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The Wolfman (2009)

Time Out rating

Average user rating

19 reviews

Synopsis

Benicio del Toro dons fangs and hairy pelt as the man cursed by a werewolf’s bite, in a film which takes a more psychological approach to the old lycanthrope legends.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Although far better than its troubled history lead one to fear, this gory, gothic take on the classic lycanthropic love story has had its romantic heart ripped out. Returning to his estranged father’s crumbling pile in 1891 – to investigate his brother’s disappearance – actor Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) falls for his dead sibling’s mourning fiancée, Gwen (Emily Blunt). But before this spark of love can ignite, Lawrence is bitten by the lunar-tic creature the locals fear, and must confront the beast buried within himself. With its mist-shrouded sets, gruesome slaughter and copious CGI, this is a surprisingly respectful updating of the 1941 Universal original. Thanks to Rick Baker’s make-up effects, Del Toro’s transformations from handsome lover to hairy, howling beast are frighteningly convincing; Anthony Hopkins is restrained as his emotionally detached father; and a cruelly underused Blunt is all-a-quiver as the beautiful, bereaved Gwen. Ultimately, though, neither Joe Johnston’s efficient direction nor Danny Elfman’s hard-working score can lift the familiar storyline out of the ordinary.

Author: Nigel Floyd

Time Out London Issue 2060: 11-17 February, 2009

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User reviews of this film

ian robinson said...

Posted on Jan 02 2011 23:53 i thoroughly enjoyed the film at the cinema and bought the dvd.As for the ending..did anyone guess the ending of titanic?

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Thomas Noctor said...

Posted on Sep 01 2010 11:24 Lol sorry boss!

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sid james said...

Posted on Aug 22 2010 23:01 Oi Noctor<< its 'werewolf' not 'warewolf' yer ha ha ha ha ha

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Thomas Noctor said...

Posted on Aug 16 2010 10:56 Classic remake, the teeny boppers of today won't like it because it's an actual good movie with a Warewolf! Fans of the original will love this, well worth a go! A good violent dark film! If you like Warewolf movies and horror movies then this is for you! Ignore the haters, they can watch Transformers!

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Midas said...

Posted on May 10 2010 20:44 Weve never really been gifted a great Werewolf movie since American Werewolf,..agreed i hope.....This film fell very short on my expectations as a massive fan of the genre.the acting was wooden unfortunately on most parts although Weaving held up pretty well !,..and why the hell were the werewolves wearing contact lenses at least,..i have to painfully admit that anthony hopkins looked like a weird kind of Bear after a makeover ??? where was the attention Rick you used contacts with thriller and American Werewolf ?
Shame,..Big Shame ,...so much potential for this to rejuvinate the franchise...Tut Tut,...too many producers got involved and then jumped ,...too many cooks spoil a broth..lol

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monkey said...

Posted on Feb 27 2010 15:30 I would recommend it to friends but we all have different tastes in movies so if you like blood guts and body parts then this is the movie 4 u

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Jock said...

Posted on Feb 26 2010 23:29 a great re-make.This is why some re-makes make sense.far superior to all that Lon chaney hokum from the 40s.I mean Abbot and Costello got involved for the last sequel.No this was a good solid 4 stars in my book.Anthony Hopkins hammimg it up wonderfully and del Toro is a fantastic character actor.the FX were stunning and Rick baker is an absolute genius.too many people expect too much from these films.leave your attitude at the concession stand and you will love this.
Hugo Weaving again is fantastic.

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W.....T......F..... ¬_¬ said...

Posted on Feb 26 2010 22:41 basic film, basic storyline, basic acting, another waste of brain cells in the memory department of anyone's brain. id rather rent a film from blockbuster and stay in. all the best parts of wolfman are in the trailer. only a few passable bits during.

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Feb 25 2010 01:59 the visual design and the victorian pastoral landscape is stunning but anthony hopkins was awful and relentlessly overacting -this is a camp horror comic adaptation and i sat through it for toro and naomi watts and some good visuals and musical score -it is a one time watch if you have nothing to do and looks alright on big screen

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_Matt_1977_ said...

Posted on Feb 23 2010 16:28 Just to add to my earlier review, the accents were a bit wonky in this film too. The girl I saw it with remarked she didn't know where the characters were supposed to be from, as their accents kept changing.

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_Matt_1977_ said...

Posted on Feb 23 2010 15:58 Painfully predictable, full of overused movie tropes, aesthetically sub-par and marred by apparent continuity errors and unconvincing characters, this is borderline reasonable entertainment. Not Anthony Hopkins' finest hour.

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Sinnyfyle said...

Posted on Feb 23 2010 14:47 RobertBuff..if, by your own admission you 'slept through most of this' then you have no right to pass comment on it because you haven't seen it in it's entirety! Just because you nodded off doesn't make it a bad film..just makes you a poor critic!

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Evie said...

Posted on Feb 16 2010 20:46 it fluctuates too much between old school make up effects and up to date cgi trickery and that uneveness leaves you wondering what the film was trying to achieve. plenty of jump out of your seat moments and flying intestines, just not enough suspense.

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Norbert said...

Posted on Feb 16 2010 11:01 We related this to Teen Wolf. What an awful film!

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RobotBuff said...

Posted on Feb 14 2010 16:13 I give this film 1 star only because i liked the effects of the gore. Not too much gore which i like. If there was lots it would have been ruined. But nothing more than 1 star as i was yawning from the start and fell asleep and snored during most of it. Please, why the wooden acting? Why? I dont get it. Please get some original ideas and stop remaking old films!

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