Gary Oldman is the best Dracula I've ever seen. Period. He steals every scene he's in, to be honest. Anthony Hopkins provides an amazing performance too, as the seemingly off-kilter Prof. Van Helsing. It's also a very visually-impressive movie. The film's main problems, however, lies in its uneven 'experimental' special effects (experimental in the sense that the film-makers went back to using old fx techniques), which are sometimes amazing, and other times cheesy; and Keanu Reeve's terribly fake British accent, which he puts to 'good' use by reciting some wooden lines every now and then. The script was okay, I thought; it could've used some touching-up here and there, but was overall decent.
So do I recommend seeing it? Absolutely. Just because it's not the best film out there doesn't mean it's not exciting and entertaining. If nothing else, you at least have an excuse to sit inside on a rainy day and curl-up with a nice horror movie.
The movie had so much potential...
Reviewed by NWRdr4 for Gangs of New York at 2010-01-03 00:52:02
... and yet, all of its merits are shadowed by its uneven pacing and seemingly-sloppy editing. That being said, Scorsese knows how to tell a good story, and Daniel Day-Lewis proves (once again) to be an amazing actor.
Hard to believe this film did not win any of its 10 Academy Award Nominations. Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver with outstanding performances. Great acting from supporting cast as well. Slow at times and a bit long, but great movie overall.