Today’s slate of home video releases offers plenty of breathtaking action for viewers for all ages, especially young boys. A popular toy franchise comes to life and some classic Universal monsters get revived through the miracle of computer animation as BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui and Van Helsing bring their respective battles to retail.
BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is the latest direct-to-video CG-animated feature based on the highly successful LEGO toy line. When mysterious dark forces threaten the peaceful city of Metru Nui, Toa Lhikan gives six Matoran the tools and responsibilities of new Toa. These guardians must quickly master their new powers, demonstrate their worth to their leader and retrieve the Great Kanoka Disks in order to rescue the inhabitants of their island city. Lost yet? Your kids will get it.
Bonus features include a making-of featurette; Metru Nui Explorer, which offers information on the characters and their world; and The Legend Revealed, in which the team behind BIONICLE answers some of the most intriguing questions posed by fans. Released by Buena Vista Home Video, the movie carries a suggested retail price of $29.99 on DVD and $$22.99 on VHS.
There’s more live-action mixed with CG fun in Universal Home Video’s release of Van Helsing, hitting stores just in time for Halloween. Directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns), the film stars Hugh Jackman as the title vampire killer, who travels to Eastern Europe to rid the world of an ancient evil with the help of the beautiful but deadly Anna, played by Pearl Harbor’s Kate Beckinsale. Richard Roxburgh sinks his teeth into the Dracula role, David Wenham is transformed as The Wolf Man and Shuler Hensley sews up the part of Frankenstein’s monster.
DVD extras offer commentary by Sommers, editor/producer Bob Duscay and actors Roxburgh, Hensley and Kemp. There are also featurettes titled Bringing the Monsters to Life and The Legend of Van Helsing, a 360° tour of Dracula’s castle, outtakes, a playable first level of the Van Helsing Xbox game and an innovative feature titled You Are in the Movie, which lets viewers experience the filmmaking process from the perspective of the actors via miniature cameras hidden on the set during filming. The disc lists for $29.98 and the VHS version is available for $22.98.
A Van Helsing Ultimate Collector’s Edition is also available for a limited time. It includes such extras as a 360 degree self-guided tour of Frankenstein’s lab and a series of mini-documentaries titled Van Helsing: The Story, The Life, The Legend, which focus on each character in the film with excerpts, original set designs, ILM effects work, conceptual weapons sketches and more. In addition, this set includes the three classic Universal films that inspired Van Helsing–Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man.
Leave a Reply