Big Picture Big Sound

Maul in the family

Ah, werewolves. In the pantheon of great movie monsters, the lycanthropes have always played second-fiddle to vampires. Just look at the "Twilight" series for one recent example. Still, Hollywood can't resist giving the fanged ones a shot now and then. From a marketing standpoint, it makes sense. If vampires play well to your target audience, why not try werewolves? Well, a couple of reasons: (1) like the Hulk, werewolves are simply not that interesting once they transform - they're just snarling beasts; (2) the transformation sequences - so memorable in "An American Werewolf in London" - usually look cheesy. But hey, vampires are still en vogue (if you haven't checked out "Daybreakers" yet, Netflix it), so it was only a matter of time before their hirsute brethren got a big screen make-over.

The time is now, in the form of the simply-named "The Wolfman". And, while it gets points for being loud and rather bloody, the film still hasn't cracked the code of making a great werewolf movie.

Since this is the first time this creature as headlined a movie since the 1994 Jack Nicholson-Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle "Wolf", "Wolfman" is saddled with the trappings of an "origin story". The main question: what made our ill-fated protagonist - named, as per tradition, Lawrence Talbot - start growing fangs and enjoying the rawest of raw meat. "Wolfman" sets up a backstory that has no payoff during the film: the year is 1891, Talbot is estranged from his family and returns home to Talbot Manor in Blackmoor, England, after making a name for himself as an actor in New York and London. Larry's brother Ben has been murdered most foully by some kind of crazed beast - or so it would seem. The locals immediately start making with the full-moon/silver-bullet stories, and there's a nearby gypsy encampment that would seem to support their claims.

It's all fairly standard stuff, and director Joe Johnston creates an appropriately gloomy environment. The script, by Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self, has few real scares, so Mr. Johnston compensates with egregiously loud jolts on the soundtrack. Even when you know the scare is coming (and that's often), you'll jump due to the noise itself.

No sooner does Lawrence begin hunting his brother's killer than he's viciously attacked and bitten. After that, you know the drill: snarling, drooling, hair where there was no hair before. The filmmakers wisely employed makeup effects guru Rick Baker and, as a result, the Wolfman is realized via more practical means (though some CGI is used for the transformation). Once Talbot transforms, it's refreshing to see an actual actor in makeup (particularly after the last couple "Hulk" outings).

That actor is Benicio Del Toro who, even before being bitten, appears to be wary of the proceedings. Maybe it's the fact that his brother's just been mauled, or that his father is played with scenery-chewing gusto by Anthony Hopkins. There's one monologue in particular (in an asylum) that the veteran actor delivers with such goofy zeal that it may in fact be genius. The Van Helsing to Mr. Del Toro's Talbot is Inspector Abberline of Scotland Yard. Here he's played by Hugo Weaving, still sounding like he's hunting Neo from "The Matrix".  Mr. Del Toro, on the other hand, keeps an American accent which, though his character's British, makes him at least sound like an American werewolf in London.

In the end, as always, once Talbot wolfs-out, the film is just not that interesting. It's fairly clear that, once he's transformed, there's nothing left of Lawrence's mind behind the wolf's eyes. So he can't be reasoned - or sympathized - with. Plus, since there's no cure for lycanthropy, the filmmakers are backed into a corner. Though they attempt for some poignancy at the finale, they would have been better off sticking with the (rather gory) direction that came before. Despite the big budget, this film is little more than the same old wolf in chic clothing.