Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
I just saw this movie.
I both liked it and hated it.
I liked some parts, because they entertained me. I hated so many other parts that, overall, I cannot reccommend the movie.
This movie had the exact same problems that the later Batman movies had - massively hyped pacing at the expense of total lack of committment to character development. You cannot develop more than 3 characters (including the villian) in a movie unless the whole movie slows the pace down (which is what good movies like X-men and Lord of the Rings did - slow the pacing to develop the larger number of characters). You simply cannot develop a lead (Van Helsing), his sidekick (the fryer), his romantic interest and ally (Anna), his other ally (F's Monster), a half-ally/half-enemy (Anna's brother), his opponant (Dracula), and his opponant's ally's (3 wives, Igor, an undertaker, and his werewolves), all in the same fast-paced movie and expect me to give a damn about any of them.
And that is what happened. I couldn't have cared less if most of these characters had died. I didn't care about any of them in any way. Heck, I barely knew anything about them. Sure, I knew a couple of tidbits about their past, and that was it. Motivations? They were at best surface motivations, done so sparsely that it looked like the writer was checking off boxes on a list and got to "motivation" and put "family business" or "likes science" and that was it for a particular character.
If only they had cut way back on the number of characters, or slowed the pacing, this could have been a good movie. You don't need Frankenstein's monster, or Igor. You don't need Anna. You don't need werewolves or Dracula's 3 brides or his children. All that was needed to make this a good movie was Van Helsing, the Fryer, and Dracula. That's it. Focus on those three characters, really develop them, and focus on their conflict. Forget the other characters, because they are mere distractions from the task at hand - which is telling a good story. If you love those other characters enough - leave them for a second movie.
I both liked it and hated it.
I liked some parts, because they entertained me. I hated so many other parts that, overall, I cannot reccommend the movie.
This movie had the exact same problems that the later Batman movies had - massively hyped pacing at the expense of total lack of committment to character development. You cannot develop more than 3 characters (including the villian) in a movie unless the whole movie slows the pace down (which is what good movies like X-men and Lord of the Rings did - slow the pacing to develop the larger number of characters). You simply cannot develop a lead (Van Helsing), his sidekick (the fryer), his romantic interest and ally (Anna), his other ally (F's Monster), a half-ally/half-enemy (Anna's brother), his opponant (Dracula), and his opponant's ally's (3 wives, Igor, an undertaker, and his werewolves), all in the same fast-paced movie and expect me to give a damn about any of them.
And that is what happened. I couldn't have cared less if most of these characters had died. I didn't care about any of them in any way. Heck, I barely knew anything about them. Sure, I knew a couple of tidbits about their past, and that was it. Motivations? They were at best surface motivations, done so sparsely that it looked like the writer was checking off boxes on a list and got to "motivation" and put "family business" or "likes science" and that was it for a particular character.
If only they had cut way back on the number of characters, or slowed the pacing, this could have been a good movie. You don't need Frankenstein's monster, or Igor. You don't need Anna. You don't need werewolves or Dracula's 3 brides or his children. All that was needed to make this a good movie was Van Helsing, the Fryer, and Dracula. That's it. Focus on those three characters, really develop them, and focus on their conflict. Forget the other characters, because they are mere distractions from the task at hand - which is telling a good story. If you love those other characters enough - leave them for a second movie.
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