Hopkins can’t save ‘Wolfman’ (2.5/5)

The Wolfman

Starring: Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Rating: R for bloody horror violence and gore.
Running time: 1 hours, 59 minutes (unedited director’s cut)

“The Wolfman” is a series of understated sequences followed by moments of unintentional comedic effect.

Joe Johnston (“Jumanji,” “October Sky,” “Jurassic Park III,” “Hidalgo”) tries his hand at this simply adequate remake of the 1941 classic “The Wolf Man.”

The updated “Wolfman” is a dark enough production, and the style and pacing will appeal to many who love older movies, but the film’s subtleties and plot-driven manner have made it difficult for contemporary audiences to immerse themselves.

In fact, the worst parts were undoubtedly the scenes that were meant to draw in today’s audiences — they felt too contrived, too predictable, too cheesy. And that is exactly where Johnston will scare away the classical aficionados, thereby driving away any solid viewership.

There aren’t many surprises with this movie — as with many remakes, you know where it’s going when you walk in. Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) returns to England when his brother’s fiancee, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), seeks his help in finding her betrothed. The brother’s body is soon found, mauled by a savage beast, much like the bodies of other victims. Pub tales tell of werewolves, to which some scoff and others cross themselves.

While in England, Lawrence is reunited with his estranged father, Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins), and finds himself falling for Gwen.

But a nighttime ride to a gypsy camp to uncover his brother’s killer ends in terror for Lawrence as the werewolf makes an unexpected appearance and Lawrence ends up being bitten.

Now Lawrence must cope with mending a broken relationship with his father, falling in love with his dead brother’s fiancee and, oh yeah, turning into a horrible monster.

The point of movies like this is not to have a flabbergasting ending but to plunge the audience into the story. Unfortunately, “Wolfman” is unable to grasp the viewer.

Having the lead role in your movie miscast, as was Benicio del Toro as the Wolfman, forces the rest of the film to rise above and beyond the call of duty to make up for such a noticeable lack — sadly, “Wolfman” fails to do this. A lesson for del Toro — being a producer does not mean that you should be the main character.

The shining beacon of this movie is undoubtedly Anthony Hopkins. He’s engaging and seems to get even creepier as he ages. (Is it even possible for him to top his role as Hannibal Lecter? Doubtful, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still scary.)

I actually was interested in this movie because of Emily Blunt (“Dan in Real Life,” “The Jane Austen Book Club,” “The Devil Wears Prada”), but this has been the first movie in which she has not totally captured me.

This movie does have some pretty interesting parts. I especially enjoyed the transformation sequences, but could have lived without most of the overdone fighting scenes. The atmospheric night scenes in the woods, however, were fairly frightening.

And they should have kept the viewers guessing [an engaged watcher’s imagination is all it takes to scare the wits out of someone, trust me] — because once you start getting some good, up-close-and-personal looks at the Wolfman, he’s not quite so scary anymore. More like Chewbacca with indigestion.

If you’re a fan of werewolves or of classic storytelling, “Wolfman” may be a movie worth watching.
But if you’re looking for a terrifying, action-packed gore-fest, this isn’t it (even the unedited version was tame enough for me to watch without covering my eyes).

2.5 of 5 stars