Many, many people have seen "Van Helsing" and said it is trash, a waste of time, etc, etc. But what they don't understand is that sometimes, with so much happening in the world, people need to let it all go so they can get some thrills from movies.

The plot of Van Helsing is somewhere between simple and complex. The back story is that Count Dracula and his three brides have given birth to countless offspring throughout the hundreds of years they've been living as vampires. They themselves were created from the living, but their children were not. They were born of the undead, and have never had the chance to come to life... or the afterlife vampires live. They simply are dead.

Then, Dracula comes upon a mad scientist named Dr. Frankenstein, whom wants to discover the secret of creating life. He helps the doctor in his sort-of admirable task of creating life, hoping to use his creation to bring life to his children. But it is not to be. As the film opens, Dr. Frankenstein is killed by Dracula, who no longer needs him, and his monster, whom Dracula needs to give the essence of life to his children, appears to perish in a fire.

A year later, Gabriel Van Helsing, a tortured man without a past is sent to Transylvania by the "Holy Order"... An organization of all of the religions of the world. With the assistance of a trusty sidekick, the still living monster of Frankenstein and a beautiful young woman, he must hunt down and destroy Dracula before he can give life to his thousands of children.

The reason I gave this movie a 9 out of 10 is that is never seems to get the recognition it deserves. It has great action, great actors, and a great story. (At least for a summer film) It's not the type of movie to be taken seriously, it's the type to sit down with some friends, have some popcorn, and get ready for a silly, scary, fun ride. I love it!. 9/10

This is probably the very best example of what is wrong with Hollywood today. When people around the world complain that Hollywood is churning out over-budgeted, special effects-laden films with brainless plots, this is the first film that comes to mind. It was as if the studio execs knowingly produced a bad film because they simply knew that marketing and stupid effects would draw the undiscerning teens like flies to a corpse. And, I hate to admit it, but if the bottom line is money, then this film was a success. The fact that it made millions is depressing and further supports the notion that crap sells and quality is irrelevant in a bottom-line world. I found it so offensively dumb that I wanted my money back after seeing it--and it was in a dollar theater!! My teenage daughter felt equally appalled and said "that's an hour and a half of my life down the drain!". I am so proud of my girl!

So let's talk about why I totally hated this film. Despite tons of money being spent on sets and all, it sounded like the dialog was written by a middle schooler. The worst example was the wretched and cliché-ridden scene where Van Helsing first meets his lady love. He walks into town as countless flying vampire maidens are soaring about--destroying the town and attacking the clichéd "tough as nails" heroine. Now, at this point, the annoying heroine is getting the crap knocked out of her by these vampires and Van Helsing literally saves her from certain death. So what does she do in the world of dumb dialog--she snaps out that she is doing just fine and she doesn't want his help! This is taking the spunky and petulant babe role to such a stupid extreme that I literally groaned out loud in the theater. And, did I mention is this 100% anachronistic film that Van Helsing helps her with the aid of a machine gun that shoots wooden stakes! Heck, such a gun would be next to impossible to make NOW--let alone back in the 19th century!!! The dialog and action is pretty consistent with this scene throughout the film--one petulant scene after another and one great special effects scene after another. While I appreciate the beauty of the special effects, without a plot and dialog, they are pretty much worthless.

Since seeing this wretched film, I have talked to dozens of my high school students and adults about this. With only a few exceptions, the kids liked it with such comments like "I loved the action" and "the flying vampire babes were cool"--and no mention of the story or characters. Those who hated it (mostly, but not exclusively adults) described it as "brainless" or "just plain dumb". Just because impressionable kids LIKE this sort of tripe, should we, as responsible parents, let them feed on a constant diet of this brain-rot?! God help us, as these kids are our future!

Van Helsing does have some excellent sets and costumes, giving a dark macabre feel and some dark cinematography that was quite possibly the best thing of the film. I also liked the haunting music, and was on the whole impressed with Hugh Jackman in the title role, very brooding at times. Richard Roxburgh, despite some very cheesy material was good as the count.

Unfortunately, these were the only redeeming qualities, to a film that is overall disappointingly uninvolving. What I mean by that, is that there isn't much of a story, which was too many times clumsy and unfocused. The dialogue was eye-rollingly cheesy, I think the count's lines were the worst. I wish I could give some examples, but I can't remember any of the dialogue. The performances were okay, Hugh Jackman certainly acquits himself well, and perhaps the only actor to rise above the challenge. However, Kate Beckinsale seemed to do nothing but act pretty, therefore a rather uninvolving character, and consequently there was little chemistry between her and Jackman.

Overall, some good moments save a rather bland and uninvolving film, that also suffers from being overlong, that could have been much more with some better dialogue and a better story. 4/10 for trying. Bethany Cox.