The Wolfman 2010

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to see the original Wolfman screening in Denzille Lane. Classic camp horror, made great by a cast that neither hammed it up nor took it too seriously. It was fun, easy and I really enjoyed the film.

Benicio Del Toro’s modern retelling of the tale – I’d be of the same opinion. It’s a good action movie, with plenty to keep the heart racing. There’s some fine performances, but it’s no masterpiece.

Set in the late 1800s, it tells the story of Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro), a man who left his childhood home in rural England after a family tragedy and never looked back. However, the strange death of his brother Ben, who was found in the woods savagely attacked, prompts him to return and face his father (Anthony Hopkins) and try to solve the murder. Emily Blunt plays Ben’s grief-stricken widow and then love interest to Lawrence, while Hugo Weaving is in scene stealing form as Inspector Abberline.

The effects are excellent, but at their best when CG is kept to a minimum in favour of letting the make-up do the work. A few dodgy rooftop scenes aside, the Wolfman looks really great and the dark Ripper-era atmosphere is brilliantly realised. Hopkins is on fine form and while the role could have been very hammy, he was nicely understated. Del Toro however, I was hugely surprised with. He was terrible. No, not terrible – that would imply he actually did something. He was wooden. After spending so many years dedicated to bringing this film to the screen as producer, I don’t understand why he would create a role that lacked any personality. Perhaps he was going for brooding and mysterious, but it just came across as empty.

Weaving on the other hand was perfect in the smaller role of Abberline, charged with the task of solving Ben’s murder and later with tracking the Werewolf. In my opinion, he should have been given much more screen time. In fact, maybe he should have been given the title role.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this movie. There are some great jumps and cheap scares, provided by the superb sound editing mostly, that prove they’re not taking things too seriously and there is enough action to keep the pace moving along. Werewolf movies are notoriously difficult to get right and with the exception of American Werewolf in London, Dog Soldiers and maybe The Howling, they’re generally to be avoided. While The Wolfman isn’t in their league, it’s worth seeing. 5 out of 10? Maybe 6. Disengage brain and enjoy.