A Dark And Underrated Reboot – THE WOLFMAN (2010) Review

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“The Beast will have its day…the Beast will out.” ~John Talbot

The Wolfman (2010)

With the release of 2020’s The Invisible Man, I decided to revisit one of the last big reboots of the classic Universal monsters with 2010’s The Wolfman directed by Joe Johnston and starring Benicio Del Toro. Does it hold up after ten years or has it dated like old milk?

A CAST TO HOWL FOR

Right off the bat, the one thing this movie nails perfectly is its cast and their performances. The main lead is Benicio Del Toro who just excels every time he’s on screen as Lawrence Talbot: this was honestly one of the best performances I’ve seen from him and shows his range as an actor. From his calm but indifferent relationship with his father, the romance with Emily Blunt’s Gwen, or his struggle with the curse that’s befallen him. Del Toro performs excellently and does justice to the role that Lon Chaney Jr. established so well back in the Golden Age of Universal Monsters.

While not my favorite role of Emily Blunt’s, she provides a good supporting role as Talbot’s last bit of hope in this world after the curse has stricken him. Gwen, in my opinion, stands out much more in the last third of the film when she becomes more active in trying to help Talbot.

Hugo Weaving plays Aberline, the typical inspector/policeman character in Universal Monster movies but since its Hugo Weaving, he makes the role effective. My only gripe with him is that I wish he was in the movie just a bit longer but he’s great whenever he’s on screen.

Finally there’s Sir Anthony Hopkins, the legend himself as Sir John Talbot who…is great for the most part but there is something that happens in the final act that ruins his character for me but I won’t go into it here. Overall, he’s an interesting character that changes a lot throughout the movie.

A BLOODY GOOD TIME

One of the things I love about this movie by far is it’s CARNAGE CANDY. Johnston does not hold back with this reboot when Talbot wolfs out on the full moon; this is not some misunderstood animal that can be contained, this is a true monster that massacres anyone in its path and the kills are done with BEAUTIFULLY executed practical and CGI effects. Just watch the Wolfman’s rampage through London and you’ll get pretty much everything you came to see in a monster movie.

This also adds to Talbot’s character, making us feel sorry for him as he is not some secretly dark man who wants to hurt people, he’s just a lonely but kind actor who came home to mourn his brother and now he is eviscerating the innocent because of a curse he cannot control. It makes you root for his character…but you also love seeing the gory kills so it’s a win-win.

THE WOLF AMONG US

Taking inspiration from An American Werewolf in London, this movie makes its transformations from Talbot into the Wolfman brutal and painful with a good mixture of CGI and practical effects though relying more on CGI that sometimes is a little dated but overall, the transformations are glorious to watch because of all the different details gone into how he changes.

The Wolfman himself is primarily done through makeup which I definitely appreciate because he looks amazing. They could have easily gone with a design similar to the werewolves in movies like Van Helsing or The Howling but instead, they do a great job of honoring the original Lon Chaney Jr. design while updating it enough to make it distinguishable for this version and make him VERY menacing.

FAMILIAR AND FRESH AT THE SAME TIME

Growing up as a fan of the classic Universal Monsters, I found myself very surprised at how this movie acts as both a remake and a reboot. The first half plays very similar to the original 1941 film about Talbot coming home to mourn his brother when he’s attacked by a wolf creature that gives him the curse of the Wolfman. Pretty similar but then the last half of this movie takes things in a new direction that I ended up really liking…until the climax but more on that later.

Combined with the gorgeous Victorian era setting, it shows that Johnston really respected the original film and honored it unlike the new Invisible Man which I personally felt deviated so far from the Universal Monster icon to the point of losing its identity. Here, The Wolfman still looks and feels like the classic but doesn’t follow so close that it feels like no effort was put into it.

CLASSIC UNIVERSAL ATMOSPHERE

One thing I’ve always loved about the old Universal movies from Dracula to Creature of the Black Lagoon and of course, The Wolf Man was their great use of atmosphere and scenery to immerse you and fill you with tension. Still to this day, movies like Dracula ooze with atmosphere and I believe Joe Johnston nailed that.

The set design is Gothic and exquisite, the cinematography is beautiful yet ominous, the music feels like it belongs in a classic horror movie but amazing orchestrated for modern viewers, and everything just has the look and feel that I love from these movies. My favorite bits of this come in the middle when Lawrence is sent to London to be treated in an asylum. From his treatments to his rampage on London’s streets, it featured the best use of atmosphere by far.

GREAT BUT CURSED WITH FLAWS

No movie is perfect and this movie definitely fits that description as there were elements that I didn’t like or just felt that they could have handled better. The biggest one for me is the odd pacing: I know they wanted to feature as many uses of the Wolfman as possible but they expect me to believe that this movie takes place over the course of three months but it feels like three days between transformations at times.

SPOILER WARNING!!! I’ve hinted at this throughout the review but that ending fight between Lawrence and John Talbot as Wolfmen? It comes off as straight up cheesy, especially since Hopkins goes from sinister and quiet villain to a little over the top. And the way his Wolfman dies makes me laugh every time.

Some of the CGI is dated but not to the point of ruining the movie for me, just enough for me to notice it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, The Wolfman is a movie that I still find myself enjoying with a powerful lead that rivals the amazing Lon Chaney Jr., a talented cast overall, great scenery and atmosphere, AMAZING gore, and a great dark retelling of the Universal icon. I give the movie an 8/10 and recommend you all check it out if you haven’t!

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