REVIEW: Good Performances, Atmosphere Lift ‘Wolfman’
by Carl KozlowskiAs the central figure in the new horror film “The Wolfman,” Lawrence Talbot has suffered through what you might call a rough life. He’s stumbled across his parents just after dad brutally killed mom in the middle of the night, was banished to an asylum before getting shipped to America from his posh English countryside home, and now his brother has been eviscerated by a mysterious creature lurking in the woods outside his childhood home.
Determined to find, capture and kill whatever beast offed his brother, Lawrence has not only traveled back to his birthplace and its haunting memories, but now has to confront his father head-on for murdering his mother and ward off area townspeople who fear he’s become a beastly ‘wolf man’ himself after surviving a a vicious bite from the monster. Through it all, his primary battle is to maintain his strong sense of decency and underlying humanity from slipping away forever.
Sounds like a heady mix of action and emotions, doesn’t it? Thankfully, “The Wolfman” largely delivers on its promises – particularly through the moving performance and powerfully expressive eyes of Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro (“Traffic”), who rebounds from a mostly hitless past decade to sink his teeth (ok, pun intended) into the role of Lawrence Talbot and add genuine gravitas to a tragic character. It also features a strong, yet slightly oddball, performance from Anthony Hopkins, who has also suffered more than his share of box-office setbacks in the last few years but digs into the role of Lawrence’s father Sir John Talbot with the menacing glee of his famed Dr. Hannibal Lecter enjoying a dinner of Chianti and fava beans.
While rising star Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Young Victoria”) is on hand as the deceased brother’s girlfriend who starts to fall for Lawrence as well, it is Hugo Weaving as Scotland Yard Inspector Abberline who nearly steals the show from everyone with his cocky cool, able athleticism and dryly sarcastic line readings.
The real stars of the show, however, are the technical armies behind the camera lens, who establish a fully realized world in which the film’s rich and nearly incessant moonlight reveals stunning details of an expansive city in 1890, Victorian-era, England. Special effects master Rick Baker, who won a Best Makeup Oscar for his work on the cult classic “An American Werewolf in London” back in 1981, puts del Toro through his gruesome transformations – including some foot and toe shots that will make you wish you hadn’t ordered the jumbo size popcorn. In an interesting touch, the clergy in the film are a bit hysterical in preparing their worried followers for each full moon, but are overall shown respectably, while del Toro is seen in prayer – complete with sign of the Cross – as he agonizes over his fate. Perhaps these brief Christian-friendly moments can be chalked up to the historic era of the film, but they are nice gestures to see nonetheless.
Add in a great, perfectly evocative offbeat-orchestra score by Danny Elfman, and some spectacular and gruesomely funny showdown scenes between the wolfman and his oppressors, and you’ll find an entertaining film akin to 1999’s Tim Burton-Johnny Depp collaboration “Sleepy Hollow”: a film that may not terrify often, but is consistently tantalizing and fun to watch. Just be forewarned that the ample body counts include decapitations and the loss of many, many limbs among the townspeople; however, much of that bloody action is shot in enough shadow and with enough speed that it doesn’t become too gross for enjoyment and ensures the film remains tasteful (this time, no pun intended).
“The Wolfman’ marks not only a comeback and second chance for del Toro and Hopkins, but a great artistic leap forward for effects-whiz director Joe Johnston (“Jumanji,” “October Sky,” “Jurassic Park III”). Here’s hoping they use that second chance wisely.
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44 Comments
Goody, a date movie.
Sorry, I can't do it, not after that lunkhead Del Toro was all over Che's Guevara's balls this past year. Welcome to my blacklist pinko.
The film looks like a fine technical work and fine acting, I still can't get over Mr. Del Toro trying to sell Che Guevara as a hero.
Sorry, but as somebody who's family was decimated by Fidel and Che, I'll never watch a movie that features this man.
Lawrence Talbot – "Soon the moon will rise and I will turn into a wolf."
Lou Costello – "You and twenty million other guys."
There's only one "Wolfman" – Lon Chaney Jr. The rest are just gross outs.
I don't know, I've been kind of antipathetic to Del Toro since his 'Che' movie, but the movie does look interesting. Maybe I'll give it a shot.
Che Chews !!
yah, Che is gonna make me pass on this one. i might do a dvd rental… might… even Johnny Depp, I won't expound anything on him either. his lil che necklace stragically tilted for display on rolling stones. MY GOD! please! MY GOD!
Benicio Bites ?
and we will miss Maria Oupenskaya and Mr Chaney………
I'm sorry, but I just saw this last night and couldn't disagree more!
