Van Helsing - Reboot

[Earth 2 Chris]

I'm really concerned for you guys. In my opinion, Van Helsing is one of the worst big-budget movies ever made, for a variety of reasons. The frantic pace, the reliance on sloppy CGI (below standard for the time), the barely recognizable Uni-monsters....

But at least I know SOMEONE liked it!

Chris

[wolfie]

I loved Van Helsing.

I can never understand why people did not like it. I watch it over and over, really enjoy it.

The idea of doing a remake with the people mentioned, now that is horrific.

[Gorn Captain]

Hmm.. I think Laurence Olivier was a pretty good Van Helsing.

Well, he is supposed to be speaking Dutch in that movie.
Believe me, the only Dutch that sounds like his, is after two bottles of wodka and a severe stroke.

[Thor]

Hmm.. I think Laurence Olivier was a pretty good Van Helsing.

[HumanWolfman]

The Jackman version was to Indiana Jones for me to love it. I did, however, enjoy it.

[Brazoo]

I don't think Cruise can come off playing Swedish or German or even European, although I guess he did in the the Brian Singer film about the German attempt to kill Hitler.

Really? Isn't he of German/Irish descent?

I don't think I've ever bought him in a roll where he doesn't play a contemporary guy though. Like, to me he just doesn't work in an era that existed where it would look weird if he put on a pair of sunglasses.

This is a monster action movie though - so I don't think believability is going to be a big factor for me here.

[Gorn Captain]

I enjoyed Van Helsing.

Ok, I'm taking you to the doctor right now!
I think you've been taken over by the pod people or something...

[Bruce Banner]

The movie had some great potential... the overall concept was great, and the casting was good with Jackman in the lead. And of course Kate Beckinsale was super hot.

But the film was let down by being overly frenetic and having an over abundance of lacklustre CGI, which are two of Stephen Sommers' trademarks.

[Werewolf]

If you compare VH to earlier Universal Monster movies like Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein and Wolfman it is going to be terrible. But if you take it in context with the later monster team up "House of" movies (with a bit of the Castlevania games mixed in) it becomes a lot more fun.

That being said, I have zero interest in a reboot with Tom Cruise. But then, I have zero interest in seeing Cruise in anything.

[cjefferys]

The first ten minutes of Van Helsing was great, it really captured the feel of the old Universal monster films. If the rest of the film kept that spirit and style, it could have been a great film. It didn't, and while it wasn't terrible, it wasn't much more than average IMO.

[madmarva]

Cruise is hit and miss for me, too, but the last Mission Impossible film (Ghost Protocol) is excellent.

I don't think Cruise can come off playing Swedish or German or even European, although I guess he did in the the Brian Singer film about the German attempt to kill Hitler.

But, if I have the chance, I'll go to see it.

[Meule]

I enjoyed Van Helsing. You gotta take it for what it is: a monster movie and forget the mosters are supposed to be Dracula and Frankenstein, cause yeah, they're the worst versions ever put on screen. But as just another monster movie Van Helsing wasn't all that bad.
A reboot with Tom Cruise however is gonna suck so bad I won't even give it a try. Can't stand Tom Cruise

[ctc]

>Tom Cruise+Transformers+Cowboys&Aliens.

....I’ve had this dream before.... I wake up in a cold sweat, screaming.... screaming.... screaming....

I dunno; this is another one I didn’t find bad, but didn’t find good. Just blah. REALLY blah. And I’m not even sure WHY I thought it was blah.... it SHOULD have been awesome. I liked the monsters.... other than Drac. He was kind of a puffed shirt. I liked the end ‘cos he DIDN’T get the girl. I wanted to smack the little monk guy, but he didn’t seem enough to ruin things.

>we live in a world where it's easier now to get financing for reboots of big movies that flopped than it is to just move on to other ideas.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. To that end, there’s ALWAYS a price to be paid for ANYTHING. The same mentality that gets a big budget Avengers film made is the one that insists a known property is better than an unknown.... even if the known one flopped. (“People watch that ‘Plan 9" film right? Say.... what if we redo THAT one?”) It’s the need to play it safe; to go with the known, the things that’ll have people talking. People won’t talk about something they’ve never heard of before. They WILL talk about something that flopped; and to the execs, any buzz is good buzz. Hell; for the PUBLIC, any buzz is good buzz.

Don C.

[Brazoo]

Van Helsing is 1 of my Favorite Movies.

Hey, I don't mean anything against people who enjoyed it - I'm sure I love a lot of movies other people hated.

I think the premiss is good. I think it's somewhat proven now that bringing back the classic Universal Monsters in straight-up remakes is not going to work for modern audiences - partially (I think) because their main appeal is the 'classic' historical status they have in pop culture.

So I think the idea of Van Helsing is an interesting way to play with the mythology of the creatures, use their popularity in a different way.

My thing is that it's just so weird to me that we live in a world where it's easier now to get financing for reboots of big movies that flopped than it is to just move on to other ideas.

I like the Cruise-miester quite a bit, though he has been in some bad movies lately.

I'm looking forward to the "Tropic Thunder" follow up that's rumored

"Top Gun 2" is probably just going to be terrible - but it might be insanely amazing

The craziest movie I see on his IMDb list now is called "All You Need Is Kill", which sounds like "Groundhog Day" meets "Battle Los Angeles". Supposedly he's in a war fighting against aliens and he relives the same day again and again while he improves his fighting skills.

[raider5gt]

The Sideshow Van Helsing figure looks pretty cool though.