This version is so bad that you actually feel pity for the actors that accepted the roles. The kind of flick that can ruin a career.

Despite its obvious use of Virgin Records as product placement, director Patrick Lussier's "Dracula 2000" ranks as one of the better vampire epics about Bram Stoker's bloodsucking evildoer. Mind you, "Highlander: Endgame" scenarist Joel Soisson and Lussier have done a good job of adapting the novel to a contemporary setting with the characters while retaining most of the flavor of Stoker's vintage novel. This modern-day update of the classic novel provides Dracula with a provocative back story like none you've ever heard of before in the hundred years plus history of the infamous fangster. The complicated task of reviewing "Dracula 2000" is not to divulge important plot points in a story synopsis. Most of the traditional characters return, though some are slighted in the process. Aside from Dracula, Van Helsing is back and so is Dr. Seward, but Seward gets the short shrift. Indeed, he appears in only one scene before the vampires sort him out of the action. As it turns out, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer of "The Sound of Music") is a man with a deep, dark secret, and he now operates the Carfax Abbey as a museum. When Dracula immigrated to England, he chose Carfax Abbey as his destination where he would reside. A hundred years later after he vanquished Dracula, Van Helsing has transformed Dracula's creepy, old living quarters into the centerpiece of his museum. He has imprisoned Dracula's body in a silver coffin, concealed him from the public exhibition, and locked him up in a vault, with guards and a sophisticated security system. Assisting Van Helsing is Simon Sheppard (Jonny Lee Miller of "Trainspotting") who acquires antiques, like a heavy wooden crossbow. Simon has no clue about Van Helsing's secret. He believes that Van Helsing is a descendant of the latter's vampire slaying father. We the audience learn before Simon does that everything is not as it appears. Future superstar actor Gerard Butler stars as Dracula. Slim and trim without all those muscles that he bulked himself up with, the handsome Butler looks nothing like Bela Lugosi. One of the in-jokes occurs when he arrives in New Orleans in search of Van Helsing's daughter, and she offers him coffee. Butler alters Lugosi's famous line: "I don't drink . . . coffee." Draped in black with shoulder-length hair, Butler is more seductive than sinister.Meantime, Van Helsing's secretary, known only as Solina (Jennifer Esposito of "Crash"), violates his trust. Primarily, she believes that Van Helsing's state-of-the-art security system must be shielding gold, jewelry, paintings, and other valuables that merit such a security system. She arranges for a gang of thieves to break into the Carfax Museum and loot the place. The apparent leader of the gang, Marcus (Omar Epps of "Higher Learning") is considerably distressed when all that he finds are ancient skulls and a silver casket. Solina is equally incredulous until they find that coffin. Suddenly, two members of their seven member gang die horribly when they trigger booby traps. Eddie (Lochlyn Munro of "Dead Man on Campus") is impaled on spears that plunge from the ceiling as he pushes the coffin away, while Dax (Tig Fong of "Silent Hill") is skewered by a swinging trellis of spears. Naturally, this action sets off an alarm that prompts Van Helsing to load up his single-shot pistol with the longest silver bullets that you've ever. By the time that Van Helsing enters the vault and reaching the place where he had imprisoned Dracula, he finds nobody. Marcus, Solina, Nightshade (Danny Masterson of "Face/Off"), Trick (Sean Patrick Thomas of "Save the Last Dance") and Charlie (Tony Munch of "Cube Zero") blast their way of underground part of Carfax and take the coffin with them as they escape by means of a tunnel. Marcus and company load the coffin onto a plane and fly to New Orleans where the plane crashes because Dracula escapes from captivity. The aircraft falls out of the sky into Bayou Celeste, and local TV news reporter Valerie Sharp (Jeri Ryan of "Down with Love") covers the aerial tragedy that leaves five people dead. Of course, nobody is dead because Dracula (Gerard Butler of "300") has turned them into vampires. He hits the streets of New Orleans in search of Van Helsing's estranged daughter, Mary Heller-Van Helsing (Justine Waddell of "Mansfield Park"), who he hasn't seen in twelve years. Mary has been having hallucinations about a stranger in her life. Little does she know that that stranger is none other than Dracula himself. Not only does Van Helsing arrive in the Crescent City, but his partner, Simon Sheppard (Jonny Lee Miller of "The Beach"), shows up to help him locate Mary. Unfortunately, Van Helsing doesn't survive long after he encounters Dracula. Meantime, three of his vampire women go after Mary, but she eludes death at their hands and confronts Dracula in a high-octane finale.Eventually, we learn Dracula is Judas Iscariot of Biblical fame. The villain of all vampires abhors silver because he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He attempts to commit suicide, but the rope snapped. Now, he roams the earth because the thieves that broke into the Carfax Museum thought they were going to find wealth that they didn't find. Furthermore, Van Helsing has been using leeches to filter Dracula's blood so that he won't die. He administers regular injections to himself so he will stay alive. Imagine the complications that ensue when his wife discovers what Van Helsing has done and leaves him, taking their daughter with her to escape his insanity? Not surprisingly, when Dracula gets loose, he confront his mortal enemy and searches for his daughter. Director Patrick Lussier ladles out blood and gore galore, and New Orleans looks appropriately Gothic as the setting. Dracula doesn't exactly meet his maker in the end, but his demise is incandescent. Nevertheless, Lussier brought back this monster for two sequels. Butler sat out "Dracula II: Ascension" and "Dracula III: Legacy" where Rutger Hauer took over the role.

