Director: Joe Johnson
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt & Anthony Hopkins
A disappointing remake of a horror classic, The Wolfman has some fun with a few homages to werewolf movies of the past but offers nothing original or entertaining enough in its own right to satisfy.
Remaking a horror classic that made a legend of its star Lon Chaney, but with its production hit with many problems including changes in directors and the need for re-shoots, The Wolfman finally arrives at cinemas over a year past its originally scheduled release date with only its star, Benicio del Toro, seemingly still around left from the original vision of the film. The result is a film that lacks originality in plot or dialogue, feature too many under-written and over-acted roles and muddled special effects.
After receiving a letter to say his brother has gone missing, Lawrence Talbot (del Toro) returns to his father Sir John Talbot’s (Hopkins) estate after years of estrangement from his family to find his brother has been found dead, mauled and mutilated by either a beast or lunatic roaming the moors and whom locals believe to be a werewolf. When Lawrence confronts the beast and finds himself bitten, he realises he too is cursed to become a werewolf on the full moon. Lawrence then finds himself struggling with his curse, still determined to find who the beast that killed his brother is whilst is also being treat as a suspect in his brother’s murder himself by the visiting Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) with only his brother’s widow Gwen (Blunt) supporting him.
The Wolfman is a film that seems too confused and undecided over what it wants to be to really satisfy. A remake of the Lon Chaney original, the remake retains many of the characters and plot points from the original film but when it attempts to strive for something different, such as where it begins to depart dramatically from the original film in its second half, it does so with events that are too predictable to enjoy, seems an excuse for excess of gore and cheap scares. Attempts to insert true life characters like Inspector Aberline (who investigated the Jack the Ripper killings) seem questionable and the emphasis on making the wolf man, or wolf men, savage and fast moving beasts that carve through victims with abandon mean that, unlike with the Lon Chaney original, there is little time given to make the beast, or its human half, sympathetic. It does feature some pleasures when the film attempts to make homage to other werewolf films such as a chase through the streets of London that feels like a period recreation of An American Werewolf in London's finale and, when not depicted as poorly represented CGI creation, the werewolf when a man in a costume in make up, looks quite effective and recalls the make up efforts past monsters. While occasional pleasures, these do unfortunately hurt the film as comparisons to better films reminds of this film’s weaknesses which, beneath several violent set pieces, leave The Wolfman a film driven by it’s thin plot, attempt to scare with gore and jump out of the shadows frights and not enough characterisation with Lawrence’s struggle and a romance with his brother’s widow feeling even more underdeveloped that the film’s plot.
The performances in The Wolfman are also fairly disappointing. Benicio del Toro does his best with a thin script to display Lawrence’s inner turmoil but his Lawrence is too emotionally restrained and serious to generate the feelings of sympathy and gentleness that Lon Chaney achieved almost 60 years before. Emily Blunt gets little to work with in terms of character and is unable to add anything memorable to the portrayal of her role while Anthony Hopkins chews up the scenery with such vigour in his performance as Sir John that he over-dominates to the detriment of other actors and characters in his presence. Hugo Weaving, also laying on the melodrama with ever line as Inspector Aberline, is somewhat more enjoyable but not particularly memorable.
The Wolfman might entertain those easily scared or enjoy their horrors more violent and physical than psychological but The Wolfman is predictable, too distracted by paying tribute to other classics (though occasionally enjoyable when doing so) with unimpressive CGI or acting from its cast. A disappointing entry into the werewolf movie genre.
Rating: 2/5
