Van Helsing.

I don't care how trashy some people think Van Helsing is - I found it a vastly enjoyable film. At the beginning I thought it resembled a James Bond film made by someone who had played Devil May Cry too much, but the Bond elements disappeared pretty early on. In a lot of the more frantic scenes I found it very difficult to work out what was actually going on, and some parts were just really far more laughable than intended. (The end has to be seen to be believed!)

After seeing Freddy Vs Jason, I described it as "like Silent Hill, only really stupid." I think pretty much the same applies to Van Helsing - it's like DMC, only really stupid. And I like films where you can just set your brain to "OFF" and be entertained... entertainment is what films are meant to be, after all.

Also, it seemed to "borrow" some of its soundtrack from Indiana Jones. I don't know if it's because I've watched the films recently, but the "Theme of the Grail" was definitely in there - did anyone else notice?

I think that the film can basically be summed up by the following spoiler-free template...

Van Helsing: Damn, I'm cool.

(Something suddenly appears on screen, frightening me to pieces every single time it happens. Van Helsing fights it using his Inspector Gadget-like array of stuff in his jacket, dropping his crossbow EVERY SINGLE TIME.)

Anything flammable or semi-flammable, or non-flammable: EXPLODE!

Evil creature: (Suitably evil laugh as it escapes)

Carl: (Walks in too late and provides comic relief with his amusing accent and silly haircut.)

[Repeat the above for two hours.]