THE
WOLFMAN
With
Benicio
Del
Toro,
Anthony
Hopkins,
Hugo
Weaving,
Emily
Blunt,
Art
Malik
Written
by
Andrew
Kevin
Walker
and
David
Self
(based
on
the
original
1941
screenplay
by
Curt
Siodmak)
Directed
by
Joe
Johnston
In
this
remake
of
the
1941
movie
(with
Lon
Chaney,
Jr.
&
Bela
Lugosi),
one
of
the
most
evident
and
obvious
differences
is
the
astronomic
advance
in
special
make-up
&
digital
FX
in
the
subsequent
seven
decades
since
that
version
scared
audiences
into
a
panic.
But,
with
these
advances
and
realism
also
come
a
more
complacent
and
hard
to
please
audience
that
do
not
scare
as
easily
as
they
used
to.
It
is
Victorian-era
Britain.
Lawrence
Talbot,
an
American
actor
who
grew
up
in
England,
visits
his
homeland
on
a
stage
tour.
On
getting
word
of
his
brother's
disappearance,
he
returns
to
Blackmoor,
to
the
opulent
but
decaying
homestead
of
his
birth
(where
disturbing
memories
of
his
past
soon
flood
his
memory).
Here
his
estranged
and
aged
father
welcomes
him
-
but
his
brother's
corpse
is
soon
found,
ripped
up
by
what
seems
to
be
a
wild
animal.
The
rumours,
speculation
and
superstition
amoung
the
locals
are
thinly
cloaked,
with
the
blame
leveled
at
the
gypsies
camping
at
the
edge
of
town.
On
visiting
their
location
for
answers,
a
beast
strikes,
attacking
and
killing
many,
also
wounding
Lawrence.
His critical
condition
seems
fatal,
but
he
miraculously
recovers.
At
the
next
full
moon
he
will
discover
what
he
has
become
-
a
werewolf,
a
Lycanthrope,
a
cursed
man
turned
beast.
To
add
to
his
woes,
Lawrence
falls
for
his
brother's
fiance',
but
fears
he
may
harm
her.
Besides
a
Scotland
yard
detective
investigating
the
murders
in
the
area,
the
townsfolk
also
have
plans
of
their
own
to
stop
the
beast.
Made
very
much
in
an
old-school
fashion
(with
modern
methods)
external
scenes
often
have
a
studio
feel
with
the
forests
gaining
a
surreal
quality
within
a
Gothic
context,
the
cold
blue
palate
of
the
nighttime
exteriors
contrasting
wonderfully
with
the
well-detailed
and
designed
warm
interior
settings
of
the
Talbot
mansion.
The
drama,
urgency
and
sympathy
with
all
characters
seem
lacking
in
contrast
with
the
very
impressive
special
FX,
many
of
the
narrative
element
outcomes
expected.
Performance-wise
Del
Toro
is
always
intriguing
in
whatever
role
he
tackles,
while
Weaving
is
hard-pressed
to
shake
his
Agent
Smith
/
Matrix
persona.
In
the
case
of
the
well-respected
and
award
winning
Anthony
Hopkins,
his
lackluster
performance
feels
as
though
he
is
merely
running
through
his
lines
to
get
it
over
with.
Director
Joe
Johnston
is
no
stranger
to
special
FX,
working
for
Industrial
Light
&
Magic
on
various
George
Lucas
and
Steven
Spielberg
productions
and
going
on
to
direct
movies
like
Jumanji
and
Jurassic
Park
III.
Unfortunately
the
aforementioned
scare
factor
does
not
rate
very
high
here,
but
the
occasional
fright
succeeds
in
making
some
viewers
jump.
Special
make-up
FX
fans
will
be
overjoyed
to
know
that
Rick
Baker
(who
created
the
breakthrough
Oscar
winning
werewolf
transformation
make-up
for
the
original
American
Werewolf
In
London)
turns
up
in
a
cameo
role.
In
addition
to
American
Werewolf
and
taking
care
of
this
Wolfman
remake
(integrated
with
digital
FX),
Baker
is
the
man
to
call
for
brilliant
make-up,
be
it
another
wolf
flick
like
Cursed,
make-ups
for
weight
(Nutty
Professor),
age
(Ed
Wood),
race
(Tropic
Thunder),
apes
(Greystoke),
or
aliens
(MIB)
-
the
man's
talent
knows
no
bounds
with
multiple
awards
deservedly
on
his
mantle.
We're
so
impressed
with
him
we
inducted
him
into
our
South
African
HORRORFEST
Hall
Of
Fame!
The
look
of
the
Wolfman
very
much
emulates
the
original
as
opposed
to
a
full
wolf
transformation.
This
biped
wolfman
occasionally
leaps
into
a
four-legged
trot
(to
chase
down
a
victim
or
escape
the
police
across
the
city
rooftops).
Naturally
at
the
closing
of
this
film
the
door
is
left
wide
open
for
sequels,
but
with
the
anticipation
of
this
classic
tale's
retelling,
one
cannot
help
but
feel
just
a
little
disappointed
as
it
falls
short
of
total
fulfillment
on
both
a
dramatic
and
horror
level.
This DVD version is the Director's Cut with around a quarter of an hour extra footage.
Some dDeleted scenes are also included.
4
/
B
-
Paul
Blom
0
1
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- A
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B
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C
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