The Wolfman falls victim to a problem that plagues so many remakes: trying to be unique and different while still being loyal to the source material.
So, the effects are better. The changes to the story unnecessary and lacking because they fail to make the plot any less predictable. The acting is strong.
I have to hand it to the screenwriters and directors: I love how they nobly took the oedipal complex of the movie to a whole new level. Their attempts to make this film cerebral and visceral are to be applauded.
But we all know that all the poetic Fruedian imagery in the world can only class-up a movie with a wolfman-on-wolfman showdown so much. Plus, they telegraphed their punches by introducing Lawrence Talbot to us as starring in Hamlet and estranged from his family. File that under Not Very Subtle.
The gore is awesome. The cinematography and costumes are sumptuous and sensual. Yet, in the end, this movie is schizophrenic. It's visuals and gore appeal to our basest desires, yet it's plot and undertones try and
appeal to our higher consciousness. This balance is carried off successfully in movies like Fight Club and Kill Bill. The Wolfman cannot keep both balls in the air. I think the high-brow intentions of the movie would have worked if we saw less of the werewolf. The low-brow intentions would have been easily achieved if the writers had kept the simpler original Wolfman plot so we weren't dealing with complicated family and psychological issues.
Still, it's worth a watch. Terrific blood, gore, fights and fantastic feats of facial hair. There are so many beards and mutton chops on the villagers that it made me hope Gillette goes out of business. (Seriously, men. Reclaim your fuzzy face rights!) Danny Elfman's score doesn't disappoint and sets up the tension nicely.
-- Noel
Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick
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