The Wolfman

Based on the 1941 horror classic, The Wolfman follows turn-of-the-century nobleman Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) as he arrives home to bury his brother alongside his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins’ John Talbot) and his brother’s fiancee (Emily Blunt’s Gwen Conliffe) – with problems ensuing as Lawrence finds himself on the receiving end of a deadly curse after being attacked by a mysterious creature. It’s clear right from the get-go that Joe Johnston is looking to emulate the feel of an old-school horror flick, and although the filmmaker does succeed to a certain extent (ie the movie boasts a decidedly atmospheric sense of style), The Wolfman suffers from an egregiously deliberate pace that slowly but surely renders its overtly positive attributes moot – with the pervasively stuffy vibe holding the viewer at arm’s length for the majority of the running time. This feeling of lifelessness is also reflected in Del Toro’s lamentably less-than-enthralling work as the central character, as the star offers up a surprisingly flat performance that’s sorely lacking in the off-kilter quirks with which he’s become associated (ie he’s just dull here). The only real break from the tedium is an exceptional stand-alone sequence in which Lawrence, much to the alarm of dozens of watching scientists, transforms into the title character and embarks on a rampage of London; it’s an exciting interlude that possesses precisely the sort of energy that’s sorely missing from the remainder of the proceedings, although, to be fair, it’s difficult not to get a kick out of Hugo Weaving’s all-too-brief turn as a tenacious Scotland Yard inspector. It’s a shame, really, given the potential here for a fun horror-movie ride, with Johnson’s ongoing difficulties in sustaining viewer’s interest ultimately ensuring that The Wolfman comes off as a sporadically intriguing but mostly underwhelming piece of work.

** out of ****