‘The Wolfman’ With Benicio Del Toro Misses By a Hair

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HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.5/5.0
Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Joe Johnston’s “The Wolfman” nearly works. The Benicio Del Toro vehicle has a strong supporting cast, a few striking visual compositions, and at least one must-see sequence, but it misses the mark as a complete film, never quite as compelling or entertaining as it could or should have been.

“The Wolfman” opens with the grisly murder of Ben Talbot by a creature of the full moonlight. His death brings his long-lost brother Lawrence (Del Toro) back from the States and into the twisted world of patriarch John (Anthony Hopkins) and across the path of Ben’s lovely fiancee Gwen (Emily Blunt).

StarRead Brian Tallerico’s full review of “The Wolfman” in our reviews section.

The townspeople are looking for answers as to how a man like Ben could be so mangled and mutilated by the light of the full moon and Lawrence gets into the investigation while also dealing with family secrets like why his mother killed herself years earlier. Lawrence has his own dark side (evidenced by some time spent in an asylum) but his issues become much worse when he’s attacked by the beast. It’s not long before Lawrence is sprouting hair in new places and wreaking havoc on everyone who he encounters.

Office Abberline (Hugo Weaving), a name that should be familiar to those interested in the history of Jack the Ripper or even just the movie “From Hell,” comes to town to solve the mystery and take down the beast. Meanwhile, John clearly hides a secret or two and Gwen finds herself drawn to Lawrence.

‘The Wolfman’ stars Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Geraldine Chaplin, and Hugo Weaving. It was written by Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self and directed by Joe Johnston. It opens on February 12th, 2009. It is rated R.

StarContinuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “The Wolfman” review.

Gwen Conliffe (EMILY BLUNT) hides from an unimaginable creature in the action-horror inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, ?The Wolfman?.
Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) hides from an unimaginable creature in the action-horror inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman.
Photo credit: Universal

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