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[Dash_Riprock]

I finally caught this flick on Netflix. What a waste. This movie had so so much potential (spoilers for anyone who cares):

+Hugh Jackman is great as Van Helsing.
+ Music is good
+Guy who played Dracula was decent.
+Dracula's brides...YUM.
+Kate Beckinsale in a corset
+Some of the steam punk tech is cool
+Steam punk Frankenstein was a good concept.
+Dracula vs Werewolf Helsing. That alone was probably worth the price of admission back in 2004.

Sigh but then.

-The acting was horrible. Everyone but Jackman seemed to know exactly what type of movie they were in and phone it in (except for Dracula, who seems to be having the time of his life).
-Aside from the steam punk bits Frankenstein just looked like a pale fat guy.
-Kate Beckinsale's accent makes me want to punch something.
-Speaking of Kate, her character is USELESS. Perfect example of a Faux Action girl
-Terrible CGI even for the time. Mr Hyde looks straight out a PS2 game. Only Dracula and Wolfhelsing look decent.
-Except for the final fight at the end the action scenes are terrible. If you've seen GI Joe: Rise of Cobra or The Mummy Returns, you know what you're in for. Way too much obvious blue screen shit, bad monster CGI and obnoxious ramping slow motion.
-The plot is a mess. Why is everything being so rushed? I understand that a shared movieverse wouldn't be a concept for another few years, but still, they apparently had two sequels and a TV show planned, and yet in this one film you already have Dracula, Wolfman, Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein. Couldn't they have saved some for the planned sequels?
-The movie can't decide what genre it is. The black and white opening and general shit acting suggests its a tongue in check parody of the old horror monster films. But then the rest of the flick its nonstop action with virtually no horror. I guess they were trying to do what Sommers did for the Mummy, but it just didn't work this time.
- Van Helsing's now possibly a fallen angel? Seriously?
-Dracula, Van Helsing's archnemesis in every medium before and after, and you kill him off in the first movie of a planned trilogy?

The movie left me kind of bummed. The concept of a Universal Horror shared universe is amazing. I hope they try again one day a better script and a more focused plot, with maybe more emphasis on horror and less on over the top CGI action.

 

[Zerokku]

One of my guilty pleasure movies. I know it's a bad movie, but I still love it.

+Hugh Jackman is great as Van Helsing.
+Kate Beckinsale in a corset
+Dracula vs Werewolf Helsing. That alone was probably worth the price of admission back in 2004.

Those three reasons pretty much make the movie for me.

 

[Murder. She Wrote]

I wish this movie had a sequel I loved it.

 

[braves01]

I thought it was really fun, but agree it's not exactly "good." I also want a sequel.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

It wasn't great or technically that good but I loved it.
Enjoyed the aesthetics a hell of a lot as well.

Still want a sequel.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

I really love it. One of my favorite Draculas.

 

[What did he mean by this?]

Love it, wish there had been a sequel desperately

Oh well, lets see where the Universal Monsters Extended Cinematic Universal Universe takes us

 

[Dash_Riprock]

I wanted a sequel too, but what would it have been about? They already killed all the best monsters.

Love it, wish there had been a sequel desperately

Oh well, lets see where the Universal Monsters Extended Cinematic Universal Universe takes us

Is that still a thing? I thought Dracula Untold bombed.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I wanted a sequel too, but what would it have been about? They already killed all the best monsters.

more Werewolves and Baba Yaga(witch).
maybe more Vampires depending on how their Dracula was.

 

[ClivePwned]

only movie i was ever tempted to walk out of.

utterly terrible, despite the cast.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

more Werewolves and Baba Yaga(witch).
maybe more Vampires depending on how their Dracula was.

They specifically stated that killing Dracula would kill every other vampire, and it was implied Dracula created werewolves too so with him gone so are them. They really wrote themselves into a corner sequel-wise, unless they thought Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera or the other B-Tier monsters could carry the next two films (from what I heard they didn't want to use the Mummy since that was already a film series, really sucks this didn't come out 4 years later when cinematic universes would be a thing).

 

[KevinCow]

I only saw it once back when it was in theaters, but all I remember is wondering why the full moons came so frequently. Like, there's a full moon. Then the next night, there's a full moon. Then two nights later, another full moon.

Maybe there's a reason for this and there were actually some timeskips that I didn't notice as a kid.

 

[jb1234]

Truly a terrible, overwrought movie. Silvestri's score was good, though.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

They specifically stated that killing Dracula would kill every other vampire

Okay wasn't sure about that just remembered the babies.

 

[SJRB]

It's okay, but as OP states Kate Beckinsale added a HUGE amount of the viewing pleasure. Jackman looked silly wearing the hat.

I find Hansel & Gretel to be in the same spirit as Van Helsing, only executed 100 times better.

 

[Sojgat]

It's really quite bad, but Richard Roxburgh is probably the most entertaining Dracula ever.

I own the Blu-ray and watch it more often than I care admit.

