Wolfman: Yay or Nay?

[Creature Features]

As John Hannah put it THE MUMMY:

"A-mericans!"  


Now excuse me, I'm off for a Vic Bitter ....

Sounds yummy!

[depressedlarrytalbot]

It is !!   

[Toy Ranch]

I tried to avoid trailers and leaks and pictures and speculation and all that on this movie.  I ran into some of it anyway, but did my best to avoid it.  I didn't want to have preconceived notions or expectations about it.  I didn't want to obsess about it, because I knew I COULD and WOULD if I went even a few steps down that path.  And I felt like if I did, it would ruin the movie for me.  I would have expectations and build it up in my mind so that anything other than what I expected from it would be it's failure.  Even with that, I saw it with great anticipation. 

Last night I watched the original Wolf Man again, as well as Werewolves of London.  These were good movies, but not great ones.  They were silly, in the way movies were then.  The lighthearted moments were too lighthearted, and the scary, dread-filled ones didn't have quite enough of that.  Of course both are very good movies, especially The Wolf Man, but The Wolfman is not so incredibly outclassed by them.  I really like some of the changes they made to the story.  The criticisms I voiced earlier, are not diminished, but I could levy a similar slew of them at the originals.

[fmofmpls]

The criticisms I voiced earlier, are not diminished, but I could levy a similar slew of them at the originals.

I'm very glad you pointed this out Bobby. Coincidentally enough, I had been thinking the exact same thing! Over the passing of time, aficionados like ourselves tend to overlook the true shortcomings of these classic films all while continuing to romanticize them over and over and over. After a while, it becomes easy to label these films as "total perfection" when in fact many of them are anything but.   

[Penny Dreadful]

I saw 'The Wolfman' and I liked it.  The film was very atmospheric, the acting was good and I really liked Rick Baker's makeup.  Del Toro did a good job with this version of the character (a valid interpretation given the back story I suppose), but had none of Chaney's great pathos.  I definitely didn't get misty-eyed like I do when watching the original classic.  Still, I enjoyed the film a great deal.  It  had its heart in the right place, and it was nice to finally see a decent gothic horror flick in the theater again. 

~Penny~

[BaronLatos35]

Saw this with my wife at a midnight showing. It is a good monster movie with great special effects. My wife and I both enjoyed it and I was satisfied that it wasn't a Van Helsing travesty.

Spoilers:


Positives:

- So what if CG was mixed in? It worked IMO. I liked how he would switch from 2 legged running to all out 4 legged running. It wasn't an overdose of CG and Baker's new Wolf Man had just enough of the classic look while updating him and the transformation successfully.

- It had loads of gothic atmosphere, foggy moors, dark castles and shadows through out.

- I really liked the look of the new Wolf Man, transformation and all.

- They kept true to a large part of the original source material, as a monster fan I appreciated it. It wasn't The Mummy remakes.

- I thought the acting was well done.

- I liked the new aspects of the story they put in. Something new for a new generation of monsters. It wasn't supposed to be a shot for shot remake.

Negatives:

- The build up in my own mind definitely detracted a bit. Toy Ranch and the General said it right. Sometimes as fans we put our classics on untouchable pedestals. This is a good monster movie. I am happy Universal did get it right (Creature musical?) and I look forward to a new generation of our favorite monsters.

[MissDrac]

I personally was blown away at the special makeup and story line of this new Wolfman! I loved it and thought it was better then I thought it would be. I give it two paws up!!

[Creeper]

I went to see the movie on Friday too but i still like the old classic 1941 WolfMan better. I did not like this new movie because the story lines were change and i thought it stunk.Also what may me say this was and i gave some thought to this alot too while watching this new movie.We all know that Lon does not have his star on the walk of fame and that brings up a point about this remake that i dont like and that is this new actor who played the WolfMan if he happens to get a star on the walk of fame where does that leave Lon Chaney Jr and i can tell you that he will be cheated out of his star that he deserves to have.Its been a very long over due time that Chaney get his star on the walk of fame and being that we are monsterkids we should think about Chaney first and this new guy later on.That is what i think and feel about.

                                                                                                         Creeper

[monsterphile]

If Benecio Del Toro ever gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it would not affect Lon Chaney, Jr.'s chances for getting a star.  There is a separate category for actors getting their star posthumously, such as Lon, Jr. would need.  They only give out one star a year for dead celebrities and there are other categories besides movies (TV, music, and radio).  The only competition that Lon jr. has is from other dead celebrities.  There is also the $15,000 fee for the star, and unfortuantely, I believe the Chaneys have only managed to get about half of that according to their website.  I hope that someday Lon Jr. does get one, as he certainly deserves one.

[Toy Ranch]

There are so many who don't deserve stars on the walk of fame who have them, and so many who do deserve them that don't have them, I am personally not even caring about that much anymore.  Del Toro won a Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Traffic.  If he gets a star on the Walk of Fame thing, it won't be for The Wolfman. 

[kreaturekid]

Well after leting the movie soak in for a couple days, i really do love it. not what i expected but still really good!

i did notice they left out the whole ball room masquerade scene you see in the trailer and there are a few shots you see in the trailers that arn't in the movie. Hope there on the DVD!

also wish they would have done a longer scene with Lawrence and Maleva, mabe did something with tarot cards would have been cool.

[monsterphile]

There are so many who don't deserve stars on the walk of fame who have them, and so many who do deserve them that don't have them, I am personally not even caring about that much anymore.  Del Toro won a Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Traffic.  If he gets a star on the Walk of Fame thing, it won't be for The Wolfman. 

The Walk of Fame is more about tourism these days than it is about honoring stars.  Sad but true.

[Monster Bob]

also wish they would have done a longer scene with Lawrence and Maleva, mabe did something with tarot cards would have been cool.

They must have done a tarot card scene that got cut, because there was a mention of tarot in the closing credits, and I couldn't figure out what they were talking about.

[Toy Ranch]

They must have done a tarot card scene that got cut, because there was a mention of tarot in the closing credits, and I couldn't figure out what they were talking about.

I noticed that, but my wife said she saw some tarot cards in the credits or something.  Not sure... 

[HoldyourfireAl]

I know there have been a lot of shaky reviews of this film, but I gotta say that I LOVED it! They really captured the feel of the Universal Monster Movies of the 30s with just a smattering of modern brutality. I was so happy to see a Wolman that looks like the classic Wolfman, instead of a wolf head on a man's body. I can't remember the last time I was at a movie and saw women getting scared and gasping! VERY cool! Joe Johnston (director of the upcoming Captain America) made a brilliant period piece, classic monster movie here. Bravo!

My only complaint is that it was too short!

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