Del Toro’s The Wolfman – The Delays Were for Good Reason

The Wolfman

Director Joe Johnston

Starring Benecio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving

Seven directors were attached to this film, since it was announced to be made in March 2006.  Only two were seriously considered, but with talent of the likes of Frank Darabont and Martin Campbell left on the sidelines, one wonders what they were thinking when they selected the director of Jumanji, Jurassic Park, Hidalgo and, more favorably, October Sky to take the helm.

The director is not a huge problem in this picture, but neither does he add all that much to a threadbare plot.  But one should point out that Johnston hired the screenwriter, David Self.  Self’s career has been unremarkable thus far, with Thirteen Days and Road to Perdition being highlights.  No red flags, but nothing to suggest we have a pending classic on our hands.

The release date for The Wolfman was pushed back a total of 4 times, from the original release date of November 12, 2008 to the final date one and a half years later of February 12, 2010.  What was happening here?  Were they actually making improvements?  Were they delaying the inevitable?  Sure there were some re-shoots, but delays this long are usually reserved for a Dennis Quaid movie.  This is never a good sign.

Of all the issues this movie had, casting did not appear to be one of them.  Del Toro, an Oscar winner who, according to special effects guru Rick Baker is “…practically the Wolf Man already.”  Anthony Hopkins, another Oscar winner, was cast to play his dad.  Emily Blunt, an up and coming actress in her own right represented the betrothed of Del Toro’s late brother.  Rounding out this all-star cast is Hugo Weaving, playing the investigator.

So what’s the matter here?  Why was the movie pushed back?  Did the studios know something, or were they looking for an optimal calendar date?  Finally being released in competition with two entirely beatable films Valentine’s Day and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, the movie came in 3rd.

Watching the film, it is easy to understand what happened.  First of all, the casting missed by a quarter.  Del Toro is horribly miscast as any sort of European.  His face, accent and demeanor are so distinctly American, that it throws the entire movie for a loop.  To top that, he seems to have forgotten how to act.  There are moments in the film, like when he is exposed to his brother’s corpse, where I can imagine him as an accomplished actor.  There are, however, far more occasions where his performance is so stone faced, that it is almost too funny to watch for a respectable horror film.

At this point, Hopkins has made so many bad choices, one would hope that he could have retired after Silence of the Lambs.  There are moments of true genius in his performance, like when he just stares at Blunt’s character while passing her on a staircase, or his lunatic ravings to his freshly awoken son after his first lycan rampage.  He can perform touched with the best of them.  Still, he goes back and forth from genius to hack enough in the movie that you wonder what it takes to inspire someone of his talent.

Certainly, in this case, the inspiration does not arrive in the form of a script.  One can tell from nearly the opening credits each and every “twist” in this film.  One can imagine Griffin Mill laughing, but not too hard, at this script’s laziness.  It is yet another example of how the perceived demands of the modern movie going audience are continually misjudged.  To say that studios are responding to demands of the public for a watered-down product is being disingenuous.  This film failed at the box office.

Blunt’s job here is to act as window dressing, and she does it well.  If the script gave her something more to do, I am sure she would do it.  Her portrayal is consistent throughout the movie, for what it’s worth.

Weaving comes out looking the best in this script.  He takes the scenery he can chew and savors it.  His is a real presence of authority in the film.  Every scene he has is owned completely.

Good as they were, there is not enough of them to make the film any more worth watching.  So then what is it the film intends to accomplish, if not a decently challenging script?

If special effects are what you want, you’ve already seen better.  Baker is the ground-breaking genius behind An American Werewolf in London.  Nothing here, even with digital effects, improves upon it.  There are several eviscerations, decapitations and some bone crunching here and there.  There is one moment involving two werewolves that stands out for me…and not much else.

I used to think there was just one werewolf movie ever made that was worth watching.  An American Werewolf in London is still pretty much that entire list.

(* out of *****)