The Wolfman is a re-make of the B-move classic by the same title. The original holds a lot of affection in film fanatic's hearts worldwide so the decision to re-make it was a brave and perhaps even foolish one due to the high standard the audience would undoubtedly be expecting. Benicio Del Toro is placed as the lupine inclined protagonist-he pretty much looks like a wolf anyway without all the makeup. Antony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt play the bulk of the main supporting cast next to Del Toro.
The opening scene of the film got me very excited and lulled me into thinking that it would perhaps surpass my dubious expectations. With a very bold, exaggerated and arguably comic book-esque style to it borrowing heavily from the German Expressionist movement- with the emphasis on shadows and bold imagery the tone was set up wonderfully in the opening sequence. Instantly we are thrown into the narrative arc of tracing down who the wolfman is and killing him/it. Of course complications arise and Benicio the poor old soul gets "marked by the beast" and starts to take a walk on the wild side. The build up to his transformation night on the full moon is genuinely very well put together. A series of nightmares and hallucinations plague him and keep the audience on edge in a series of fairly cheap but fun 'jumpy' scares-much in the vein of the classic lycanthropic masterpiece An American Werewolf in London. The transformation itself is also very similar to the iconic scene in the aforementioned 1981 classic but with the help of modern technologies it certainly looks more polished as a sequence.
From this point onwards is where the film starts to show some very visible and problematic cracks. The decision to use CGI for the transformation scene was just common sense as it is simply the best digital technology for such a visually demanding sequence of film and it does look fantastic. My huge quibble with the film is the decision to use make-up to show the wolf man when he has taken his final shape. Frankly it just looks stupid; it is so obviously just a man running along fairly moronically in a big, hairy wolf suit. The wolfman in its final form has nothing near the appearance of what the transformation sequen would suggest he looked like. I am fairly certain the decision to use old fashioned make-up special effects was to pay homage to the B-movie aesthetic of the original which is an admirable plan. Admirable, yes-but stupid. Although it clearly sets up a sub-textual dialogue of reference between itself and the original it begins to fail at operating as what it should be for a modern audience. At no point was I really scared because any suspension of disbelief was pretty much shattered by this absurd looking wolfman. The high level of gore in these sequences was also fairly unjustified and personally did not add anything to the film. I believe it would have worked a lot better if the wolfman's appearance had remained a relative mystery through the film-a creature who sticks to the shadows. This would have tied in neatly with the bold German Expressionist lighting style and would have resulted in a more scary, mystical and mature piece of work.
Having said all of this I hope I have not created the impression I disliked the film. I actually did enjoy it but it is marred by the ghost of what could have been fantastic as opposed to just entertaining and fun. Anthony Hopkins provides a wonderful performance and makes the hammy dialogue leap out of the screen and grab you in ways that are both humorous and at times genuinely quite unnerving. This is definitely the most entertaining I have seen Hopkins on screen since Silence of The Lambs, he walks into his role in The Wolfman with equal gusto and camp exaggeration providing a presentation that is strangely compelling for such a dispicable character. Well done Ant. Hugo Weaving also provides a very entertaining performance as the detective for Scotland Yard. Frankly it was just a treat whenever he was on screen due to his masterfully constructed facial hair-hats off to the guy.
(Elrond's never looked so good)
One of my favourite set pieces in the film was the chase through the streets of London. The art direction is pretty faultless with a gloriously camp and gothic representation of early 1900's London. The spires and gothically arches rooves set against the cobbled streets which lead to London Bridge which hangs over the murky River Thames with a sinister sense of self-assurance makes for a hugely entertaining backdrop to what would otherwise be a fairly uninteresting chase sequence.
I think your enjoyment of this film might be effected by what impression you have of it's genre placement. If you want a horror film you will be disappointed. This is in many ways more of a tongue-in-cheek period thriller. You might enjoy the film more if you walk in viewing it as a comedy, I definitely laughed more than three or four times out loud at how crass the script was at times. The hammy screenplay if anything added to the charm of the film though as it was not trying to push itself out of the tropes of the B-movie too far.
I would definitely recommend you go and see The Wolfman, it is probably best for a Wednesday night watch to avoid the full price of the cinema ticket. I can almost guarantee you will have fun and be entertained for two hours. It offers a few cheap but effective 'jump' moments and if you are uninterested with any of the other praise I offered for it it's worthwhile if only for Hopkin's magnetic performance. It is just a shame that I cannot help but feel that in different hands it could have been executed more effectively to produce something which could have been unforgettable. Instead it is just a good fun watch.
