Enter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), a hit man for a secret division of the Vatican, who is sent to Transylvania to destroy Dracula with the help of Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale), the last in a bloodline of locals who have pledged to destroy Dracula - or be denied entrance to Heaven. He tries to use the Wolfman, but it doesn't really work as well. In a plot that adequately ruins the mythos of three classic Universal monsters, Dracula needs the life-giving power that Frankenstein's monster holds, so he can raise his child-spawn from their stillborn states. But while this score is about as big as anything you would expect, the sequencing on the album leaves just a little to be desired, especially when it comes to the lack of any breaks, and the limited usage of the love theme which factored so heavily in the film.
Knowing how much of a powerhouse job he did with Stephen Sommers' The Mummy Returns, it only seemed fair that Silvestri would knock us out of our boots once again. After his anticipated score to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was tossed out last summer, fans have been waiting for his score to Van Helsing with baited breath. Usually they happen with some Goldsmith films, but in this particular case, it happened to Alan Silvestri. It's not often that the score to a truly wretched piece of filmmaking ends up being really good.
