Film: The Wolfman
Contributor: Jet
Date: 2/21/10
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Bad Benicio and the Stolen Soundtrack

Having good news and bad news, the classic question stands: Which do you want to hear first? Being that I am going to pick for you, you will get the bad news first. You need to know the truth first and, in this case, it bites.

Benicio, what did you do?

First and fore mostly, you did a terrible acting job. In this gothic-Victorian, moss-dripping, fog-rolling, darkness-creeping setting, your character of Lawrence Talbot lacked intensity, emotion and believability. You did realize that you were playing opposite Anthony Hopkins who takes acting to a stratospheric level, right? You look cheap next to Mr. Hopkins (Sir John Talbot) and you look silly as compared to Hugo Weaving (Inspector Abberline). Additionally and being the least of your sins, you lack any kind of twisted sexual chemistry with your grieving vapid love interest, Emily Blunt (Gwen Conliffe).

Secondly and strangely, you did a wonderful job impersonating Lon Chaney from the 1941 “The Wolf Man” movie. Is that bad news? It is bad and unfortunate news due to a huge ‘look and feel’ difference between the two movies. Lon Chaney’s happy, flirty, mildly innocent and cursed character fits perfectly into the sterile and proper 1940’s “The Wolf Man” setting. In this classic version, men converse properly in suits with ties, women have perfect hair and the overall feel is clean. Lon Chaney’s character works in that arena. However and with the current film set in a grimy, run-down, animal-head filled mansion near a town covered in the dirt of the industrial revolution, Lon Chaney’s Lawrence Talbot character does not jive. Because Del Toro decides to channel Lon Chaney, he creates a character that is not intense enough, tortured enough and dark enough to give this current wolfman the teeth he needs. The only break in Benicio’s bad acting occurs during the asylum scenes which will be discussed after the problem of the stolen soundtrack is addressed.

And, now, for the soundtrack problem: As the movie progresses, something in the back of your mind starts to beep and flash noticing a strong similarity to the soundtrack of truely epic movie. It was when I started craving Gary Oldman bloody fangs and tears of diamonds that I realized the soundtrack from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” had been hacked. When I say it is similar, I mean I had to research it to make sure it wasn’t the EXACT same soundtrack. Alright…alright…Wojciech Kilar may not be filing a lawsuit, but I did found out that there a story behind this music. Initially, Danny Elfman wrote a heavily “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” influenced score for this film that was rejected by the movie moguls for reasons that it was too repetitive. I would also have included plagiarized. They brought in another composer, Paul Haslinger, who basically tricked out the soundtrack from the 1941 film and the Execs soon realized it was not a match for this dark and dank 2010 version. So, they went back to Danny Elfman’s score which was hurriedly ‘fit’ to the movie and was as repetitious and ripped off as before. An intense and original soundtrack could have given this film the emotion that Benicio forgot.

Enough with the lashings…let’s get to the reasons why you should rent it on a stormy Saturday night. Rick Baker takes his classic painful werewolf transformation from 1981 “An American Werewolf in London” to a whole new level. As joints pop, bones twist and jaws break, a brutal, blood-thirsty and fearsome werewolf comes to life. The best example of these excellent special effects is seen in the Asylum just prior to the mauling of the maniacal psychiatrist. In fact, some of the best scenes of the movie occur in the Asylum. Benicio speaks just a little and does a nice job being physically and mentally tortured by the chilling masochistic doctor in this filthy cracked-up strapped-down hospital setting.

Additionally and as previously hinted to, Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving are terrific. As the Inspector, Hugo Weaving purrs his skeptical and probing lines as he tries to trap Larry Talbot into an admission of pre-meditated murder. Stepping in and out of the Inspector’s way is the animal skin clad Anthony Hopkins, who convinces us that being haunted by the past can drive us to a wonderful animalistic madness that just has to be strapped down once a month. As Sir John, he quietly rails and wars against his prodigal and now cursed son climaxing to a fiery fight scene which leaves one stunned.

Above average rental, yes. Much anticipated epic, no.

3.25 out of 5 stars.