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Van Helsing. It's the movie that was supposed to have started the summer with a bang - but instead it went bust. After a relatively weak $50 million dollar opening weekend, the film lost 60% of it's audience the following weekend and quickly dropped out of sight from there. Now available on DVD, hopefully some of those who were scared away by the film's negative buzz will get the opportunity to check it out - and hopefully see that it really isn't that bad.
It's the story of Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman). He's a monster slayer whose latest assignment will prove to be his most difficult -- to destroy Dracula. Along the way, he tangles in one way or another with Mr. Hyde (he of Dr. Jekyll fame), a werewolf, Frankenstein's monster and of course, the world's most feared villain - count Dracula. Throw in the brides of Dracula and our hero has his work cut out for him. Good for him that he's not alone on his journey. Instead, he's joined by a sidekick, Carl (David Wenham), and by Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale). Anna's family has a history with Dracula going back several centuries. Having been responsible for Dracula's reign of terror, her ancestors are doomed to endure purgatory until Dracula can be killed. And unfortunately for the Valerious clan, Anna is the last of their breed. So van Helsing must destroy Dracula to save her family - and all of mankind.
I'm sure there are purists out there who'll tear this movie apart. For example - the movie starts in 1887 but Bram Stoker's Dracula wasn't written until 1897. Similarly Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was published in 1818. And why is it Gabriel Van Helsing and not Abraham Van Helsing - Stoker's original hero? But there'll always be those people you can't please. I can make my way through the film's various plot holes and leaps of faith - but if anything, my problem was the film's special effects. The effects were fine for the most part, but I found the filmmakers relied on them too heavily, and this took away from the final product. Sure, it's fantasy, but at times, it all felt a little too phony. But if you can put away any baggage you might carry into the movie and just enjoy the ride, like I said, it really isn't that bad.
I'm a bit confused by this DVD release. Originally there was supposed to be the standard release and the "Ultimate Edition" release with more special features. But from what I understand, at the last minute Universal Studios chose to drop the "Ultimate Edition". I'm unclear on the details. (Kinda the same way there was talk of a Van Helsing TV show that got dropped when the film didn't hold up at the box office.) That being said, I had the chance to check out the standard edition.
As always, I love to start with the commentaries. They always give the most insight into the movie. This DVD offers two commentaries with completely different tones and material. The first is from writer/director Stephen Sommers and producer/editor Bob Ducsay. These guys pretty much went over everything behind the scenes, mostly going over the technical aspects of the movie. They're pretty upbeat and provide lots of interesting info, which made for and equally interesting listen. For the second commentary, we get actors Richard Roxburgh (Dracula), Shuler Hensley (Frankenstein's monster) and Will Kemp (Velkan). These guys are an odd lot (Why Will Kemp? Where's Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale?) and their commentary started out a bit weak, but as it moved along, I found myself more and more engrossed in what they had to offer. Although Hensley skipped out before the movie finished, the actors seemed to get along nicely and provided the behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes from the set that weren't available in the first commentary. As I said, the bonus here is that we're getting two different commentaries that really don't overlap in what's being said - as often happens on DVD - so they are both worth a listen.
Another way to watch the movie is with the disc's "You Are In The Movie" feature. Here, there are hidden cameras on the set that capture the making of the movie. We get a little taste with a couple of scenes in the movie available in the Bonus Features section, and from there, an option of watching the film in its entirety with icons popping up periodically allowing the viewer to go behind certain scenes throughout the movie. If you're up to watching the movie a fourth time, this one is fun if only for knowing that the actors didn't know these cameras were planted on the set.
For featurettes, the DVD provides two. The first, "Bringing the Monsters to Life" looks at the technical wizardry behind the making of the movie. It's a bit technical at times, but running only 10 minutes, it's a nice look at the effects work from the film, for those interested. Our other featurette is titled "The Legend of Van Helsing". In reality, this should have been called "The Legend of Hugh Jackman" since they only spend the first two minutes going on about Van Helsing and the remaining time going on about Jackman. And one thing that bothered me - over the entire disc, they never reveal why it's Gabriel Van Helsing instead of Abraham. Not in the commentaries. Not in the "Legend of" featurette. Why? I want to know, dammit!
For more features, we get "Explore Dracula's Castle", where viewers can go behind-the-scenes and look at various parts of the vampire's lair, accompanied by some cheesy dialogue. We also get a rather long blooper reel (more than five minutes) and trailers for Van Helsing and Shrek 2. For those of you with an X-Box, you can insert this disc and play the first level of the Van Helsing game.
Van Helsing is a fun ride. Really - it's an actual ride too - at Universal Studios Hollywood. But the movie and its features are a fun ride too. This DVD is worth checking out if you can leave any baggage at the door, and accept the movie for what it is - a popcorn flick. Add to that popcorn some eye candy - Hugh Jackman for the ladies and Kate Beckinsale for the guys - and I guess you can call this one a treat.
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