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movie review - Van Helsing

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Somewhere in this movie lurked the remains of a more intelligent, better-written movie. Flashes of this other, better movie remained, but they were sadly few and far between. It was like someone wrote in a vampire-hunter movie, and then a room full of suits said, "Great! Now we'll add a side-kick that's a genius with designing weapons, replace random bits of the storytelling with explosions, and sprinkle liberally with push-up-bras!

The good bits that got left behind: the fundamental bits of Van Helsing's past (which, sadly, was butchered into being effectively untold); the dynamic between the prince and princess (thought they'd do a lot more with that); Frankenstein's monster (the only good guy in the movie); the idea of vampire babies (again, underutilized).

Not recommended.