“Van Helsing” is one of those films you hate to love. It is a loud and fast-paced rollercoaster ride that is unrelenting in its pace.
Audio:
"Van Helsing" comes to life with an English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtrack. Companion soundtracks are provided in Spanish and French in the higher definition Plus format. The film features very aggressive front channels with active surrounds that are not as plentiful in usage as I would have hoped, but come to life nicely during action sequences. The most notable scene is when Dracula´s three wives come to town looking for Anna and Van Helsing does his best to run out of automatic crossbow bolts. The listener is fully immersed in flying bolts. It is a rather nice effect. Another good scene is when Dracula´s spawn go about their business and in large number can be heard flying in each speaker.
The soundtrack is technically sound and it requires a decent amount of volume to fully appreciate. At lower levels, the dialogue tends to be drowned out by the continuous noisy action sequences. It is still intelligible, but if you have the volume turned down to appease sleeping family members or you have no desire in awakening the dead, then dialogue can be hard to discern from the plethora of sound effects. Bass is deep and strong and rumbled nicely throughout the film. Both high frequency and low frequency effects are rendered beautifully. Again, "Van Helsing" is a solid example of a second tier title. The sound is good, but it does not compete with the top tier titles.
Extras:
Aside from the continual snub of the standard issue theatrical trailers that have adorned DVDs as long as vampires have roamed the Earth, the HD-DVD release of "Van Helsing" features all of the supplements from the older DVD release. Not one, but two commentary tracks meander over to the HD-DVD title. The Feature Commentary with Director Stephen Sommers and Editor/Producer Bob Ducsay is an informative and entertaining track. The two men bite into the details of the picture, but they are not afraid of having a little fun. The men joke about special effects and claim they were actually real and provide other bits of tomfoolery that should not be taken seriously. They are very enthusiastic about the picture and it is quite easy to sit back and watch the film a second time with these two providing your entertainment.
The second commentary track, a Feature Commentary with Actors Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp was surprisingly entertaining as well. The actors are very laid back and you can tell they enjoyed themselves immensely while making the picture. If I had to choose between one of the two commentaries, it would be a difficult choice to make because "Van Helsing" is one of those rare titles with multiple commentaries where they are both good choices.
There are Bloopers. Of course, the blooper reel only runs for about five minutes, but this nicely edited mix of the actors having fun and genuinely finding mishap in the films production is quite funny. Frankenstein seemed like a pretty goofy guy; not the monster he appears to be. Bringing the Monsters to Life is a ten minute look at the visual effects involved in bringing the classic monsters that appear in "Van Helsing" to the big screen. This was a digitally heavy picture and that is proved here. Van Helsing: The Story, the Life, The Legend" is broken down into five parts. Entitled "Frankenstein´s Monster," "Dracula," "The Werewolves," "The Women of Van Helsing: Anna and Dracula´s Brides" and "The Legend of Van Helsing," this supplement dives into the characters featured in the film and provides their cinematic history and background details. Together, they run for just over an hour and provide a great look at all of the characters pieced together for the film. Good stuff.
Track the Adventure: Van Helsing´s Map is another segmented featurette and is broken into five parts as well. The parts, "Dracula´s Castle," "Frankenstein´s Lab," "The Burning Windmill," "The Village" and "The Vatican Armory" is thirty five more minutes of interesting footage. This time, the supplement focuses on the various sets used in the film and shows how shots were set up and what went on behind the cameras to bring these exotic locations to life. A lot of money went into these sets. Though not quite as good as the features on the monsters, this was a good making-of collection. The Music of Van Helsing is ten more minutes of value added content and takes a look at Alan Silvestri´s score. Dracula´s Lair is Transformed is a three minute look at time-lapsed photography for the making of Dracula´s set. Unfortunately, only a little over a minute was the actual time-lapsed material. The rest of the time were film shots and interviews. The Masquerade Ball Scene "Unmasked" is a two part feature that looks at the big celebratory scene in the film. Running over forty minutes in length, one must be amazed at how much stuff fits onto one little HD-DVD disc. The massive number of features is finished off with The Art of Van Helsing gallery, which is broken into parts and looks at much of the artwork used in the film. The film runs for over two hours. With two commentaries and over three hours of additional materials, "Van Helsing" is choked full of goodies.
Closing Thoughts
"Van Helsing" is one of those films you hate to love. It is a loud and fast-paced rollercoaster ride that is unrelenting in its pace. It is over-the-top and clumsy in its storytelling, but its fun. The opening scene is wonderful homage to the classic Universal Studios monster pictures, but that is quickly left behind for the explosions and high-octane action sequences. I repeat, it is fun. If you want to be entertained, this picture is designed to do so. If you want plot and story, I´d recommend Francis Ford Coppola´s superior "Bram Stoker´s Dracula." As far as being an HD-DVD release, the sight and sound are solid. They are not jawdropping examples of the newest in home theater technology, but they do not disappoint. What is quite impressive is the massive number of supplements. It takes nearly ten hours to watch the film, listen to both commentary tracks and watch each of the supplements. It´s only on one disc as well. Do you want fun? If you say yes, then maybe "Van Helsing" is worth checking out.
