The Wolfman

Benicio Del Lobo! :)

When I first saw the trailer for this movie I burst out laughing (loudly, I'm afraid) and realized quickly that I was the only one. Turns out my son, Josh, in a theater several states away, had the same reaction. It just seemed like an incredible and ridiculous movie for Benicio del Toro to star in!

But we've waited with wolfbane baited breath, counting off the moon phases, and finally today it arrived.

THIS was a movie - THIS bordered on semi epic - THIS was a film that didn't need to be made!

Earthdad and I are fans of the genre, and the individual actors. We're both fans of Lon Chaney and the Creature Features of decades ago. But why remake a movie if you don't have much of anything to add to it? It follows so closely the original, even certain exact scenes and images. But the sets are larger and sweeping, and the actors are better quality. A touch of pithy dialogue, and Anthony Hopkins. Other than that it follows - exactly - it's an old movie set to a new screen. The pacing is slow, the music dramatic, at times it appears to be making fun of itself (accidentally?) and there are many moments left open for witty and silly remarks - so be sure to take a friend who has a sense of humor. We found several of those and fell into the giggles. Unfortunately the movie was moving on taking itself very, very seriously.

Anthony Hopkins is wonderful but there's not enough of him to make it worthwhile. Benicio was fine - just odd still that he's even in it. He didn't seem to bring anything special to this. Emily Blunt was an odd choice (The Devil Wears Prada) and the weak link in the ensemble. She simply is not mature enough or a strong enough actor to be the female lead here. A snapshot of her was fine - she appeared to be made up very well and fit the role, but she didn't have the presence that her character required.

For me the one who stole the show was Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith from The Matrix. He doesn't have a huge role but his scenes are excellent and his dialogue is about the best. He was worth watching.

They've left the door wide open for Wolfman 2 but I don't think the revenues will allow that to happen. Ironic that a lack of silver at the box office may be the death of The Wolfman.

Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - we were happy to see Super Manager Shane who served us up piping fresh popcorn with real butter and sprinkle cheese. We were unaware that today was a school holiday (or we never would have gone) but the staff were doing an excellent job moving everyone along quickly on a tough day. The crowd in The Wolfman was quite thin, but other shows (the children's movies especially) were full.

This one gets a "2".