MovieChat Forums > Van Helsing (2004) Discussion > Could have been a good movie if it were ...

Could have been a good movie if it were more serious / horror


Felt like they tried to insert comedy too much, especially with the dialogue ("If you're going to kill somebody, kill them. Don't stand there talking about it")

And the CGI looked cartoonish.

Should have tried to be a more serious horror, with a little action; instead of a light-hearted action.

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I enjoyed it quite a bit for what it was. Sommers knew how to make a fun popcorn flick.

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Exactly.

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Stephen Sommers is a guy that could use a comeback. Let him direct a Marvel or DC movie. Or the third Tomb Raider reboot.

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Yeah, IMDB shows that he seems to have given up directing for producing for the last decade. I think Tomb Raider would be right in his wheelhouse.

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Sommers is a hack.

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Man, you are just a troll here lol

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I would have liked it if they hadn't killed Anna right after the big battle. Otherwise, the movie would have been perfect.

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I disagree, this could never have been a good movie! It was a campy, cheesy, ridiculous mess of a film, abounding in bad acting, ridiculous visuals, silly plot lines, and goofy situations.

They were right to play up the camp and add a few hokey jokes, the end result is still awful but it's fun awful... rather than deadly dull awful.

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No, I don't think a few tweaks would have made this a good movie. In fact, I don't think there was any chance of this being a good movie, from that production team - "good" wasn't what they were after!

However, it's cheesy fun, and I do appreciate cheesy fun.

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I understand what you're saying but these light hearted romps are Stephen Sommers forte. That's his style.

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I like this movie. It's not a great movie but it is not trying to be. It's just an action horror film.

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("If you're going to kill somebody, kill them. Don't stand there talking about it")


Sounds like a cheap rip-off of Tuco's line from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: "When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

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No one was shooting guns in Van Helsing so your comment doesn't hold any weight

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Good point. Obvious plot hole in my comment.

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Comedy and horror don't mix. This is exhibit A

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Disagree. Check out Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein.

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