With his somewhat wolf-like appearance, Benicio Del Toro seemed to me an ideal choice to play the title character in Universal’s update of its 1941 horror classic. But the mumbly Oscar winner actually proves to be the weak link in this otherwise handsome, if bloody, production that represents the first R-rated effort from director Joe Johnston.
Del Toro assumes the role of Lawrence Talbot (originally played by Lon Chaney, Jr.), a renowned Shakespearean actor who, upon hearing from his brother’s fiancée (Emily Blunt) that his brother has vanished, returns home to his family’s English estate where he gets attacked by a werewolf, sprouts fur and starts ripping the local citizenry to shreds.
The main problem with Del Toro here is that he lacks energy. He talks in a low voice and just plain looks like he’s half asleep. He may be able to get away with such things in lower-profile flicks, but this is an $85 million Hollywood movie, one that needs an actor who can stand out from all the sturm and drang. Mumbling simply won’t cut it.
As such it falls to Anthony Hopkins, as Del Toro’s crazy pop, to make things interesting, which he does with effortless, scenery-chewing finesse. Especially good is the scene with Del Toro in which Hopkins explains at length how he feels about the death of Del Toro’s mother. “I’m quite dead,” he tells his son, waving a lit candle between them and exuding quiet menace.
The film around him isn’t nearly as scary as he is–or scary, period–but it sure does look good, boasting finely-tailored costumes, lavish sets, horse-drawn carriages, constantly grey skies and lots of shots of mist-shrouded forests. The score by Danny Elfman isn’t too bad, either, though at times it tends to sound like the music from 1992’s Dracula (which also featured Hopkins).
Johnston (Jumanji, The Rocketeer) seemingly compensates for the scarce scares by going all out on the gore, and that’s not a complaint. Courtesy of makeup master Rick Baker, we see entrails littering the ground, heads getting lopped off and arms torn off. And Johnston excels at the action stuff, particularly the fiery finale between Del Toro’s werewolf and the beast that bit him.
So you can forget about nuance with this one, despite the presence of Blunt, who mainly looks concerned a lot. There is a bit of humor, though, when Hugo Weaving (excellent as a Scotland Yard inspector) sternly explains to a lady in a tavern–to the sound of a man suddenly spitting out his ale–why he’s there instead of out arresting Del Toro. You might just howl with laughter. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]
Horror/Thriller
Rated R
DVD Release Date: 6/1/10
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