The Wolfman is a remake of 1940s' film of the same name which was an iconic movie.Our current film stars Benico Del Toro as the shapeshifter, alongwith Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving . The look of the film is great.You know what I mean: Misty forests in moon light, wolf howls, blood and gore and what not.
But the film is not without faults in other areas.There so many cliches and stereotypes one after the other that we have all seen so many times so they dont work any longer.
Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro), a Shakespearian stage actor in Victorian England, returns to his family estate after his brother is brutally killed. At first, the suspision is focussed at a troupe of wandering gypsies and their dancing bear. But after a midnight chase across the mist covered moorland, Lawrence himself is mauled, but saved at the last minute. And dont we all knows what happens if a werewolf bites you but you survive.
Anthony Hopkins plays Del Toro's father who is kind of a recluse while Emily Blunt plays his brother's grieving ex. Weaving is Scotland Yard's Inspector Abberline, a character lifted God know why from the Jack the Ripper story .
All of this does not matter that much, because we're really waiting for the sight of a werewolf with the scent of blood in its nostrils, aren't we? First in misty forests, then around the cobbled streets of London, then back to the woods for the finale.
The transformation scene is good . The best the latest technologies and an actor can make it. So plus one for "The Wolfman".
In all we have to say that Director Joe Johnson of Jumanji and Jurassic Park 3 fame has done a great job as far as the aesthetics of the film are concerned but the weak point of the film is the script which falters at many levels.Plots and sub plots are all over the place.
No complaints in the acting department though.Hopkins is a pro but cant do much with the script.Emily is good as she could be.Del Toro has done his best within the scope of the character painted by the script.
Good news is the film is not a total loss and has many good points as mentioned above.That is the end of "The Wolfman" movie review.
The Wolfman releases February 12.
