackman, evil Jawas, dripping ichor, winged monkeys, the Gypsy Queen, enough vine swinging for a Tarzan movie, Hugh Jackman, cool weapons, and the greatest chase scene involving a coach and six ever. The Spider-Man-esque special effects (cf vine swinging) got to be a little much, but the castles made up for it. What this movie lacks is heart. The earlier movies that it references, where the Wolfman and Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula come from, and the books that the movies were made from, were all about something more than fight scenes and cool special effects. They were about the nature of humanity and God -- and for all of the Latin prayers and secret Orders, Van Helsing wasn't about God -- and damnation and salvation, good and evil. The classics that came before were by people who grew up reading and thinking, and Van Helsing was written by someone who grew up watching monster movies. I still enjoyed the movie. There were some genuinely scary moments, and the ball scene was beautiful and macabre. Van Helsing was an interesting character, though not nearly as interesting as he could have been. The standout characters were the ones that haven't been done to death, Frankenstein's monster and Van Helsing's assistant (though Dracula was a lot of fun, too). Go see this movie, and enjoy your popcorn, but don't expect steak.

Comments

[aastg.livejournal.com]

I totally agree about good monster stories being about nature of humanity and god - the best are really existential, particularly the novel Frankenstein. I can't imagine how anyone would bring that off cramming all those monsters plus turning the "shaman" character of van Helsing into a hunk in an Indiana Jones hat. (I also agree about Hugh Jackman.) I think I will wait for this one to hit cable.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it yet due to a combination of circumstances, but from what I've seen in the previews, the ball scene is ripped off from Roman Polanski's DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES (aka THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS) which is a mess of a film but was made by a director who clearly read and thought and had a heart.

Have you ever seen GODS AND MONSTERS? It's a stunning bio-pic about James Whale (played by Ian McKellen!), the director of FRANKENSTEIN. Really worth checking out!

[galeni.livejournal.com]

I felt it had almost enough God in it -- it felt like a very Catholic movie, with damantion of some of the characters being the driving force behind the action. But yes, a bit too much action and too little conversation. But I still loved it. Then again, I go to movies for escape and action; I go to novels for everything else.

Caryn