Movie Review: The Wolfman

Universal Studios is home of some of the most iconic monsters the silver screen has ever seen. One cannot think about the classic movies like The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon without also thinking of their werewolf films, notably The Wolf Man. As Universal has slowly turned the gears in rebooting each of these series (The Mummy starring Brendan Frasier was released in 1999; Creature from the Black Lagoon is slated for rebooting next), The Wolfman has had a rough road making it to theaters this generation. Does it succeed where so many other monster movies have failed?

The answer is no. To be blunt, there is nothing about The Wolfman that has been seen in monster flicks recently, but there is a glimmer in this stance. The Wolfman, as a reboot, stays mostly true to the original story and for that will be called simplistic and redundant. It’s an understandable critique of what happens when a movie does not change much from the source material. The scenes with the werewolves are usually a mix of jumpy action and grotesque dismembering, and considering the amount of recuts and edits the movie went through, it seemed like some things were just added to pad the R rating. The transformations and fights with the werewolves are the best parts of the film, but are few and far between. They could have fit in two/three more scenes with them, and it would not have hurt the movie any more than the acting does.

The movie was originally set to release in November 2008, then a few times in 2009, probably back to 2008 again, and then settled on February 2010. It felt like when you plan a date with a woman for next Friday, then it gets pushed back to the weekend after that, and the next thing you know, she writes,”Who is this again” when you text her. My favorite part of the movie was Hugo Weaving, admittedly one of my favorite actors. Benicio Del Toro struggles to keep himself somewhat emotionless and eerily robotic, but when he has outbursts of anger and aggression they seem silly and contrived. Anthony Hopkins is a veteran of film, but unfortunately is pulled down by his on-screen son’s performance. He should have played Van Helsing like he did in 1992′s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Emily Blunt is a young and rising actress, but gets muted by the cardboard performances by most of the cast. If you’re looking for a good monster-fest this weekend, I would strongly recommend An American Werewolf in London.

Fanboyz Grade: C-