posted
Saw this with some friends at midnight last night. I was expecting it to take itself more seriously, but once I realized this was not the intention, I found it to be quite a fun romp as Universal's homage to its classic horror flicks. Thrills, chills, comedy and parody...and Kate Beckinsale in enticing (if a bit less than utilitarian) vampire/werewolf-hunting gear. Rahwr!!
My compliments to Richard Roxburgh...he had no less than THREE ravenously beautiful women swooning around him through pretty much the entire film, and STILL managed to make Dracula come off as a flaming homosexual! (Don't get me wrong here, I enjoyed his hamming it up in the tradition of early screen villains, it's just that I kept half expecting him to burst into song: "I am too sexy for my cape, too sexyyyyyy...")
As I said, it's full of nods to Universal's original groundbreaking genre films, the opening in particular. Quite "kewl." I liked the fact that they tried to make up for the way they historically portrayed Frankenstein's "monster" as a dumb brute and returned to his articulate roots in Mary Shelley's original novel.
Unfortunately, Kevin J. O'Connor plays pretty much his EXACT SAME ROLE from The Mummy, with some addtional Igor makeup. But it's not like he was a major character, so...
I liked this film's Mr. Hyde better than that of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. A little more in keeping with Robert Louis Stevenson's description of him. But I suppose it depends on whether you want to associate him with The Hunchback of Notre Dame or The Murders In The Rue Morgue.
Van Helsing as the Left Hand of God, eh? Intriguing. I thought Jackman did all right in the role, adjusted for more of an action-hero type persona, I also noticed that he looks quite a bit like Peter Cushing. (Cushing played Dr. Van Helsing in a number of Hammer films in the 60s.) BTW, I thought the character's first name was supposed to be Abraham? Or was that never specified in the novel and merely an invention of Bram Stoker's Dracula?
So, yeah. Perhaps not as good as Hellboy, and not a serious film by any stretch, but quite fun and entertaining. I'd see it again.
-MMoM
P.S. Be sure to watch for Stephen Sommers' message at the end: "Special thanks to the Catholic Church and all the Gremlins and Oompa-Loompas for their cooperation in the making of this film..."
...just kidding.
[ May 07, 2004, 03:51 PM: Message edited by: The Mighty Monkey of Mim ]
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Abraham was Dr. Van Helsings name in the novel.
Abraham is also "Bram" Stoker's real name as well as his fathers name. Bram is a shortened nickname for Abraham.
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![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
(Don't get me wrong here, I enjoyed his hamming it up in the tradition of early screen villains, it's just that I kept half expecting him to burst into song: "I am too sexy for my cape, too sexyyyyyy...") ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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