As much as I cringe every time I see another remake, it’s hard for me to deny that The Wolfman looks pretty good. It seems to have all of the elements for a deep, entertaining movie. It stars Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt who are all veteran actors. Weaving always seems at home in these fantasy realms and Hopkins fits perfectly aside old Hollywood monsters. I thought he was perfect in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I only have a slight concern with Del Toro. His speech pattern has a certain oddity that’s distracting. Since he’s returning home from abroad, I suppose there will be a line of dialogue about how different he is or whatever.
The Wolfman is also written by competent writers. Andrew Kevin Walker penned Se7en and David Self wrote the screenplay for Road to Perdition. Both of those films are in my favorites list. I’m not too familiar with director Joe Johnston’s work. I did watch Hidalgo and enjoyed myself. I also liked The Rocketeer, but I think that might have been more because of Jennifer Connelly. In any event, Johnston looks like he’s captured the necessary visual style for The Wolfman so his history doesn’t look like it will affect audience’s enjoyment this time around.
From the Official Synopsis:
Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins. Oscar® winner Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother…and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself.
Lawrence Talbot’s childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline (Hugo Weaving) has come to investigate.
As he pieces together the gory puzzle, he hears of an ancient curse that turns the afflicted into werewolves when the moon is full. Now, if he has any chance at ending the slaughter and protecting the woman he has grown to love, Talbot must destroy the vicious creature in the woods surrounding Blackmoor. But as he hunts for the nightmarish beast, a simple man with a tortured past will uncover a primal side to himself…one he never imagined existed.
Production Stills
Visually, everything looks pitch-perfect. The green screen work is serviceable and the creature effects are stunning. Look for The Wolfman in theaters on February 12, 2010.
