[merylsilverburg]

Well, I saw it yesterday and I would have to give it a grade B. (Entertainment Weekly gave it a D+....ouch!). Like goodman said, it a good film but it doesn't exactly shout "summer hit". The visuals are spectacular....sadly, that's the only main event. Van Helsing was a bit underdeveloped...actually, the whole cast is that way. I mean, you can kinda tell what their personalities are but there weren't much "depth" to them. It seems that Sommers lost focus on the story and character and paid more attention to the visuals and how good the film looks. The beginning half of the story was really slow...and the pace picked up later. However, there was action all the way through. Nearly every scene, there was something happening. Also, I think Sommers wanted to cram so many things in this film that he made it kinda "messy" and/or not long enough in certain parts. For example, the masquerade ball (which I would've loved if he put more into it and made it a bit longer) was all beautifully choreographed and decorated, but it didn't do much plot-wise (except to save Beckinsale but even so...). Anyway, I still liked this film regardless and I will still buy it when it comes out on DVD. I just can't help but feel a bit disappointed that this wasn't exactly developed like "The Mummy".