Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Wolfman (2010)

Tagline: When the moon is full the legend comes to life.


Curiosity: File this one under “Wanted to see, but the reviews were so bad I couldn’t justify paying full admission price.”


Plot: When actor Lawrence Albot (Benicio Del Toro) learns that his brother is missing, he returns to his English home to help investigate. That means hanging out with his missing bro’s super hot fiancé Gwen (Emily Blunt), which is sexually awkward, and his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), which is somehow even more sexually awkward. Turns out it’s a dog eat dog world, and Lawrence gets bitten by a mysterious beast whilst kickin’ it with some gypsies. Blah blah blah, now he’s a werewolf, blah blah blah, nobody believes him, and somewhere along the line the camera focus on Hopkins eating an apple simply because he’s Anthony fucking Hopkins.


Thoughts: The buzz for Wolfman was mostly toxic from what I read, and I can the film was just a hair better than its critical evaluation indicated. Make-up legend Rick Baker designed the wolfman costume, and I was impressed with how faithful he was to the classic Universal look while still updating the creature to be more feral yet agile. Likewise, the horror effects, though used sparingly, are always brutally effective in their quickness.


But man does the script suck. The film often tries so hard for high drama that neglects to include more instances of out-and-out horror. It’s also hampered by a phoned in performance from Del Toro, who doesn’t even try to fake an English accent for his character. Hopkins, meanwhile, is so cartoonishly evil that I’m still not sure if I should condone or condemn his appearance. He’s just so got-damn ridiculous, which would hold back the movie if the other performers weren’t so sleepy. Instead, he provides this nice little oasis of entertainment.


I don’t necessarily regret sitting through Wolfman, but I sure wish I knew when to hit the skip button.

Reflection: I feel bad leaving Hugo Weaving out of this review, but honestly, homeboy’s talents were underutilized.


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