The Wolfman started out well. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the movie, and it seemed to be building towards something for the first thirty minutes or so, but then all of the sudden it lost its way with a lack of imagination and a predictable ending. That is why I can only give it a 5 out of 10 or in other terms about ** out of ****.
THe plot is easy enough and follows a simple monster plot. Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns home after learning that his brother has disappeared. Once there he meets up with his strange father Sir John (Anthony Hopkins) and his brother's fiancé Gwen (Emily Blunt) who was the one that wrote to him telling him about what happened. Once home he learns that his brother was killed, and hears stories about a beast that might've caused it and that the Gypsies are to blame. Trying to learn of his brothers death, he visits the Gypsies and soon comes face to face with the beast which attacks him and passes the curse onto him. The rest of the story is pretty obvious from there, so I will say no more.
I found myself getting into the movie, but then there is a secret that is exposed not even half way through the movie that becomes way to predictable and shatters any mystery that the movie might've had. I was expecting a little bit of imagination here, but it was not to be. Sadly this leads to a climax that is just plain ridiculous. The finale finds its way back a little bit, but it is not enough to save the movie.
The acting at first seemed a little off, but it does improve somewhat though not enough. Anthony Hopkins has a few good lines which makes you think there is more to the story then what there really is. If you've seen the trailers, which give way too much away in my opinion, you will not be shocked where this movie eventually ends up going. Hugo Weaving, who plays an inspector hot on the tail of the beast, also has a few funny lines, but the one character that seemed to take this material more seriously and acted the best would be Emily Blunt's character. I reacted to her character more than any of the others.
THe story itself was sort of choppy, and it bothered me somewhat. The first half hour of the movie and build up is still the best, but what follows goes where a monster movie of this caliber should never go, and it becomes silly and almost laughable. However, as I said before, the final few minutes redeem the story a little.
I loved the atmosphere, and I was glad they went to a more Gothic setting. Some scenes, like the pub, and the sets reminded me of An American Werewolf in London and the original Wolf Man. There were even some themes in the movie taken from the 1962 Hammer Version of Curse of The Werewolf. I liked that the director used these scenes in this movie, but it's too bad he couldn't use more imagination to make the movie as a whole work much better.
Disappointing, but not a complete failure.
