Wolfman: Yay or Nay?

[Wolf Man]

They were waiting to show the full moon in the sequels.  Don't want to give it all away in the first film.  We got to see some really cool full moon shots in the new Wolfman.  I especially like the way they speeded up the film as the moon was rising. 

[Barlow]

I give it a great big claws-up! Ok, so there were some things I didn't like about it. I hated the werewolf battle at the end. Just too over the top and not at all interesting (it's almost a remake of the Iron Man movie and its final battle at the end...same pattern I mean). And some parts were choppy. But overall, I liked Benicio del Toro as Talbot, and I enjoyed most of the scenes. The atmosphere was great. But most of all, I loved the werewolf attacks! Now that is how a werewolf hunts, not like Chaney in the original! Best werewolf attack scenes ever!

It had enough flaws not to be the definitive werewolf movie I am still waiting for, but it was really satisfying.

[Wolf Man]

I actually enjoyed the werewolf on werewolf fight for a number of reasons.  First, it was a nod toward the Paul Naschy movie Frankenstein's Bloody Terror where Naschy fights the resurrected werewolf that was his ancestor.  I also liked the Old werewolf vs the young "pup" so to speak.  The fight itself I thought was well choreographed although I would have liked to see Lawrence "not" kick Sir John into the fire but finish him off with brute strength but that to me was a minor point and he still handed Sir John a killer finale.  I also loved the way the mansion began burning down around them.  It would have been a very destructive fight.  Any fight between werewolves would be destructive in the extreme.  I also liked the good werewolf against the evil one aspect.  I have heard comments about Sir Anthony's sluggish portrayal but I thought he played the evil aspects of papa Talbot just right.  He had a real nasty streak even though he killed family members he supposedly loved. 

[Memphremagog]

They were waiting to show the full moon in the sequels.  Don't want to give it all away in the first film.  We got to see some really cool full moon shots in the new Wolfman.  I especially like the way they speeded up the film as the moon was rising. 

Agreed about the remake. However, at the time the original Wolf Man was produced in 1941, there were no plans for any sequels..just the concept of getting the film made and put out there as a money-maker. Universal did not know at the time that the character was going to be so popular. The absence of the full moon in the original film is simply due to lack of adding it to the script or finished film in any scenes.

[Universal Steve]

Oh yeah, I'm still glad that Del Toro was the beast, I just didn't care for the whole asylum deal.  I mean, how sorry do we have to feel for this poor guy?  And the doctor was so despicable, he was almost cartoonish (IMO)!!  Anybody feel sorry for him when he got it?  I didn't!  

Ididn't feel sorry for him at all.  He had it coming and I was hoping it would happen. I thought when he was strapped down in the asylum and then changed and broke loose was one of the few high points of the film. I liked the London segment.

[Cinemacabre]

Thanks Wolf Man - I must have missed the moon changing cycles. Got it now.

[Gillman-Fan]

My biggest criticism: too much werewolf.

Seriously, as an adult who's see a fair amount of movies, there needed to be more suspense/tension built before seeing a head-to-toe monster shot in crystal clarity. At no time was I pulled-in nor did I ever experience any sense of discovery. It was the the "Cliff Notes" of monster movies

I can cut the classic werewolf movies a lot of slack as they were building their history (no jaded audiences yet) and establishing a genre BUT a modern production really needs to bring something unique to the table.

[Mcdee]

Just got home from seeing the Wolfman...My Vote...
a resounding YAY!!!
Loved every minute of it...
Mcdee

[Wolf Man]

My biggest criticism: too much werewolf.

Seriously, as an adult who's see a fair amount of movies, there needed to be more suspense/tension built before seeing a head-to-toe monster shot in crystal clarity. At no time was I pulled-in nor did I ever experience any sense of discovery. It was the the "Cliff Notes" of monster movies

I can cut the classic werewolf movies a lot of slack as they were building their history (no jaded audiences yet) and establishing a genre BUT a modern production really needs to bring something unique to the table.

This is one of the aspects I really loved about the film.  I can see what you are referring to.  In Jaws, Bruce the mechanical shark did not work very well so they opted to not use it and what we got instead was a lot of suspense and tension from the unseen.  Once the shark is visible it became a bit less scary and looked kind of fake, especially by today's standards.  However, one of the complaints I always had with werewolf films was that I wanted to "see" more of the monsters.  After all, most of us think they are really cool, cool looking and want to see as much of them as possible.  Consider this, the film does not look like it will break even with just box office receipts therefore we most likely won't get a sequel nor is it looking good for many more of these classic monsters to get a revamp.  With that being possibly the case then for me personally I want as much as I can get from this one.  Imagine if they had not shown much of the werewolf at all.  Shown him in the darkness and shadows or very quick one second views, while the suspense may have been higher that is all we would have "ever" seen of him.  With no sequel to look forward to and future classic monster revamps less likely there would be very little to satiate our appetites.  So I for one am pretty glad they decided to "show" us lots of the monster and the werewolf battle at the end showed a lot as well.  I enjoyed all the iconic images the film had to offer.  Had the film been more suspensful I am not convinced it would have done any better at the box office so we would have just been disappointed in how little we saw of the Wolfman.  I am sure there would have been lots of complaints about that if that had been the case.  Just a different take on the subject. 

[Crazy1van]

Hey, if I'm gonna tailor my Halloween 'look' to resemble the new Wolfman makeup, I pretty much HAVE to see the monster as much as possible, in as good a lighting as possible, and from as many angles as possible.  So I'm quite happy seeing what this guy looks like.

[Scatter]

Strictly speaking, should A&C movies be considered canon in relation to U-Monsters?

Absolutely!! Same studio, same actors under make-up, same Universal folklore.

[darkmonkeygod]

An interesting (to me at least) little factoid. My pal, who is a projectionist, has seen the film six times, and the last time he saw it he counted the number of instances someone says "Lawrence" during the 102 minute film. His count? 52.

[Rich]

The new Wolf Man was just plain awesome! It was awesome! I loved it!

[Scatter]

An interesting (to me at least) little factoid. My pal, who is a projectionist, has seen the film six times, and the last time he saw it he counted the number of instances someone says "Lawrence" during the 102 minute film. His count? 52.

Your friend needs a hobby. Badly.

[depressedlarrytalbot]

Coulda been worse though, Scatman. When I skimmed DMG's comment I thought at first he said "proctologist" and I'm like, "Oh no, where could this possibly be going??"