"Van Helsing" comes to life with an English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtrack. Companion soundtracks are provided in Spanish and French in the higher definition Plus format. The film features very aggressive front channels with active surrounds that are not as plentiful in usage as I would have hoped, but come to life nicely during action sequences. The most notable scene is when Dracula´s three wives come to town looking for Anna and Van Helsing does his best to run out of automatic crossbow bolts. The listener is fully immersed in flying bolts. It is a rather nice effect. Another good scene is when Dracula´s spawn go about their business and in large number can be heard flying in each speaker.
The soundtrack is technically sound and it requires a decent amount of volume to fully appreciate. At lower levels, the dialogue tends to be drowned out by the continuous noisy action sequences. It is still intelligible, but if you have the volume turned down to appease sleeping family members or you have no desire in awakening the dead, then dialogue can be hard to discern from the plethora of sound effects. Bass is deep and strong and rumbled nicely throughout the film. Both high frequency and low frequency effects are rendered beautifully. Again, "Van Helsing" is a solid example of a second tier title. The sound is good, but it does not compete with the top tier titles.
Extras:
Aside from the continual snub of the standard issue theatrical trailers that have adorned DVDs as long as vampires have roamed the Earth, the HD-DVD release of "Van Helsing" features all of the supplements from the older DVD release. Not one, but two commentary tracks meander over to the HD-DVD title. The Feature Commentary with Director Stephen Sommers and Editor/Producer Bob Ducsay is an informative and entertaining track. The two men bite into the details of the picture, but they are not afraid of having a little fun. The men joke about special effects and claim they were actually real and provide other bits of tomfoolery that should not be taken seriously. They are very enthusiastic about the picture and it is quite easy to sit back and watch the film a second time with these two providing your entertainment.
The second commentary track, a Feature Commentary with Actors Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp was surprisingly entertaining as well. The actors are very laid back and you can tell they enjoyed themselves immensely while making the picture. If I had to choose between one of the two commentaries, it would be a difficult choice to make because "Van Helsing" is one of those rare titles with multiple commentaries where they are both good choices.
There are Bloopers. Of course, the blooper reel only runs for about five minutes, but this nicely edited mix of the actors having fun and genuinely finding mishap in the films production is quite funny. Frankenstein seemed like a pretty goofy guy; not the monster he appears to be. Bringing the Monsters to Life is a ten minute look at the visual effects involved in bringing the classic monsters that appear in "Van Helsing" to the big screen. This was a digitally heavy picture and that is proved here. Van Helsing: The Story, the Life, The Legend" is broken down into five parts. Entitled "Frankenstein´s Monster," "Dracula," "The Werewolves," "The Women of Van Helsing: Anna and Dracula´s Brides" and "The Legend of Van Helsing," this supplement dives into the characters featured in the film and provides their cinematic history and background details. Together, they run for just over an hour and provide a great look at all of the characters pieced together for the film. Good stuff.
Track the Adventure: Van Helsing´s Map is another segmented featurette and is broken into five parts as well. The parts, "Dracula´s Castle," "Frankenstein´s Lab," "The Burning Windmill," "The Village" and "The Vatican Armory" is thirty five more minutes of interesting footage. This time, the supplement focuses on the various sets used in the film and shows how shots were set up and what went on behind the cameras to bring these exotic locations to life. A lot of money went into these sets. Though not quite as good as the features on the monsters, this was a good making-of collection. The Music of Van Helsing is ten more minutes of value added content and takes a look at Alan Silvestri´s score. Dracula´s Lair is Transformed is a three minute look at time-lapsed photography for the making of Dracula´s set. Unfortunately, only a little over a minute was the actual time-lapsed material. The rest of the time were film shots and interviews. The Masquerade Ball Scene "Unmasked" is a two part feature that looks at the big celebratory scene in the film. Running over forty minutes in length, one must be amazed at how much stuff fits onto one little HD-DVD disc. The massive number of features is finished off with The Art of Van Helsing gallery, which is broken into parts and looks at much of the artwork used in the film. The film runs for over two hours. With two commentaries and over three hours of additional materials, "Van Helsing" is choked full of goodies.
Closing Thoughts
"Van Helsing" is one of those films you hate to love. It is a loud and fast-paced rollercoaster ride that is unrelenting in its pace. It is over-the-top and clumsy in its storytelling, but its fun. The opening scene is wonderful homage to the classic Universal Studios monster pictures, but that is quickly left behind for the explosions and high-octane action sequences. I repeat, it is fun. If you want to be entertained, this picture is designed to do so. If you want plot and story, I´d recommend Francis Ford Coppola´s superior "Bram Stoker´s Dracula." As far as being an HD-DVD release, the sight and sound are solid. They are not jawdropping examples of the newest in home theater technology, but they do not disappoint. What is quite impressive is the massive number of supplements. It takes nearly ten hours to watch the film, listen to both commentary tracks and watch each of the supplements. It´s only on one disc as well. Do you want fun? If you say yes, then maybe "Van Helsing" is worth checking out.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]18852[/release]