The Wolfman is a remake of a classic horror movie. Re-imagining the story and bringing the special effects bang up to date.
On paper the cast sounds great. Anthony Hopkins rarely disappoints, Benicio Del Toro already looks wolf like, and Hugo Weaving is just plain awesome. However the decision to make Benicio the son of an Englishman, even one who has lived in America, is just strange. His accent never quite seems to go away and I can’t help but think of his parts in other movies such as the Usual Suspects.
Likewise the sets all felt very theatrical. Possibly this is the look they were going for, but for me they felt a bit fake which is a shame as when they work they’re incredibly atmospheric. In fact The Wolfman is dripping in atmosphere and mostly looks great, but there was something about it that made me think that a strong wind would blow down the buildings.
Story wise it’s nice and easy to follow (which was good for me since I watched it in four parts, on my iPod, on the train to and from work). Unfortunately I haven’t seen the original so can’t compare it to that but it did keep me entertained for the duration. The ending wasn’t a massive surprise – there were only a couple of people who could be the Wolfman.
As a horror film it has it’s fair share of jumpy moments, and since it involves wolfmen there is quite a lot of blood and gore, however I never felt particularly threatened or scared – although the impact may have been lessened because I watched the film on my iPod Touch and not on a widescreen tv.
Overall The Wolfman was an entertaining diversion – but there were a few small parts that broke the illusion stopping me from immersing myself fully in the story. If you like monster movies it’s definitely one to watch, if only to compare it to the original, but I would suggest renting it and not buying.
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