Wow where to start with this one. I can say that it made me watch it because of the cast. This is 2000, before Butler was King Leonidas in 300, before Nate Fillion was doing Serenity, before Christopher Plummer was...wait a second, what the hell is Chris Plummer doing in this film? What the heck? It's something to behold, this one. It inspired me to write this review for golly sake. Gerard butler spends most of the movie casting his dreamy eyes despairingly over the unfortunate people who find themselves in his lustful way. His hair blows and frills in the breeze and I swear I can see the product glistening throughout his beautiful locks. Oh yeah, he's Judas in this one. Dracula is Judas.t This is just a terrible movie. But I watched it in its entirety so what does that say? It's actually amazing to know that they somehow made this film. It's so 2000. In every hilarious, campy, cliché ridden way. It's fun to watch, I have to say....some of the stuff you will see will have your jaw agape in amazement...utter amazement for the fact this movie exists. And these actors were in it. Johnny Lee Miller what the hell are you doing in this? Working on your bag of terrible accents? I guess when Dracula is being hung he suddenly can't fly anymore? Huh? He loses his powers or something? And then the sun comes out and burns him alive. Really though, these ideas in this are actually pretty cool. It's a neat idea to have a twist like having Draco be Judas Iscariot. Then the credits rolled and Linkin Park came on and then Disturbed and I was like, man, music really sucked that year. But this movie is that crappy music, it's a horrible movie. It's everything I hate about that music. Come to think of it, it's really the visual equivalent of that total pile of dog poo music genre. But because it's this bad it has a place in my heart. Put this in the 2000 time capsule. FILE UNDER : 2000 Dracula MOVIE/UTTER SHIIITE

Dracula 2000 is one of those films that doesn't appear to be anything else than another cheesy B-flick with a paper thin plot, bland characters and awful dialogue. And while granted it is a B-flick in tone, it has more depth than that.First of all, it has some real acting talent working for it. Both Christopher Plummer as Van Helsing and Gerard Butler as Dracula are very good actors in their own right and it shows. Butler is not a perfect fit for the character of Dracula, but he is much better than you'd expect. The more minor actors are also refreshingly decent and do manage to keep the story afloat throughout the entire film.The story is also good and smooth, if somewhat basic in principle, the special effects work surprisingly well and the soundtrack fits the style well. But what I really love about this film is the way it uses and re-purposes vampire lore. It uses all the usual clichés skillfully, but the best part is the new backstory they give Dracula. It's unlike anything I've seen, yet fits perfectly, neatly explaining most of the idiosyncrasies he has. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful, and I do hope it catches on.And that's Dracula 2000. It's a good film with some hints of greatness, despite the goofy name. Well worth a watch for all vampire horror fans.