The performances were terrible. The line readings felt as if they were just holding the script in front of them. The drama was completely lost, the motivations absent, the romance ridiculous. The boys (Weaving, delToro & Hopkins) should be ashamed.
Terrible from start to finish.
After watching "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" and being dismayed at how laughably bad the cgi/puppet werewolves looked, sort of thrilled to see the Wolfman apparently being a guy in a fur suit. Looks like a lot of fun.
Sorry but "Che" I mean Benicio won't be getting any money out of me.
This movie is an obvious slam against the Lycanthrope-American community.
I've been a sucker for wolfman flicks since I was a kid. Despite my low expectations and aversion to del Toro, I'll find my way to the theater.
I caught a screening last night and really enjoyed it. If you enjoyed the old Universal Pictures monster movies or the old Hammer films, then this is right up your alley. Of course there is much more gore, but the look of the film really does harken back to the "creature feature" movies you would watch on a Saturday night as a kid. The editing, cutting and re-cutting is very obvious at times and I really would have liked to have seen a longer cut. This thing has more stitching than the Frankenstein monster, but it's still a fun time at the movies.
Will no longer line the pockets of the Che lovers, and this includes you too, Mr. Depp.
I'd watch it if it was not R-rated. Wake me up when the DVD's available. Then I could find some scene clipper to edit out all the nasty stuff that MAKES it R-rated.
I never saw Che (and shame on Del Toro, a Puerto-Rican American, for making it), but hopefully the Wolfman will make a big bite mark out of the box office (pun intended).
You can watch for upcoming movies like that on comingsoon.net, too.
The movie seems pretty good. I try not to hold an actor's political stances against a film, so I'll probably give it a shot, despite Del Toro's love for the mass murdering Che. I can understand those who would boycott the film based on actions that Che performed against their family.
I saw clips of those hand transformations and nearly lost my lunch (which is impressive since I don't usually do queasy) plus, hate Che, hate del Toro for playing him, so…not watching it.
However, I have to ask, when does Hugo Weaving NOT steal the show? Has this occurred & I missed it?
Your review is pretty spot on with the exception of Del Toro's acting. It wasn't that great. Not bad but surely not great. Hopkins was excellent.
I didn't know the same guy did the effects for American Werewolf in London but it makes sense. I loved the transformation scenes and the final product. I felt it was an homage to the original.
You're right, you can tell it's been edited. Especially the love angle with Blunt. Gypsies too.
I saw it with someone who saw the longer cut about a year ago and he said this was much much much better. I tend to agree. I heard nothing but bad things about it. Then i saw it and was pleasantly surprised.
I know how you feel. They cast Nathalie Portman in my favorite comic book movie, Thor. Why do they do this to us?
Separation of Hollywood and State!!!
I completely agree with Del Toro. He was absolutely lifeless. Hugo didn't have such a big role. Not challenging at all. Hopkins i did like, tho. I can see him as a big game hunter.
Del Toro was a producer on it so i assume that's how he got the role.
As soon as i saw the werewolf i was like, "thank you."
It got a little too CGI-ish towards the end but i'll give them a pass on it.
Gesundheit!
Sounds like a true classic! As a life long fan of Sir Anthony Hopkins and the venerable Hammer films, I will have to take this in.
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HEY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LON CHANEY, JR – THE ORIGINAL WOLFMAN!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001033/bio
Lon Chaney Jr.
Date of Birth
10 February 1906, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Date of Death
12 July 1973, San Clemente, California, USA (beriberi, liver failure)
Birth Name
Creighton Tull Chaney
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini Biography
American character actor whose career was influenced (and often overshadowed) by that of his father, silent film star Lon Chaney. The younger Chaney was born while his parents were on a theatrical tour, and he joined them onstage for the first time at the age of six months. However, as a young man, even during the time of his father's growing fame, Creighton Chaney worked menial jobs to support himself without calling upon his father. He was at various times a plumber, a meatcutter's apprentice, a metal worker, and a farm worker. Always, however, there was the desire to follow in his father's footsteps. He studied makeup at his father's side, learning many of the techniques that had made his father famous. And he took stage roles in stock companies. It was not until after his father's death in 1930 that Chaney went to work in films. His first appearances were under his real name (he had been named for his mother, singer Cleva Creighton). He played number of supporting parts before a producer in 1935 insisted on changing his name to Lon Chaney Jr. as a marketing ploy. Chaney was uncomfortable with the ploy and always hated the "Jr". addendum. But he was also aware that the famous name could help his career, and so he kept it. Most of the parts he played were unmemorable, often bits, until 1939 when he was given the role of the simple-minded Lennie in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1939). Chaney's performance was spectacularly touching; indeed, it became one of the two roles for which he would always be best remembered. The other came within the next year, when Universal, in hopes of reviving their horror film franchise as well as memories of their great silent star, Chaney Sr., cast Chaney as the tortured Lawrence Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941). With this film and the slew of horror films that followed it, Chaney achieved a kind of stardom, though he was never able to achieve his goal of surpassing his father. By the 1950s, he was established as a star in low-budget horror films and as a reliable character actor in more prestigious, big-budget films such as High Noon (1952). Never as versatile as his father, he fell more and more into cheap and mundane productions which traded primarily on his name and those of other fading horror stars. His later years were bedeviled by illness and problems with alcohol. When he died from a variety of causes in 1973, it was as an actor who had spent his life chasing the fame of his father, but who was much beloved by a generation of film-goers who had never seen his father.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver
——————————————————-
Mini-Bio courtesy of actor and author Jim Beaver. Jim appears on SUPERNATURAL as "Bobby" and is the 6th most prolific contributor to the IMDB. So nice to find someone in the business who loves classic films and classic performers.
