WOLFMAN Movie Review

I can't tell you how excited I was when I found out that there was going to be a remake to a Hollywood classic like "The Wolfman", but I had my reservations. Remakes always strive to equal or surpass the original, and in this case, Joe Johnston's attempts were admirable, but short of the mark.

Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), a practicing thespian, is sent word that his brother has been killed. He returns to his homeland for the funeral and reunites with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins) and his brother's wife, Gwen (Emily Blunt). While investigating the very unusual manner in which his brother is killed, he is attacked and bitten by an animal. He quickly learns that it is no ordinary animal that has bitten him, but the curse of the werewolf. Upon this realization, he runs from the police and Detective Abberline (Hugo Weaving), who watches him with great interest. Eventually he is arrested and sent to an insane asylum, which he breaks out of when his father comes to him and confesses that he was the one that killed Lawrence's brother while in a werewolf state, and that he was the one that bit him. Consumed with rage, Lawrence goes after his father and they battle to the death while in werewolf form. Victorious, Lawrence then goes after Gwen, who shoots him with a silver bullet, but not before he is able to bite Detective Abberline, carrying on the curse.

You would think a movie with an amazing cast of Academy Award winners and nominees would be enough to put this movie in the good books, but unfortunately the attempts to improve upon the original - released in 1941 - failed to produce chills. Visually this movie was dark and cold, which set the mood, yet because of the very bland dialogue and the matter of fact way it is delivered throughout the movie, it fails to grab your attention. Hugo Weaving and Anthony Hopkins are both able to sneak their incredible acting flare into their characters, making them far more interesting to watch than Blunt or Del Toro, but who are both only onscreen occasionally. I found myself wanting to see much more of Hopkins, as he is a natural at being evil and creepy, but his character is not focused on nearly enough.

Two things that redeem this film were the score and the visual effects, which both seemed to capture the essence of the original film. The old style Hollywood soundtrack and the usage of a man in a werewolf costume instead of CGI for the majority of the shots was commendable, giving a nostalgic Old Hollywood feeling. But unfortunately, this isn't enough to perpetuate any genuine interest while watching the movie.

Considering all the potential that a film with one of the most classic Hollywood monsters in cinema history could have, The Wolfman really fails to impress. With its glossy packaging and all star cast, it's entertaining, but don't have high expectations.

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