The opening scene of the film got me very excited and lulled me into thinking that it would perhaps surpass my dubious expectations. With a very bold, exaggerated and arguably comic book-esque style to it borrowing heavily from the German Expressionist movement- with the emphasis on shadows and bold imagery the tone was set up wonderfully in the opening sequence. Instantly we are thrown into the narrative arc of tracing down who the wolfman is and killing him/it. Of course complications arise and Benicio the poor old soul gets "marked by the beast" and starts to take a walk on the wild side. The build up to his transformation night on the full moon is genuinely very well put together. A series of nightmares and hallucinations plague him and keep the audience on edge in a series of fairly cheap but fun 'jumpy' scares-much in the vein of the classic lycanthropic masterpiece An American Werewolf in London. The transformation itself is also very similar to the iconic scene in the aforementioned 1981 classic but with the help of modern technologies it certainly looks more polished as a sequence.
From this point onwards is where the film starts to show some very visible and problematic cracks. The decision to use CGI for the transformation scene was just common sense as it is simply the best digital technology for such a visually demanding sequence of film and it does look fantastic. My huge quibble with the film is the decision to use make-up to show the wolf man when he has taken his final shape. Frankly it just looks stupid; it is so obviously just a man running along fairly moronically in a big, hairy wolf suit. The wolfman in its final form has nothing near the appearance of what the transformation sequen would suggest he looked like. I am fairly certain the decision to use old fashioned make-up special effects was to pay homage to the B-movie aesthetic of the original which is an admirable plan. Admirable, yes-but stupid. Although it clearly sets up a sub-textual dialogue of reference between itself and the original it begins to fail at operating as what it should be for a modern audience. At no point was I really scared because any suspension of disbelief was pretty much shattered by this absurd looking wolfman. The high level of gore in these sequences was also fairly unjustified and personally did not add anything to the film. I believe it would have worked a lot better if the wolfman's appearance had remained a relative mystery through the film-a creature who sticks to the shadows. This would have tied in neatly with the bold German Expressionist lighting style and would have resulted in a more scary, mystical and mature piece of work.
Having said all of this I hope I have not created the impression I disliked the film. I actually did enjoy it but it is marred by the ghost of what could have been fantastic as opposed to just entertaining and fun. Anthony Hopkins provides a wonderful performance and makes the hammy dialogue leap out of the screen and grab you in ways that are both humorous and at times genuinely quite unnerving. This is definitely the most entertaining I have seen Hopkins on screen since Silence of The Lambs, he walks into his role in The Wolfman with equal gusto and camp exaggeration providing a presentation that is strangely compelling for such a dispicable character. Well done Ant. Hugo Weaving also provides a very entertaining performance as the detective for Scotland Yard. Frankly it was just a treat whenever he was on screen due to his masterfully constructed facial hair-hats off to the guy.
(Elrond's never looked so good)One of my favourite set pieces in the film was the chase through the streets of London. The art direction is pretty faultless with a gloriously camp and gothic representation of early 1900's London. The spires and gothically arches rooves set against the cobbled streets which lead to London Bridge which hangs over the murky River Thames with a sinister sense of self-assurance makes for a hugely entertaining backdrop to what would otherwise be a fairly uninteresting chase sequence.
I think your enjoyment of this film might be effected by what impression you have of it's genre placement. If you want a horror film you will be disappointed. This is in many ways more of a tongue-in-cheek period thriller. You might enjoy the film more if you walk in viewing it as a comedy, I definitely laughed more than three or four times out loud at how crass the script was at times. The hammy screenplay if anything added to the charm of the film though as it was not trying to push itself out of the tropes of the B-movie too far.
I would definitely recommend you go and see The Wolfman, it is probably best for a Wednesday night watch to avoid the full price of the cinema ticket. I can almost guarantee you will have fun and be entertained for two hours. It offers a few cheap but effective 'jump' moments and if you are uninterested with any of the other praise I offered for it it's worthwhile if only for Hopkin's magnetic performance. It is just a shame that I cannot help but feel that in different hands it could have been executed more effectively to produce something which could have been unforgettable. Instead it is just a good fun watch.
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