Delayed by over a year thanks to numerous re-shoots, the Talbots of Blackmoor, England, are not the only cursed feature of this CGI-laden mishap. Directed by Joe Johnston (whose previous efforts include Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji) even the inclusion of Oscar-winning actors Benecio Del Toro and Sir Anthony Hopkins fail to lift The Wolfman out of middle-of-the-road territory.
Set in 1891, the plot follows Shakespearean actor, Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro), who makes his way back to the family manor after news of his brother's disappearance. Greeted by the just recovered grisly remains of his sibling on the day of his arrival, Lawrence sets out to discover who - or what - is responsible for the village's recent spate of murders. Lawrence discovers his brother's links with a band of gypsies, and fuelled by village talk of a man-like beast roaming the surrounding countryside, he sets off to discover the truth.
Still, there wouldn't be much of a movie if things went according to plan, and, after being attacked by the beast during a meeting with the gypsies, Lawrence soon discovers he has been afflicted with the dreaded werewolf curse. He is saved from death by the gypsy woman treating his wounds, but his remarkably quick recovery arouses suspicion among the villagers. Shortly afterwards, he makes his first transformation.
Given the nature of the film, you would imagine the titular monster would be appropriately terrifying. Unfortunately this is not the case. The work of Rick Baker, the legendary special make-up effects artist responsible for Alien and Michael Jackson's Thriller, can be seen vividly in the comically gruesome injuries of each victim of the wolf. But Baker's work on several prosthetics for the character of Lawrence was almost entirely replaced by CGI in post-production, and the resulting creation is somewhat lacklustre.
In-between turning into a snarling, hairy and murderous monster, Lawrence also finds time to fall for his dead brother's fiancée - Gwen - portrayed by quintessential English rose, Emily Blunt. Lacking somewhat in the chemistry department, Del Toro and Blunt fail to convince the audience that they are in love, which, given the importance of Gwen's role in the fate of her beastly beloved, could be construed as something of an inconvenience.
Also joining the cast is acting legend Sir Anthony Hopkins, playing the role of the odd captain of the manor, Sir John. But if you're expecting a villain of Hannibal Lecter-esque proportions - well, just don't. Yes, Hopkins sounds scary, and yes, the mad glint is still lurking behind the veneer of calm, but other than that, Sir John is remarkably unmemorable. And he is not the only casualty of Andrew Kevin Walker's drab screenplay. Given the length of the film (just under two hours) one would assume that at least there would be plenty of time for substantive character development.
The Wolfman plods along at a painfully slow pace - surprising given the gratuitous filleting of Victorian cannon-fodder along the way. And yet it somehow still manages to leave the three main characters severely underdeveloped. Several short flashbacks give an explanation to Lawrence's fraught relationship with his father, but these still do little to flesh out the character. Still, the film has its good points - namely in the form of Hugo Weaving - who turns up halfway through proceedings as Scotland Yard inspector Francise Aberline. Woefully underused he may be, but Weaving nevertheless manages to captivate in every scene he is in.
There has been a string of highly-successful werewolf-themed movies over the decades, from the 1941 film this is based on to John Landis' 1980s classic, An American Werewolf in London. The Wolfman, unfortunately, is not one of them.
