The Wolfman: "Better Than Twilight, Worse Than Everything Else"

 

Getting an original idea out of Hollywood is like reading a movie review sans snark. Sure it's possible, but does the general public want that? This week Hollywood offers us The Wolfman, a remake of Waggner's 1941 The Wolf Man. A film that is being released amidst a generation of movie-goers that is already knee-deep in generic genre cow pies. Having no expectations for The Wolfman I looked to the surprisingly talented cast. Unfortunately, I should have looked to the writers [Andrew K. Walker and David Self]. The Wolfman is a bad movie, even if the bar is low for the werewolf genre. When the CG looks more appealing than the actual actor in a wolf-suit, you really have to wonder, why didn't this movie work?

Sir Anthony Hopkins has put in decades of work that could be considered the blueprint of what makes a dynamic actor. Recently, big budget projects have not been kind to Hopkins; The Wolfman is no different, Hopkins' role as Sir John Talbot makes sense to the Hopkins fans that have seen him play Van Helsing [or a character akin] in their favorite blood-sucking films. There is a precedent, but through no fault of Hopkins [other than accepting this role] The Wolfman was destined to fail. The plot is centered around the Talbot family losing their son in a most heinous manner. Every full moon villagers are viciously murdered and if I haven't talked you out of seeing The Wolfman then you should see it for the tension filled slaughters.

Enter Benicio Del Toro, the son of John Talbot and brother of the recently deceased. Del Toro's character comes back home after being sent away for being crazy Who doesn't love Del Toro? His gruff, but docile features should be a no-brainer for any casting director assembling pieces of the broken puzzle that is this new The Wolfman. Del Toro as a crazyman provides the writer, editor and director carte blanche to stuff the film with cheap and twitchy scares. There are times the scares work for the tone of a scene. When used too much, Del Toro's demented hallucinations come off as wacky.

Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving round out the supporting main cast as Gwen Conliffe and Aberline. Blunt's character is a nod back to the 1941 original which this revised crudely borrows. Weaving serves as the stories' anti-hero, only you never really hate or love Weaving's character. Because of thin writing, you never feel anything more than what is broadly expressed from Blunt & Weaving's characters. Gwen Conliffe serves as the pretty girl in the room. She is never given depth beyond being a widowed fiance with a thing for craggy-faced men. Aberline is supposed to be a man of science until he witnesses a transformation, then he's reduced to being an audience member with a gun.

With confusing character development the last glimmer of hope for The Wolfman falls on the visual effects. Rick Baker has my utmost respect for his extensive work and knowledge on wardrobe and costume. Baker is the master of how a man turned wolf should look -- except in this movie. In many movies, the challenge of creating a werewolf or wolf man lies in realism. Though the CG sticks out like a sore thumb, the transition between man and wolf was interesting. Baker's wolf makeup was clearly a nod to the original, but good intentions can't save this movie. Looking at this wolfman gallop in front of an obvious green screen lends this dark epic to comedy than terror. And why is the Wolfman avoiding crowds of meat bags just to attack a single caravan? The dry acting could at least lend itself to a bountiful bloody body count.

Rent this movie for a friend or loved one who is ill and can't move. It's important they can't move so they can endure and appreciate the little things in The Wolfman. There are dark, quiet moments in The Wolfman that will jolt you out of your seat. Half of these moments are faux scares that further cheapen the meandering plot. The Wolfman strays from the original in many ways and as a result never captures the feral spirit of its predecessor. The Wolfman isn't the teen angst riddled vampire soap opera we have gotten use to, but inspires laughter in some scenes as unintentionally comical as Teen Wolf.

I Give The Wolfman...

 

The "Shamefilled Delecio Del Taco" Award