The Wolfman (grading and discussion)

[Ethros]

So Joe Johnston's The Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, came out today in Blighty

And with nothing better to do this afternoon I went to see it.


MILD SPOILERS--



To be honest I wasn't particular excited about this movie anyway, I mainly went just for something to do. It was okay, something to while away two hours. It wasn't "bad" by any standards at all, it just wasn't overly memorable in my opinion. The plots fairly by the numbers and predictable, anyone with a passing knowledge of werewolves would know exactly where it's gonna go.

It all looks very pretty though, although the actual wolf transformation was kinda "so what CGI", as in nothing on the American Werewolf in London practical effects from almost 30 years ago

Spoiler: Spoiler for the ending

So basically he turns into a werewolf, goes on some rampages, killed by a silver bullet, the end. Wow. Oh and he bites Hugo Weaving at the end, probably setting up a dirty cash in sequel

As I say it wasn't bad; probably best for Friday night popcorn fluff.
But I don't think I'd bother watching it again.

 

[Ethros]

No one else seen it yet? Tsk

 

[Smiley]

A lot of us have probably seen the reviews and decided to avoid it. It's also not out yet in the U.S. and some other major markets.

Personally, I would rather just watch the Chaney version again if the new one doesn't improve on it in any major way.

 

[SG-17]

This is a remake of the 1941 movie right?

 

[JacksonArcher]

I'll be seeing this on Valentine's Day with my girlfriend, because nothing screams Valentine's Day like a hairy wolf creature man.

 

[Trekker4747]

This looks good and interesting, although I'm so done with Anthony Hopkins. I swear he looks the same and acts the same in every movie he ever does. Deranged.

I'll most certainly go to see this Saturday night.

 

[Dar70]

I'll be seeing this on Valentine's Day with my girlfriend, because nothing screams Valentine's Day like a hairy wolf creature man.

Yeah its not Valentines without taking the girlfriend to a hairy wolf creature man movie. Im taking mine as well but probably tommorow afternoon. We dont want to be sitting in a filled theater.

 

[davejames]

Well I was interested in seeing this... before I saw the overwhelmingly bad reviews.

Too bad, because I was really in the mood for a good werewolf movie this weekend.

 

[Trekker4747]

Wolfman

Rated: R

My Grade: (Generously) B-

-----------------------------------------------------

This is one of those movies just go and see (or rent) once just to see it and then afterwards sort of shrug and say "meh."

Pretty much this movie in a word: "Meh."

The cinematography is good, the effects are good any makeup used is good, the art design is good but overall the movie just didn't blow my skirt up.

Wolfman starts with a man being chased down in an England wood a mauled by a werewolf. Flashforward to nearly a month later and the brother of the man mauled in the opening moments is arriving to be with his family for the funeral and to find out what killed his brother. Long-story short he gets bitten by the werewolf and becomes one himself.

Obviously, as would be the problem in a movie like this, a month passes between the big action-pieces in this movie and a bit of time is spent trying to setup this next stage of the story.

When the movie is doing the werewolf thing it's pretty good. The action is good, the gore is done well, and in one of the wolfman segments you're almost rooting for him as you know its going to be good. But the movie grinds to a halt during the scenes in between dealing with the story. Which involves some stuff with the lead character and his grieving sister-in-law, has crazy father, an inspector from Scotland Yard investigating the murders in the area, yadda yadda.

The movie is entertaining when the action starts the stuff in between drags it down. I really can't say much more than that. This movie is probably worth a rental or a cheap matinee or afternoon showing but hardly one to rush out and see.

 

[stonester1]

I quite enjoyed it. Good, old school horror, well made. Not the best ever, but quite good, better than I thought it would be. I will be getting it on DVD.

 

[Gaith]

Del Toro. Hopkins. Weaving. Werewolves. "Blackmoor, England 1891". $100 million spent on fog, brambles and one crackerjack London sequence. How can it go wrong?

Here's how it could have: by taking itself seriously. Dean Ebert, take it away:

Gothic horror stories seem more digestible when set in once-great British country houses and peopled with gloomy introverts, especially when the countryside involves foggy moors and a craggy waterfall. This is, after all, a story set before the advent of modern psychology, back when a man's fate could be sealed by ancestral depravity.

Nailed it again, Rog. This isn't a grand, nation-hopping adventure like Dracula, nor is it a romantic, operatic adventure like 1999's The Mummy. It's about a werewolf who rips men's guts out, not because of any particular reason, just because. The hero is doomed not only by ancestry, but because he looks like a werewolf from the start! No Keanu-in-Victorian-England piffle here - taking notes, Francis?

