The Wolfman (2010)

As a huge fan of the Universal monster movies I have to say that I wasn’t all that pleased when I heard that they were remaking the Wolfman.  Did anyone see Van Helsing?  That movie really made me cringe.  So I avoided checking this out when it hit the theaters (mostly due to the mixed reviews I was hearing) and stayed away from the DVD when it was released.  But finally after seeing it for next to nothing at my local video store I took the plunge.  I have to say that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared.

The story opens with Larry Talbot (played by Benicio Del Toro) on stage performing Hamlet.  After the show he is approached by his brother’s fiancé who informs him that he is missing.  This prompts Larry to return home to look for his brother.  By the time he gets back his brother’s body has been discovered.  Larry then is determined to find out what happened.  This leads him to uncover some things about his family and his own past that are shocking and disturbing.  Oh and the whole time he is unraveling his family’s twisted path there is a creature (of course we know it is the wolfman…) killing off the locals.  When Larry finally faces the creature he is bitten and then becomes a monster himself. 

There are things about The Wolfman that I liked and a few things that I thought were bad.  Lets start off with the good.  First up as a fan of the original Wolfman movie I was happy to see the design of the creature.  It looks like a man in a suit, which made my day.  I know that many fans like the more animal like werewolves, but personally this is my favorite.  To me it really isn’t the wolfman without a torn up shirt and pants.  But then again I’m old school.  I also loved the kills and special effects in this movie.  First up I want to acknowledge that yes there is CGI in this movie.  Guys it’s a new horror film and they just aren’t going to do practical effects anymore.  That said the CGI is very well done and we get to see a ton of gore (please note I watched the unrated version of the movie and I don’t know how that compares to the theatrical cut).  There are heads getting torn off, hands getting mangled, throat slashings, guts spilling out on the grounds, and limbs flying everywhere.  I’d be lying if I didn’t say this put a smile on my face.

Finally I wanted to mention the cast.  Our two main male leads, Benicio Del Toro as Larry Talbot and Anthony Hopkins as his father Sir John, are amazing.  They both bring a lot to their roles and go a long way towards making this movie worth checking out.  There is this strange chemistry between the two of them that makes the events of the story work.  Plus Hopkins is really creepy and plays both the normal Sir John and the nuttier version with relish.  Genre fans will also be happy to see Hugo Weaving show up as an inspector determined to get to the bottom of things. 

All the good stuff that I mentioned isn’t helped by the scripting and plot.  After starting off quick with some kills and setting the mood the movie sort of meanders around while getting the Larry character back to his family estate.  Even after he returns they spend so much time with him having bad dreams and showing us the locals of the town that I was bored.  Every once in a while the movie picks up steam when the wolfman is on screen, but I found the pacing to be all screwy.  And I’m good with showing some background to the characters, but this movie is way too long at almost 2 hours.  If they had kept the wolfman and gore while cutting some of the extraneous characters and back story I think the thing would have flowed much better.  Also I was rather annoyed when they revealed a major plot point far to early.  I wont’ spoil it here, but if you have watched or will watch the movie I think you will know what I’m talking about. 

This Wolfman had everything going for it, but screwed it up with a narrative that meanders a bit too much for my taste.  But even with this complaint I did enjoy the movie.  Though I’m annoyed that the movie was so close to being brilliant and just didn’t get it done.  This one is worth a watch for the wolfman, performances, and gore.  Other then that don’t expect too much from it.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer