The Wolfman – Movie Review | MuchMusic.com

The Wolfman – Movie Review

February 17th, 2010

Wolfman

I dragged my booty all the way to the theatre this weekend to see the new thriller, The Wolfman. The film stars Benecio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins. Good cast equals good movie, right? Wrong-o! So that my $11 was not spent in vain, I will now take this time to recap the boring-ness that was The Wolfman and hopefully spare you from the same fate as mine. I should give you all a heads up that this review does include spoilers, as well as a lot of negativism and an overall tone of annoyance.

The film starts with Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) returning home to England after he has received word that his brother is missing. Once home, he is greeted by his brother’s fiancée Gwen (Emily Blunt) and told that his brother has been found dead. Do you think the Wolfman killed him? Good guess.

We then meet Lawrence’s creepy father, John, played by Anthony Hopkins. Creepy Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs = amazing. Creepy Anthony Hopkins in Woflman = annoying. Both start with an ‘a’ but are very different.

As more townspeople start to turn up dead by way of mutilation, fear begins to mount that there is something not human on the loose. On the eve that Lawrence sets out to find some answers about his brother’s death, he is attacked by a ‘creature’ and survives. This attacked has changed him in ways that he will not fully understand until the next full moon …ooooo… what could it be?

Lawrence decides to send Gwen away for fear of hurting her during his wolf time of the month. I do the same thing with my boyfriend. Once Gwen is in the clear, we start to learn about the nutter-ness that is John, which in turn shows the audience what a horrible childhood Lawrence has endured at the hands of John, including time in an asylum.

We also learn that John is a werewolf. Shocking. Oh wait, that was me dropping my bags of Nibs. Back to the movie. Not shocking.

So, John is a werewolf, Lawrence is a werewolf, I’m a werewolf, you’re a werewolf, we get it. After a night of snacking on half of the village, Lawrence is found soaked in blood and disoriented and is sent back to the asylum. During a friendly visit from daddy, John reveals that he killed Lawrence’s brother (his own son). Dang. Dats cold. Oh, and he killed Lawrence’s mother. I’m glad he doesn’t play favourites.

A full moon comes, Lawrence Hulks out, becomes a Wolfman and breaks out of the asylum, killing innocent bystanders on the way. He wakes up the next morning in Gwen’s store and confesses his love for her. Another shocker. Nope, just my Nibs again. Slippery. The police arrive at the store looking for Lawrence. Gwen lies like a rug and says she hasn’t seen him. Lawrence makes his way back to his father’s house to kill him. Gwen follows him and tries to save him, while the police follow her and try to save her. Big climax follows, which includes fire, more killing and some cool morphing scenes.

So, why did I not likey the Wolfy? Hopkins was annoyingly smug in his role. Del Toro is a leading man that wasn’t really acting like a leading man. Blunt was actually quite good – I ain’t mad at cha, Em. The story was simple and predictable and the ending led way to a possible sequel, which annoyed me even further, because the sequel is rarely better than the first, and this one was a doozy.

The effects, make up and costumes were impressive, as was the scenery. If I had watched the film with ear plugs, it may have been enjoyable. A somewhat entertaining film as a result of the special effects, but don’t go in with high expectations.

Tags: Anthony Hopkins, Benecio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Silence of the Lambs, The Wolfman