The Wolfman Review

By: Robert Acosta

Plot: Upon his return to his ancestral homeland, an American man is bitten, and subsequently cursed by, a werewolf.

My Review: I wasn't around in 1941 to see the original Wolfman with Lon Chaney and i'm glad to say that. I'd be way too old to type and produce for this blog! Nonetheless, this is a real remake. Almost 70 years in the making comes another entry in the Wolfman legacy. All these other movies getting remakes after 20 or 25 years have nothing on the Wolfman's wait. Now onto the actual review.

The casting in this movie is spot on, couldn't have casted anyone better for these roles. Benicio Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot/Wolfman really worked for me, he just has a certain style to him that couldn't see anyone else as the Wolfman. The chemistry between Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins as his father and Emily Blunt as his love interest was seamless. Nothing felt forced, everything was nice and fluid.

As for the Wolfman himself, it was fun to watch. The transition from human to werewolf was intense but fitting. Then again, I say that with the knowledge of i've never seen a human transform into a werewolf in real life and I don't think anyone ever has so speculating as to how that transformation should look like is stupid. All I have to say about it is that it didn't look stupid and it didn't look unrealistic. The Wolfman definitely looked like an imposing figure, as he should. Watching him run from building to building and run on all fours was a nice touch as well.

The gore in the movie wasn't over the top but at the same time, it will keep horror fans satisfied. Some kills happened so fast you couldnt even see them and some just happened in places not shown but you just heard them happen. Some of the kills were comical and really did spark at least a chuckle, which is what the director was probably going for.

The story from start to finish was intriguing and just fun to watch, from the twist and turns of the movie, to the motives of movie. There were a couple of things that were funny to me, funny in the sense that at times it was hard to take the movie seriously. Some of the flashback scenes were like that, along with one of the twists in the movie.

Overall, The Wolfman is more than an enjoyable time at the theater, it's a solid film. Great actors doing a great job in their respective roles, making dialogue and scenes overall feel natural. At times hard to take serious but at times very amazing to watch things unfold.

Rating: 4 out of 5