And the movie delivers, with a blessedly short running time (100 min.), a babe who's beautiful but not distractingly pretty, excellent actors in Del Toro, Hopkins and Weaving, in his best post-Matrix/LotR role, and plenty of solid jump moments. There's also lots of MTV-style quick cutting and other modern editing tricks, but they give the movie a welcome kick. Also, in a fun detail, look for Charlie Chaplin's daughter as the old gypsy woman!

The only flaws? A brief but pointless intro and outro voiceover and an unnecessarily protracted death scene. (Can't anyone die in movies without giving a speech?) That, and I kept expecting Brendan Fraser to show up.

This is a B-movie done right, so a B it gets. It's not a modern classic like The Mummy, but it earns a place on the same shelf.

 

[Endymion]

The Wolfman (2010)

If any of you have the chance to check this one out, I definitely recommend it. Here's my full review...

link

 

[Trekker4747]

It's interesting to me that like four or five months pass during the course of this film, yet, it stays mid-fall, weatherwise, in England the whole time.

 

[Warped9]

I saw it yesterday. I will qualify my thoughts on it by saying that (surprisingly?) I've never seen the 1941 original so I don't have any preconceived bias or preconceptions.

I rather liked it in an easygoing way. It didn't blow me away, but I can't point at anything bad about it. In terms of cinematography I have the observation that the mood and atmosphere they were portraying precluded any sunny days as opposed to it being overcast all the time. Another nitpick I have is the music. There were times when I thought a scene would have been more effective with silence rather than accompanied by music.

I liked it being a period piece for the same reason I liked Peter Jackson's King Kong set in an earlier time of greater scientific innocence, a time when the fantastic is easier to accept.

Still, I thought thankfully that it wasn't over-the-top. I'd give it a B because it wasn't as bad as it could have been, it was better than might have been expected but not amazing.

 

[Ethros]

It would have been better if they'd have gone for the "three nights of the full moon per month" option that other movies/TV shows have used. Thus, more mayhem.
ie. off the top of my head An American Werewolf in London and Buffy/Angel

 

[Captain Craig]

Above Average or B

I haven't seen the original in so long that I was able to judge it fairly well as its on film.

Overall I liked it and will add it to my collection and place it in the Halloween viewing rotation.

I wouldn't say it screams "see me on the big screen" but since I hadn't been to the theater since the let down that was Avatar I came out happy.

 

[JacksonArcher]

I wouldn't say it screams "see me on the big screen" but since I hadn't been to the theater since the let down that was Avatar I came out happy.

Whaa? I feel bad for you, man. I've seen quite a few movies in the theater since Avatar. Two of them -- From Paris With Love and Edge of Darkness (especially the last one) -- I consider to be worthwhile theatrical endeavors.

 

[Captain Craig]

I wouldn't say it screams "see me on the big screen" but since I hadn't been to the theater since the let down that was Avatar I came out happy.

Whaa? I feel bad for you, man. I've seen quite a few movies in the theater since Avatar. Two of them -- From Paris With Love and Edge of Darkness (especially the last one) -- I consider to be worthwhile theatrical endeavors.

Its not that I didn't want to go to the theater I just didn't have time or other responsibilites kept me from going.

I was curious about Book of Eli and Edge of Darkness. As part of the Regal Rewards I got a free movie ticket when I went to Wolfman. Maybe I can double back and catch Eli cause its still at my closest theater.

 

[Dr. Chandra]

I saw it yesterday, and thought it was a pretty good flick. del Toro was the right pick for a wolfman.

 

[JacksonArcher]

I wouldn't say it screams "see me on the big screen" but since I hadn't been to the theater since the let down that was Avatar I came out happy.

Whaa? I feel bad for you, man. I've seen quite a few movies in the theater since Avatar. Two of them -- From Paris With Love and Edge of Darkness (especially the last one) -- I consider to be worthwhile theatrical endeavors.

Its not that I didn't want to go to the theater I just didn't have time or other responsibilites kept me from going.

I was curious about Book of Eli and Edge of Darkness. As part of the Regal Rewards I got a free movie ticket when I went to Wolfman. Maybe I can double back and catch Eli cause its still at my closest theater.

Ah, I understand. I would suggest Edge of Darkness over Book of Eli, though, if you do.