Van Helsing [HD DVD]
![Van Helsing [HD DVD]](/images/Van-Helsing-HD-DVD-B000E1ZK50-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Wenham, Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, Shuler HensleyBrand: Universal
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; Spanish (Published), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 131 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-23
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal
Movie Reviews of Van Helsing [HD DVD]
Movie Review: The Other Van Helsing
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit I enjoyed this film probably more than should be legal. It still delights me. I love action movies, horror movies, and have a soft spot in my heart for all of Universal's monsters, as well as just about any movie ever done of Dracula. Yes, Peter Cushing is pitch perfect as Van Helsing, and Anthony Hopkins makes him an educated and entertaining psycho, but Hugh Jackman turns him into a dashing and lethal killing machine. Oddly enough they all work. The cast is great. Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, and Kate Beckinsale do a terrific job as the heroes. Richard Roxburgh delivers a Dracula that is charming, dangerous, and ridiculously self-absorbed, and Shuler Hensley comes very close to Mary Shelley's misunderstood monster. The pacing in this movie is on fast forward all the time, but is pretty much flawless. Everything is explained, even with several things happening at once and it all converges at the right moment.
The atmosphere was suitably spooky (especially the stagecoach ride through the forests at night), and the sets and costume design were gorgeous. I have to give credit to Stephen Sommers too for managing to include all the monsters in a story that actually worked. It has been tried before, but usually the story seems contrived or the characterization just doesn't work. Not only did he manage a good story, but he created an interesting universe with the church employing its own hitmen and scientists to take care of supernatural evil when it pops up.
And yes, being female, two hours of Hugh Jackman and David Wenham are an absolute pleasure, and Richard Roxburgh is no slouch either. The female characters were fun to watch too - Anna Valerious was a take-no-prisoners tough girl, and the brides were catty drama queens with some fabulous lines.
Summary of Van Helsing [HD DVD]
Universal Van Helsing - HD-DVDLegendary monster hunter "Van Helsing" (Hugh Jackman) is summoned to mysterious Transylvania on a mission that will thrust himinto a sweeping battle against the forces of darkness! With non-stop action and electrifying special effects, "Van Helsing" is an adrenaline-powered motion picture event Roger Ebert calls "Spectacular!"
Like a roller coaster ready to fly off its rails, Van Helsing rockets to maximum velocity and never slows down. Having earned blockbuster clout with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, writer-director Stephen Sommers once again plunders Universal's monster vault and pulls out all the stops for this mammoth $148-million action-adventure-horror-comedy, which opens (sans credits) with a terrific black-and-white prologue that pays homage to the Universal horror classics that inspired it. The plot pits legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp) in a two-hour parade of outstanding special effects (980 in all) that turn Sommers' juvenile plot into a triple-overtime bonus for CGI animators. In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny, and there's so much good-humored action that you're guaranteed to be thrilled and exhausted by the time the 10-minute end-credits roll. It's loud, obnoxious, filled with revisionist horror folklore, and aimed at addicted gamers and eight-year-olds, but this colossal monster mash (including Mr. Hyde, just for kicks) will never, ever bore you. A sequel is virtually guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon
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