 

[BronsonLee]

I remember lolling at how totally useless Beckinsale's character was

KOed by steam
Killed by a tackle
Other dumb shit

 

[TheSadRanger]

It's okay, but as OP states Kate Beckinsale added a HUGE amount of the viewing pleasure. Jackman looked silly wearing the hat.

I find Hansel & Gretel to be in the same spirit as Van Helsing, only executed 100 times better.

You get upgraded to Gemma Aterton only to get downgraded to Jeremy Renner in a fucking fantasy movie

Eh, I'll take Wolverine and Beckinsale instead. Renner was easily the worst thing in Gretel, he's basically Hawkeye in a fantasy film.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

You get upgraded to Gemma Aterton only to get downgraded to Jeremy Renner in a fucking fantasy movie

Eh, I'll take Wolverine and Beckinsale instead. Renner was easily the worst thing in Gretel, he's basically Hawkeye in a fantasy film.

In what universe is Gemma better than Kate?

And Renner has the charisma of a used condom. Easily my least favorite actor in the MCU.

 

[creamfarts]

It was the best Castlevania movie ever.

 

[Shredderi]

Hated it.

 

[Barajas_201]

I loved it when I was a kid and I'm afraid of rewatching it because I would probably hate it now. That machine gun crossbow was OP, I wonder if such weapon is possible to make?

 

[Count Dookkake]

Good, silly fun.

 

[TheSadRanger]

In what universe is Gemma better than Kate?

And Renner has the charisma of a used condom. Easily my least favorite actor in the MCU.

In anything else I'd take Kate, but as you said earlier her accent in Val Helsing is really, really, distracting. I mean it's really bad.

Just as a compare in contrast, in this situation between the two performances I'd take Gemma.

 

[Hoya Destroyer]

I dont think Ive seen this whole movie, just bits of it on TV. I remember the Frankenstein monster looked pretty cool. The scene with those Harpy girls attacking Helsing in that town square was cool too.

 

[PJV3]

Dracula had some very attractive girlfriends in that movie.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

It was the best Castlevania movie ever.

Underworld Awakening

Castlevania fangasmed like crazy.

 

[Anno]

Was a fun movie at the time. The only thing I really remember is the song that plays at the very end, though, which is amazing.

 

[Branduil]

One of the dumbest films I've ever seen in the theater.

 

[Currygan]

such a terrible movie, a sign of things to come in terms of overloaded, overcgied braindead shit

 

[inm8num2]

Awful movie, but I still listen to the soundtrack. Amazing music.

Reunited

 

[The Flash]

Definitely on my list of "good" bad movies

 

[SURGEdude]

You said it OP. So much wasted potential.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

I'd say the movie's biggest flaw is that it's twenty or so minutes too long. It's fun until a point, and then I start wondering why it's not over yet.

But yeah. i'ts one of those "it's bad but I like it" movies.

 

[Shaanyboi]

When watched as a Castlevania movie, it's kiiiinda okay... sorta?

But man, David Wenham being the lame butt of a joke every time he's onscreen, regardless of what the tone of the actual scene is.... That shit was insufferable.

 

[Hex]

I seriously could not get past Jackman's hair.
The entire movie.
There may have been bits of potential there, but I don't know because that hair.

 

[dogmaan]

I remember going to see this in the cinema, during the intro I distinctly recall thinking "no seriously when is the actual movie going to start..this parody can't be the real movie", it was

 

[D1renegade]

I love this movie.. Just good ole dumb fun..

I enjoyed the video game as well

 

[Raylan]

Kate Beckinsale....

Kate Beckinsale!

I love this movie....
....because Kate Beckinsale!

 

[Nappuccino]

Of the five awful movies my hs friends dragged me to, this was the most fun by far.

The ending was awful though.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Of the five awful movies my hs friends dragged me to, this was the most fun by far.

The ending was awful though.

Was one of the others Ghost Rider? My friends dragged me to that one

 

[Team Alucard]

Movie has some of the worst acting I have ever scene but goddamn is the art direction awesome.

It was a better movie than the Wolfman at the very least.

 

[Nappuccino]

Was one of the others Ghost Rider? My friends dragged me to that one

The two other big ones that I remember were The Da Vinci Code and Star Wars ep 3.

Thankfully I dodged ghost rider.

 

[Dash_Riprock]

Did anyone play the video game? From what I heard its pretty decent as far as movie games go.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Did anyone play the video game? From what I heard its pretty decent as far as movie games go.

I loved it as a kid. It's basically a cheap rip off of DMC/God of War

 

[diamount]

Me and my friends watched it twice just for that fight at the end.

 

[Lagamorph]

I never realised that was Hugh Jackman until just now.

The man of a thousand accents.

 

[The Boat]

It's shit, but it's entertaining and has some nice set and creature design. The transformations are pretty cool and yeah, Kate Beckingsale in a corset.

 

[Zeshile]

It was okay. I don't feel to strongly about it one way or the other. If I happen to see it on TV I'll watch it.

Slightly off topic: what is wrong with Kate beckinsale? I feel like she has such potential but she(or her agent) pick the worst movies. What the hell! Get it together Kate!

 

[Fox318]

i really enjoyed this movie.


Jackman is great