Let it be known that I am a sucker for the old school Universal Horror Monsters. Frakenstein, The Wolfman, Dracula, etc. So, when sitting down to watch 'The Wolfman' my mind was filled with the sense that this new remake may have come off as a bit tacky, and that was my biggest concern. But, after watching the film, I can honestly say that I was VERY impressed.
Benicio Del Toro does an amazing job as Lawrence Talbot, the role once held in high regard by Lon Chaney, Jr. He played the part perfectly, and there were times when watching it that I could see a vague hint of Chaney in his performance. Anthony Hopkins did a pretty solid job as well as John Talbot...but that's always to be expected from him. The film looked wonderful as well. From the locations, cinematography, and over all look of the film was great. It oozed mysteriousness and carried with it a very foreboding feeling the entire picture.
Rick Baker did a great job with his makeup effects, as I genuinely love his style. He clearly has respect for the legend Jack Pierce, and the make-up is fantastic. I'm not a fan of CGI, but the use of it here didn't really bother me as much as I thought it would. I also thought that a lot of Bakers makeup effects and such would be trimmed and replaced with CG, but I was happy to see a good amount of his work still evident.
I wish that they used more of Maleva the old gypsy, which was a key character in the original.
Overall, all I can really say is that it's a fun horror/action film. Great acting, the sets and visuals are superb, etc. There are also some pretty nice kills in this one for those of you who are wondering how vicious they've made The Wolfman this time around...rather than strangling his victims. While the film can be fun, the plot suffers a tad bit, due in large part to it's pacing, which eventually leaves some plot holes. Regardless of that, it's just fun.
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