Dark misty moors, tall trees, and a full moon are the recipe to a werewolf movie such as this film, "American Werewolf In London", and of course, the original Lon Chaney film. Benicio Del Toro (always enigmatic) assumes the role of Lawrence Talbot, a British-born, but American raised actor who returns to his rundown English home after the brutal death of his brother, Ben. Lawrence is reunited with his estranged and eccentric father, John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins), and introduced to Ben's beautiful fiancé, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), in order to solve the mystery of Ben's death. While on the trail of searching for the killer, Lawrence is attacked by a werewolf and the curse is passed on to him causing him to be the prime suspect of Detective Frances Aberline aka the Hunter of Jack the Ripper (Hugo Weaving) leading the official investigation. The good news: excellent special effects and make up of the werewolf attacks. Some really good jolt scenes and some good performances. Del Toro is always versatile and it shows in all of his performances including this one which has to rely on special effects and make up. Personally, I loved the scenes he shared with the luminous Emily Blunt, who portrays the character of Gwen Conliffe with sympathy and vulnerability without turning her into a simpering damsel in distress. Blunt and Del Toro to my surprise had wonderful chemistry. The bad news: the direction of the film was choppy and rushed. Anthony Hopkins is still playing the mad old kook who has played before and the story is predictable. To summarize, I was entertained at times, but I was left short of the mystery that the film was suppose to have. However I do have more good news: I would prefer this film over "New Moon" anytime, but I have no intention of spending another 8 bucks on "The Wolfman." I would recommend this film when it is aired on HBO.
Review of The Wolfman
