The Wolfman Movie Review

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WOLFMAN

2/12/10

SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins. Oscar® winner Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother…and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself.

REVIEW: Sir John Talbot: Terrible things Lawrence, you've done terrible things.

Terrible things indeed. I thought to myself over and over again throughout the movie just how appropriate this would be if it were released around Halloween. This is like the perfect classic Halloween season movie except more intense and modern in terms of gore, blood, and savagery. The wolfman does not stop to take names. This movie is dark, mysterious, scary, bloody, and powerful. The dark and mysterious can be seen through such aspects as the various sets and costumes. With the setting of the story being 1891 England, you can imagine the overall gloomy look of the characters’ surroundings and even their glorious garb added to the mood. The scary aspects are most evident via several moments in the movie that will startle you and these startling moments are very well done, not cheesy like in other movies. The carnage abounds in this film and it is rated R so you might want to be careful if taking little ones because it is visually strong. And then there is that psychological edge in the movie where you can tell that almost every character has some sort of trauma or psychological damage. Although the characters lacked some depth as far as background, a connection is made to most of them because of their respective situation. I will admit that it seemed strange at first to see Benicio play the role of the son of an Englishman, but once you see his mother it will make more sense.

I was not overly impressed by the performances given by Anthony Hopkins and Benicio del Toro, the two primary stars of this picture. They both seemed a bit dull and lifeless. Then again, this fits perfectly with their roles. Emily Blunt fit her role nicely looking and acting appropriately for this late 19th century young woman entangled in the family crisis. Hugo Weaving in my opinion is an underrated actor. His voice alone warrants merit. If you don’t believe me just see V for Vendetta. Somehow I don’t think we get enough of Hugo in this film, but his performance was effective nonetheless. The storyline was actually pretty good and it made up for some of the drawbacks. Many might think that this movie has a prevalent love story to it but this is not necessarily true. Yes there is something of a love story but the major story here is the family crisis. Speaking of the family crisis, the special effects in this movie are excellent especially in the conversion of man to wolfman. Nothing contributes more to the somber mood of this film than the cinematography. As I mentioned before, this movie is dark, mysterious and gloomy which is well established by the awesome work done in cinematography. Once again Joe Johnston (Jumanji, October Sky, Hidalgo, etc.) directs another commendable piece. Overall this movie is well done and efficiently made coming in at just under 2 hours long. One of my favorite things about watching this film was the heartwarming feeling of Priscilla clinging to and squeezing my arm. So guys this might be a good choice to take a girl out on a first date.