REVIEW:With a huff and a puff, 'Wolfman' fails to blow the house down
Feb 18, 2010, 6:03 AM
By JOSEPH BURGE Digitalburg
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| Benicio del Toro is the wolfman in the 2010 blockbuster, "The Wolfman." (Photo Courtesy of Google Images) |
His movie met quite a reception from those frightened and from those intrigued by his outlandish but believable idea. He called his story "The Wolf Man," and hoped that it would continue for years to come.
Today, we again have Hollywood trying to revive its old roots by remaking a classic movie. This remake tries hard, but just doesn't make the mark. And although the remake garnered a new name, calling itself "The Wolfman" instead, the idea is much the same.
When Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns home after hearing from his brother's fiancee Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) that his brother is missing, he seems unwelcome. His father, Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins), lives the life of a hermit with a snide demeanor. But while investigating his brother's disappearance and eventual murder, Lawrence is bitten by a strange creature that "the Gypsies" warn him will curse him.
When the moon next turns full, Lawrence transforms into the unstoppable killing machine known as "The Wolfman." Once the town knows of his curse, Lawrence begins a quest to cure himself and stop the killings once and for all.
The story itself is solid. A solid idea that could have become a solid film. The issue is that director John Johnston of "Jumanji" fame, writer David Self of "Road to Perdition" and Andrew Kevin Walker of "Sleepy Hollow" fame, just failed to help this movie reach its potential. The scenes amounted to a collection of short details pieced together. Moviegoers don't get enough of the story to really understand or sympathize with anyone on screen. The characters become something of a passing silhouette, where they are easily forgettable and interchangeable.
Del Toro stands out as the only actor who doesn't have a British accent. Not only does this hurt his performance, but it ruins the overall feeling of the era they were going for. The acting in this movie makes you almost long for the days of cheesy horror films of the 1980s. The characters overact immensely, and even when they aren't overacting, manage to distract us with blatant problems in their performance.
The only actor who manages to hold his own weight is the always wonderful Hopkins, whose portrayal of the eccentric and almost psychopathic Sir John grips you while he's on screen. However, when everyone who interacts with him is unbelievable, it drags down his performance as well.
The wolf transformation itself seems completely unrealistic. Although the makeup work itself is beautiful, the trip it takes to get there manages to cheapen it completely. It makes the payoff infinitely less spectacular when the transformation itself doesn't bode well.
The biggest drawback is that although the killings that Talbot commits seem creepy in the beginning, their nostalgia wears off quickly. This is especially true near the end, where what should have been a spectacular battle becomes nothing more than a cheesy CGI reel bit.
The movie does, however, manage to create a wonderful setting and camera work. There is a great deal of attention to detail about the look and feel of the time period. Del Toro, as producer, really seemed to want to keep the original feeling of the movie. It just would have been nice if this had carried over to his acting and the acting of his co-stars.
The overall feeling of this movie is average. With so much hype and so many expectations, moviegoers were expecting much more for their time. At almost two hours, there just wasn't enough here to call this movie any more than mediocre. With rip-roaring fur, "The Wolfman" manages to earn itself a 2 out of 5.
