Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
Van Helsing: The London Assignment is an exciting and visually stunning straight-to-video prequel that should set up the world of
Stephen Sommers' $200 million epic nicely. The animated mini-movie has a slight anime look to it, which makes sense when you start to delve into the mostly Asian production behind it. Through this bold visual style, the audience is treated to some highly entertaining (and quite violent) scenes of monster mayhem, with the hero taking on various ghouls and creatures whose look, more often than not, hearkens back to Mike Mignola's (creator of
Hellboy) style of deep shadows for extra-creepy effect.
Hugh Jackman does an admirable job with the line delivery, though the same cannot be said for his annoying sidekick, Carl (
David Wenham) -- a cookie-cutter character made in the exact comic relief mold that series creator
Stephen Sommers has written into every one of his movies. Even with that character's incessant whining, The London Assignment is still a breezy, fun time for those looking for a little lead-in to the big event film. It might be a little too violent for some of the youngsters, but older fans will be surprised at just how much they manage to get away with here. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide