VAN HELSING

US, 2004, 131 minutes, Colour.
Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Shuler Hensley, Elena Enaya, Will Kamp, Kevin J. O’ Connor, Alun Armstrong, Sylvia Colloca.
Directed by Stephen Sommers.

Screenwriter and director, Stephen Sommers, has proven with the success of The Mummy as well as The Mummy Returns that he can spin a good yarn, create the atmosphere of ye olde days, keep the action in constant overwhelming pitch, incorporate extraordinary special effects and communicate his enjoyment to his audience while not taking it all too seriously. He has outdone The Mummy movies with this one. It is almost non-stop action-adventure, with more extraordinary effects - treating it seriously but humorously at the same time.

For fans of the horror genre it is a must see. Sommers has taken the Dracula story and introduced some fresh angles, especially since the Count has been in league with Dr Frankenstein and wants his life-creating process as well as his monster to give new life to his vast collection of vampire pods so that the vampires can claim the world. This provides an entertaining look again at Frankenstein (Sam West) with recreations of laboratory scenes from the Karloff version of Frankenstein along with the villagers storming the windmill to destroy the monster. And as if that was not enough, the scene shifts to Paris with Mr Hyde (Robbie Coltrane), like a giant Hulk, hiding where the Hunchback used to live in Notre Dame. He is confronted by the monster hunter, Van Helsing - and smashes through the rose window!

That is just the beginning. The Vatican society for confronting evil has been sending Van Helsing on missions and he is now to go to Transylvania to destroy Dracula. The cardinal is played by Alun Armstrong. In a spoof of Q in the James Bond movies, Van Helsing is supplied with the newest 1888 inventions by the timid friar, Carl. Off they go to do battle with Dracula, the brides of Dracula, Igor (who has defected to Dracula), but with the help of the gentle Frankenstein monster. Werewolves too. It all works.

There are spectacular castles, harpy like vampires attacking a village, coach chases, a sumptuous Halloween masked ball along with plenty of acrobatics and fights.

Hugh Jackman, after the X Men films, is a very agreeable and able Van Helsing. Kate Beckinsale (who got used to this kind of activity in Underworld) is the last of a family dedicated to destroying the vampires.

David Wenham is an amusing kind of Sancho Panza as Friar Carl. Richard Roxburgh combines Bela Lugosi with Christopher Lee (and his Count in Moulin Rouge) to present a striking Dracula.

Purists might wring their hands but it is an audience-pleaser.

1. Popular action adventure? The director and his action films?

2. The lavish production, the Frankenstein laboratory, the Vatican and the weapons, Transylvania, Paris, the forests? Action sequences, confrontations, titles, chases? The special effects, the make-up and design for the monsters? the Halloween party? The musical score?

3. The range of traditional horror stories, the opening with Frankenstein and the memories of the 1930s films, the creation of the monster, the black-and-white photography, the monster himself, pursued by the villagers to kill him? The monster continuing throughout the film, a gentle giant? Van Helsing, commissioned by the Vatican, the cardinal in the Vatican, the range of weapons and monster hunters? Finding Mr Hyde in Notre Dame Cathedral, looking like the Hulk, living where the Hunchback lived, breaking the rose window? The introduction of Dracula, his vampire pods, brides of Dracula? The introduction of the werewolves? An entertaining conglomeration?

4. The opening setting the tone, Frankenstein, Victor, creating the monster, the parallels with the 1930s films? The monster, his getting away, later collaboration with Van Helsing?

5. The confrontation in Paris, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the dialogue with Van Helsing, in Notre Dame Cathedral, like the hunchback, the confrontation, the breaking of the rose window?

6. The cardinal, the new mission for Van Helsing? The weapons headquarters? The friar, his explanations, to go with Van Helsing?

7. The character of Van Helsing, Hugh Jackman and his suave presence? The various hunts, going into Transylvania, the dangers, the Frankenstein monster helping, Igor and his going over to Dracula, the confrontation with the brides, destruction in the sky?

8. The introduction of the Wolf man, the complications with the plot and with Van Helsing?

9. Anna, fighter, her family, warrior, the man as bait, destruction? Anna and her action, the encounter with than Helsing, their joining forces? The townspeople and their response?

10. Carl in the Vatican, not wanting to accompany Van Helsing? Their adventures a bit like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Carl as a Sancho Panza?

11. Halloween, the masks, the party, the atmosphere of comic horror? Pursuit chases?

12. Dracula, his personality, getting Igor, wanting the monster, his brides, his pods, the manifestation of evil?

12. The buildup to the confrontation between Van Helsing and Dracula? The good and the mighty prevailing?