The Wolfman

In comparison to its predecessors, The Wolfman is rather bland and unnecessary. The jump scares and suspense don’t work, but at least the filmmakers weren’t afraid of blood. Despite the nice retro set designs, the quality cast struggles with self-serving digital tricks à la Van Helsing. And the relationship between father and son, which was supposed to be the dramatic core of the film, doesn’t work at all. Academy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro are unfortunately only here to give this forgettable Hollywood affair an air of quality. More than those two, the audience will enjoy Hugo Weaving in the supporting role of a Scotland Yard inspector. (18.10.2010)

Epic period horror with a badass atmosphere, nice make-up and good actors in the main roles. That’s a pretty good calling card, but The Wolfman is unfortunately missing a few key elements. It’s unable to generate fear or tension, it isn’t entertaining, or disgusting, or shocking. It just quietly wanders about in the background in a way that you can barely register, let alone remember. It’s not bad, but it’s a shame that with the money spent on it, you could get quite a few young, unpretentious filmmakers who’d be able to make about dozen better movies. (18.02.2010)

It is in fact possible to make a mediocre film with a bloated wallet, a returning screenwriting legend, and a cast of actors perfectly cast to the last extra. The sets, and in general the whole set design, the special effects, and the technical aspects are perfect, but it's all told in a kind of lazy way. The entire time I couldn't shake the impression that it was "skimming the surface," where everything goes according to a perfectly ordered plan that can't surprise and unfortunately doesn't even try to. For two hours, you're in a blissful state of mind about how nice it is to watch, then the credits roll, and now you want to try to remember something about it... and all that pops into your mind is a hairy man with a lot of bloody gunk lying around, nothing more. 3 ½. (23.05.2010)

Despite not being faithful to the original, Johnston is more true to its spirit and atmosphere of classic horrors from Universal. Both the well-known and well-made, and also those magical naive “such-and-such versus something-or-other" B-movies. I couldn’t ask for more. And it’s also evident that the creators love these movies (there is endless proof of this, e.g. the scene with the medical symposium where they nod at the initial aim of the original, before the studio stepped in). And not just because my heart beat away in utter delight for the entire movie (quite appropriately, since it was Valentine’s Day), which prevented me from making a valid comment about the fact that in some places it was really rather obvious that they didn’t see eye to eye with the producers as to the final cut. (16.02.2010)

Horror was expected, an homage to the original was anticipated. But what wasn't expected was a complex drama that combines more genres than I could have ever hoped for. The script hints from the very beginning that we're going into the darkest waters, and the transformation into a monster is shown through advanced mental decay. At first glance, the "fake" scary moments may seem like clichéd flaws, but in the context of the whole film, these scenes serve as progressing traumas. Like a nightmare from which the main hero jerks awake, only to wake up to a real, creeping, and inevitable reality that is just as terrifying as the imagined horrors. Moreover, Johnston's direction amplifies all of this into a depressive second nature. And when Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins say it in the dialogue, there's nothing more to discuss. A very specific work has been created, which is certainly not for everyone, but those who can look at it differently than just a monster horror can take away more than they ever expected. (13.09.2011)

It's a yawn. Considering the movie is 102 minutes long and I watched it from 6pm to 12:30am, I think it's clear how much it held my attention, how much I was interested to see how it would turn out. A werewolf straight out of Planet of the Apes. Death right after, thanks, and such a – ugh, bleh, ah; finito. The very end of the film couldn't have been more stupid. But I'd forgive it if – as I say – it wasn't such a yawn. I don't understand why I wanted to see this movie; good thing it's over. (04.04.2010)

The longer they postponed premiere, the more my concerns about the final product grew, but Joe Johnston handled it more than decently. This is not such a fundamental achievement as the first Wolfman, but, to be honest, who could expect it to be? The action is fast, brisk and (in the unrated version) good and bloody, the atmosphere is also good. Benicio Del Toro may be doing nothing more than usual, but Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving (Abberline is probably the best character and I'd love a spin-off or a part two if he was in it) steal the show at times. Elfman's music perfectly complements the plot, and the main theme seemed to me to be a jauntier version of Dracula, which is not a criticism, but a compliment, because it sounds truly superb. It is said there is no sin in killing a beast, only in killing a man. But where does one begin and the other end? (22.05.2010)

I saw the original film so long ago that I remember almost nothing of it now, and I think that's a good thing. I avoided comparisons and I enjoyed the 2010 version of The Wolfman. I can even safely say that of all the horror and "horror" movies that have been made in the world in recent years (and that I have seen), The Wolfman is quite possibly the best. No, it's not the most original or unexpectedly scary, but it's so well-done, atmospheric and dramatically gripping in every minute that it simply deserves the highest rating from me. Benicio Del Toro is perfect, Anthony Hopkins too, of course, but I'm even happier for him because after quite a long time he got a big role again... I also liked the mini-performances of Max von Sydow (not mentioned in the credits) and "master of the trick" Rick Baker, who "played" one of the unlucky torn apart men. Joe Johnston cooked up a thick period tension-filled film, and Danny Elfman spiced it up... And I ate it with great gusto. (11.10.2012)

Some passages are brilliant and it can be said that they even exceeded my expectations. Johnston moves exquisitely in a foggy setting where even Reed would get lost, and when he wants to, he can stretch the audience's nerve strings in a very intense way. Unfortunately, all that stands between a successful and properly bloody horror filler is utterly uninteresting screenwriting and dramaturgy, mired in an unconvincing family drama that doesn't even seem to exploit the huge potential of its stellar cast. Ditching the family soap opera and focusing more on Detective Hugo Weaving, by far the film's most likeable character, could have made The Wolfman a big hit. This is just very professional craftsmanship. (30.04.2011)

A film on the edge. I definitely count the graphic and at times perhaps a little explicit violence for effect among the pluses of the film. Also the fantastic production design and cinematography. However, The Wolfman falls down on the fact that Joe Johnston is not much of a director. He references classic Universal works with an almost irritating naivety and clichéd story, but then takes it out of context with scenes cut exactly in the vein of contemporary horror films, in particular the ubiquitous and (at least for me in this film) non-functioning jump scares really stink. Otherwise, the pretty good CGI effects don't offend, but watching it I kept thinking of the much better An American Werewolf in London, where the monster was also fantastic and yet it was just a matter of good masks. This way, for example, the fight between two werewolves reminded me quite a bit of Sommers' cockamamie Van Helsing. The last criticism belongs once again to the director and is most palpable at the beginning. The Wolfman has an awfully strong trio of actors at its disposal (Hopkins, del Toro, Weaving), but Johnson fails to lead them in any way. This is how, with del Toro in particular, we get theatrical overacting that is unlike anything he's done before, and it's clear that the problem won't be on his side. In conclusion, I have to admit that my cinematic experience was disrupted by a trio of misfit teenagers who just had to be super funny as usual, and while the scene was loud, their speeches were always flexibly adapted to ensure that no one in the theatre happened to hear them. Kill. (19.02.2010)

All the "finishing" elements were just right. But the creating ones honestly weren't worth much. Specifically, Johnston's "feeling" or the script drowning in grey average to below average... Tim Burton, with his sense of imagination and ability to create a good atmosphere, would have been a much better choice... Average, average, and again average... (26.07.2010)