lol!
So, this isn't a sequel to "New Moon"?
Always was a sucker for the wolves too, but yeah, when thinking of all the Howling sequels, expectations have been lowered quite a bit.
Indeed! "Newer Moon, aka Twighlight 3: attach of Chupacabra".
Ok, as much as I enjoy Hugo Weaving in all his roles, am I the only out here that blurts out "Mr. Anderson" every time he delivers a line?
Monster movie fanatics tend not to give much credit to Lon Jr. I am a monster movie fanatic, and I've always felt Lon Jr. doesn't get enough respect. He not only played The Wolf Man, but he was Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and Kharis the Mummy. Lon Jr.'s Dracula is one of the most underrrated. He also did great work in 60's monster films like WITCHCRAFT and THE HAUNTED PALACE.
"Hugo Weaving as Scotland Yard Inspector Abberline"
That's funny. I don't know if the film makes this point, but Abberline was the actual Scotland Yard inspector who handled the Jack the Ripper case in the same time period.
@Dan Day,Jr. –
Until yesterday, I did not know/realize that he had played near all the classic Universal monster stars. That's something.
I have come to know that many people are aware of the pathos he brought to the Lawrence Talbot character – quite unusual. He even maintained it in the A&C romp.
add on – that is one of the great things (and perhaps a surprise at the time) in A&C Meet Frankenstein – all the monsters retain their dignity and never become parodies of themselves. Bud and Lou did all the jokes and the monsters remain 'cool'. A great thrill comedy. My Mom saw it when it was first released and she said she was ascared even though it was an A&C film.
Those guys are SO due for a revival. I have never seen an A&C film at the show. L&H, Marx, Stooges – yes. A&C – no.
Because they're not stupid. They never mention the silent boycott, but they know it exists and know who is on it and why. So when they get a good script and cast an actor who hasn't disparaged the potential audience outrageously, they slip in a Sean Penn in a secondary role to give the Lefty's work AND to see how serious we are about avoiding the propagandists. It's a tough decision sometimes — weighing on one hand whether you want to put money in some Leftwing wacko's pocket or see a movie you know you'll like. Sean Penn is the exception that proves the rule. I'd be surprised if any cast or film would be strong enough to lure in the public with him in the credits.
As someone who won´t watch Penn or Robbins in anything, I have some sympathy for those who because of the Che connection won´t see this movie. But if you are going to be consistent, you can give up on movies right now. Most actors are political idiots these days, including the good ones. Let´s not get carried away. First, this isn´t a "Benicio del Toro" movie. There is no such thing. He didn´t write, he didn´t direct it. Nor is he a very vocal activist like the fools mentioned above.
They are finally trying to do a werewolf movie the right way so who cares about the bleeping actor. I liked the trailer, I like the director. I´ll see it on tuesday.
Well, there was…hmm, no. How about the time when…no. Gosh, you're right! When HAS Hugo Weaving not stolen the show? Usually he's the only thing in a movie that makes watching it worthwhile.
No, you're not. I can't help it either.
was really fun doing that for Elron during Lord of the Rings.
It does.
Saw it today. I enjoyed it, although most surprisingly, Anthony Hopkins is the weakest thing in it. The werewolf makeup and transformation scenes are fantastic though, and, as proper werewolf movie should, you can't help but feel sorry for the guy. Maybe not a masterpiece for the ages, but excellent matinee fare.
One gripe: I know that CGI backgrounds are necessary to create large period cityscapes, but Sweeney Todd, Sherlock Holmes and now the Wolfman wash out Victorian London with such a sickly shade of green! Wish the trend would stop.
It does and adds a bit of tension between Talbot and Abberline
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