Wolfman: When Nostalgia Just Isn't Enough

I wanted to like this movie so much more. It is perhaps a good thing that what set me up for my viewing were a series of lukewarm reviews that told me not to expect much. At that point, believe it or not, I was allowed to view this unimpeaded to really put my flavor and emotion in the experience. Tendency has been for me to build these movies up and slash and burn once I'm done with them. Wolfman was far from perfect but what good there was in the movie was enough to appreciate even when it amounted to little more than nostalgia.

Joe Johnston is a real hit and miss director. The sad thing is most of it has very little to do with his movies being good or bad. Sometimes, like with October Sky, he just comes off as too sugary and some subject matter just can't be coated in sweetner. Hence a big portion of my trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised to see him take some chances with this movie. This is neither safe nor light fare. It at times can be tongue in check but also visceral. The moors, the little village atmosphere, and the gypsy caravan are all examples of a man that loved what Lon Chaney Jr did before. You get a very nice love letter to what came before.

That is perhaps where the movie also fails. Quick cutting set to a script meant to grab you emotionally really killed the pacing and left me feeling like I never really had time to invest in any of the characters enough. Instead of these long established moments of ingestion of the material the script writer clearly meant to happen you are left with something that feels akin to a Fast and the Furious movie. Just too quick for the material presented.

Benicio Del Toro still steals this film. I had to look several times has he evoked Chaney again and again. It was also little touches like the silver wolf's head cane carried by a stupendous Anthony Hopkins that really did it as well. There were moments that despite everything I felt I should feel I couldn't help but smile at how much this reminded me of all the fun I have had watching the original in the past.

Lastly, in agreement with Roger Ebert, CG did a lot to hurt the werewolf. He just felt like a video game character laid into these beautiful landscapes which detracted from the audiences ability to really be dragged into the story Johnston was trying to tell. Rick Baker did excellent in every other aspect of effects but just couldn't quite get the physics of the character correct. In the end, despite its flaws I did have fun with this movie and will say if you have a day to kill and some extra money this is well worth the view for any fan of the original Universal Monster movies.