Hooowwwl, werewolves in limbo!
The Wolfman (2010)
Directed By: Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III)
The Prologue
Well after a long delay the revamp of the classic tale of The Wolfman was finally released this year and after a delay I finally have gotten a chance to check this film out for myself. While being a pretty big horror movie fan (duh!) I never was that crazy about Werewolves, with my only real experience with them being from the old school Howling movies and the classic An American Werewolf In London. So needless to say, I’m not one with a soft spot for any 1941 Wolfman movie.
So I went into this one with a open mind, one I wanted to be blown by what I’d see..But sadly that wasn’t entirely the case.
The Movie
Upon his return to his ancestral homeland, an American man is bitten, and subsequently cursed by, a werewolf. However the story is a bit more complicated as that when you add in that Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns home to where he once watched his mother die to try to solve the mystery of his missing brother! Add in the twist of him seemingly having feelings for his bro’s woman (Played by the lovely Emily Blunt) and the fact things may not be at all how they seem and you got yourself a movie with a pretty good plot..on paper.
The problem with The Wolfman isn’t with the CGI, as I feel the way it’s used here is acceptable. It isn’t with the acting, as both Del Toro and Blunt, among others (Anthony Hopkins anyone?) do a fine job. The problems that hurt this movie are that for one, it simply lacks any real edge of your chair moments. How can you sit through a movie for two hours and not once feel any uncertainty with what you watch? Two, it doesn’t know what kind of film it wants to be. Switching back and forth at times from a very serious tone film one scene to what looks like a summer blockbuster the next somehow gives the movie a bit of an uneven feeling that I think really hurts it.
While the film is by no means “bad” it drags around the first hour before picking it’s self up and getting rather fun during the second hour. This once again goes back to the uneven ways of the film and the films lack of an identity at times. When Lawrence is in wolf form things naturally pick up and get highly entertaining but when he isn’t that’s when the movie seems to just cool it’s jets too much, to a point that a very good actor like Del Toro can’t even seem to keep you from checking your watch from time to time.
Also to dwell for a moment on my statement that the movie lacks suspense, it there any doubt in anyone’s mind for a moment how things are going to end when you go into this? I think the film is hurt from being a little too predictable as any twist will probably be figured out long before the film actually shows it’s hand.
That being said, I still enjoyed the movie for the most part and I hope my stating the bad things in this film don’t make it look like I don’t. The film is greatly flawed but packs some fun as well as some really cool gore that I had a blast watching. If there’s one thing the movie does do well it’s it shows the Wolfman’s gory rampage in all it’s glory with a dark setting that hides any use of CGI for the most part during it. You may not be blown away by The Wolfman, but you’ll find times where you have a pretty bloody good time with it.
The Conclusion
Well, it’s a bit of a roller coaster going from a bit dull to exciting but it packs enough blood and comic book movie style action scenes that I can see why the director was picked for the Captain America movie and I can also safely say it’s worth at least renting if you want to see The Wolfman.
Still, I wish it had a little more suspense.
The Rating (6.5/10)
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