VAN HELSING

The purpose of the digital stuntman is to:

Director Stephen Sommers (THE MUMMY) can now be certified as a CGI Addict with a serious problem. Here he is making his dream project - an update of Universal Studios three most famous monster characters in an adventure that pits them against a re-imagined version of Dracula hero Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) - and he damages his film's worth with an overabundance of pixel pushing.

Other than this important factor, the only real problem with VAN HELSING is that Jackman seems a bit typecast. Just as in the X-MEN movies, he plays an apparent immortal with amnesia who, at one point, gives in to his animal urges. As the main supernatural hitman for the Vatican (or more accurately, a Vatican-based interfaith security agency) in the 1880s, we meet Van as he's chasing serial killer Mr. Hyde all over the Notre Dame cathedral (to see how he got there, check the VAN HELSING: LONDON ASSIGNMENT OAV DVD). It's not certain who had the idea first, but just as in LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, Hyde (voiced by Robbie Coltrane) is a huge monster rendered via CGI. Already, we're seeing Jackman swinging around a lot on cables and smashing through walls, but that can be forgiven because, as we'll find out, he could well be a superhuman.

Van goes back to base to report and picks up a new assignment from M- I mean, Cardinal Jinette (Alun Armstrong): he's to go to Transylvania to help Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale of UNDERWORLD) kill Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh, such a fun villain in the Michelle Yeoh vehicle THE TOUCH) before the vampire king can wipe out the last of the Valerious family, thereby consigning Anna and her ancestors to Purgatory.

Meanwhile, Dracula is up to a more diabolical scheme than biting tourists. He's after the Frankenstein Monster (Shuler Hensley) in the hope that the secret of the Monster's existence will allow him to re-animate his stillborn offspring. Killing the Valeriouses is just a sideline left mostly to his trio of incredibly gorgeous brides, assisted by a werewolf or two.

One of the frustrations of watching Universal's classic monster movies is that the creatures can't really demonstrate all the power they're supposed to have. Clumping around in heavy make-up, every Frankenstein and Mummy looks kind of feeble. So it's terrific to now have modern f/x that can give us huge, ferocious and agile werewolves, and vampires who can effortlessly become bat-like demons. That's part of what Van Helsing does, though the characters are sometimes too much like cartoons in their movements. It also gives us monsters who are fully drawn characters - Dracula and Frankenstein are as complex and interesting as their literary pedigrees. Roxburgh especially is a hoot as Dracula, putting on an accent enough to locate the character, but not overdoing it enough to become a Lugosi parody. Unfortunately, our heroes don't fare as well. Jackman and Beckinsale are both given baggage, but it feels tacked on, and all the digital trapeze acts and lightning storms can't hide this. Of course, it's tough to gauge your own performance while acting against green screens, but these are actors trained at working with nothing but a blank stage.

Another thing the film has going for it is some fantastic photography and production design. With artists like Allan Cameron and Patrick Tatopoulis at their drawing boards, the movie can't help but be filled with wonderful castles and creatures, all captured by the lenses of Allen Daviau (E.T.). And Alan Silvestri provides one of his most memorable scores - big epic movie music at its best.

But Sommers' sin is that, in trying so hard to entertain us, he pushes us away. Every stunt is over the top - it might be fun to see six-horse carriages leaping over gorges or Beckinsale getting dropped through treetops, but it stretches credibility past the breaking point. Every time we see a human being thrown through a window, we're of course thinking, "Okay, he's got a broken spine," but Sommers just has them get up and dust off for more punishment, destroying audience identification and putting his movie at the level of a Saturday morning cartoon. Plus, he forgets that part of the fun of movies is having the audience fill in the blanks. Every shot here provides way too much information. While we're trying to smell the roses, Sommers has us on a roller coaster to the next spectacle. That's the kind of stunt that can make you sick.

Plotting their Halloween DVD release far in advance, Universal had Sommers and producer/editor Bob Ducsay in a recording studio for a commentrak while they were still giddy from a series of positive preview screenings, a week before the initially excellent, but ultimately disappointing box office figures began to be compiled. Thus, both men are blissfully unencumbered by any need to apologize for their work, and their enthusiasm produces a common effect of DVD commentraks: they improve your appreciation for the film with a tour of all the craftsmanship that went into it. When one's overall impression of a film is damaged by misfires and poor decisions, it's easy to forget how magnificent other aspects of the movie are, and here we get an apt reminder. They also feel confident enough to kid each other about continuity gaffs and other difficulties. Roxburgh, Hensley, and our third monster actor, wolfman Will Kemp, share a second commentrak while seeing the finished film for the first time, so we have the unique opportunity of hearing them react to some little bits of f/x and editing in between anecdotes. A bit of gossip thrown in by Roxburgh: he married his onscreen bride Silvia Colloca. The couple turn up together elsewhere in the extras, providing narration in character for an interactive exploration of the Castle Dracula sets and miniatures.

Other extras include a blooper reel, separate Making-Of featurettes covering special effects, special camerawork and the history of the Van Helsing character, and a sample of the video game (Xbox required). Trailers for VAN HELSING, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and SEED OF CHUCKY are also included.

In addition to this single disc widescreen and fullscreen editions of VAN HELSING, Universal also has released an "Ultimate" edition that contains two more interactive set tours and additional featurettes. However, its most significant extras are the original Universal films DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN and THE WOLF MAN. Viewers are invited to check these movies out to see how effective these monsters could be when handled with restraint and atmosphere.