by Mark Brown

Despite a slew of remakes in recent  years, a lavish remake of Universal Pictures’ The Wolf Man (1941) was still an interesting prospect as it featured an impressive cast, including Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, and special makeup effects by Rick Baker. However, shortly into production, director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo (2002); the music videos for Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and “The Perfect Drug”; the music video for Johnny Cash’s cover of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt”) was let go due to “Creative Differences,” with the more experienced though less inspiring Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Jurassic Park III) taking the helm. Despite a budget of $85 million the production ran into further difficulties. Reshoots and computer graphics sequences were added after a lacklustre response from test audiences, leaving genre fans wondering quite what would be released… and when?

The resulting film has turned out to be a strange and uneven mess in which the troubled production history is all too evident. Computer graphics sequences jar with the dramatic scenes in the film and, although skillfully realized, the reimagining of the creature is more comedic than frightening, particularly during the unintentionally hilarious finale. The sets are overdressed, and the atmosphere created is more reminiscent of a Hammer Films production than a Universal one.

It is, however, the performances which let this film down more than any other factor. Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot delivers a somnambulistic recital – which is surprising given his reported enthusiasm for the project – and he looks quite disturbing before the application of makeup. Anthony Hopkins as his father Sir John phones in his performance and comes across as an annoyingly evil imp. Emily Blunt as Gwen Coliffe is given very little to do and her relationship with del Toro’s troubled character seems unlikely. Hugo Weaving appears to be reviving his role in The Matrix (1999) as he plays real life detective Inspector Abeline who was attached to the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888, and a scene where he blazes away at the werewolf on the streets of London is risible.

On the plus side The Wolfman is never dull, the cinematography is amazing, and, although inconsistent with the rest of the film, the computer graphic effects utilized in the transformation sequences are some of the best I have seen. The film is delightfully gory and revels in the violence caused by Talbot’s transformations. I also enjoyed the occasional homage made to earlier Lycanthropic productions.

An entertaining film despite its many foibles, I feel that this is a missed opportunity to create a classic gothic masterpiece. Although it is not an outright disaster, it is far from the great film it could have been and, ultimately, doesn’t improve upon the original.