The Movie Press
  • Movie Reviews
  • Twitter News/Updates
  • News & Notes
  • DVD
  • Box Office Results
  • Contact
  • About Us

The Wolfman BITES!

2/11/2010

0 Comments

 
Picture
When directors go back and reboot a franchise, the most successful are always those who boil a movie down to its core, give it a firm base in reality, and then let the character take you from there. Christopher Nolan boiled a man who wears a suit that looks like a bat down to a man whose family was killed and seeks vigilante justice. Spider-Man was more than a kid who got bit by a radioactive spider; it was about a kid growing up in the world and learning for every one of his actions there is a reaction. What Joe Johnston has done with The Wolfman is boiled a film about a man dealing with his inner demons down to simply a film about a man who turns into a wolf.  And breaking a film down and missing the mark only serves to reveal the films inherent silliness.

Read more after the jump!


The film kicks off with a very abrupt killing of a mysterious man who is soon revealed to be the son of Sir Anthony Hopkins and brother to Benicio Del Toro (I know, right?). So Benicio's Lawrence Talbot is summoned from his acting troupe back to his estranged home to search for his brother's killer. Upon his search he is mortally wounded by a creature and soon finds himself growing hair where there was previously none while simultaneously howling at the moon. Enter the Wolfman... albeit too little too late. Lawrence transforms into this growling, unstoppable beast once a month (like a lady right?...nevermind) only to wake and find himself lost, confused, and covered in other peoples' blood. Once he is revealed as the he-beast, he is taken to an asylum he had frequented in his youth and the plot seems to thicken as his brother's killer and his transformer are revealed.

The transformation CG is impressive and the makeup effects are believable while still paying homage to the creature effects of the 1941 original. But the melding of the two feels off, particularly when Del Toro is galloping along like a man in makeup in front of a green screen on a treadmill. The action scenes are where the film shines, but, as I said, there are too few of these and they come too late. Even when they do occur it's as if the editor was in a hurry to get to the next scene as they seem to start and stop hastily.  Disappointingly a viewing of your Planet Earth Blu Ray is probably more satisfying than the grand finale, which boils down to the equivalent of watching two dogs fight it out in the living room.

So what's the problem? Well, for one the pacing. Anytime Johnston seems to be building any form of suspense or tension he prematurely shoots his wad all over your face. Next, could be the script that lumbers along at a snail's pace, leaving the audience to mentally go, "ya ya ya, I know this part, get on with it!" Or, maybe it's the acting--from Sir Anthony masticating on the scenery to Benicio focusing ever so intensely on making his accent sound as American as he can.

The Wolfman isn't a total failure of a film, Hugo Weaving delivers a pleasant turn as Abberline, as does Emily Blunt as the widowed before her time ex-fiance Gwen. The film does have some spectacle to behold, and, while it's very disjointed, it is functional. I just wish it could have re-focused itself on what the movie was really supposed to be about, and not simply on a man who turns into a wolf.

--Greg MacLennan

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008

    Categories

    All
    Austin Film Festival
    Darcie Duttweiler Reviews
    Derrick Mitcham Reviews
    Eric Harrelson Reviews
    Eric Pulsifer Reviews
    Eric Pulsifer Reviews
    Fantastic Fest
    Greg Maclennan Reviews
    Greg Wilson Reviews
    Jessica Hixson Reviews
    Mark Collins Reviews
    Monte Monreal Reviews
    Reviews
    Rob Heidrick Reviews
    Rob Heidrick Reviews
    Sxsw

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.