Lawrence [Benecio Del Toro] returns home to try and solve the mystery of what beast killed his brother.  While out in the night searching for answers he happens to come in contact with the beast and is wounded.  He is now cursed.  Lawrence must now come to terms with his new self while at the same time learning more about this life under the pale moonlight.

Nowadays we watch movies that are filled with Computer Generated Images (CGI), and every time those graphics aren’t up to scratch people all complain and holler with comments like, “what’s wrong with the good old days when everything was practical, like in Raiders of the Lost Ark?” And even though I don’t disagree with everyone who has this sentiment at the same time I feel that that isn’t an excuse for just wanting to be nostalgic and just make a movie completely with practical effects just for the sake.  I always say that every decision on a film has to be justified by the story and the vision that the director wants to portray in the end product of the film.  So while I didn’t completely hate the guy in the wolfman suit (and deep down I want to wish it was Benecio in the suit because that would be pretty hilarious), at times it seemed way too out of place in the film.

This film worked for me on few levels. It gave me a feeling of complete and utter self-gratis with ever moment that there was the wolf on screen thrashing people to death.  The gory mess that this film was whenever there was a full moon was just too much for me to contain myself.  As much as I dug the design of the wolfman when I was seeing production photos coming out early last year, it was a laughable thing to see on screen at times.

Acting wise I found myself flabbergasted at how much I disliked Benecio Del Toro in this film, while at the same time loving Hug Weaving and Anthony Hopkins.  Benecio has been one the shining lights in film of recent years, barely giving anyone an excuse to complain, even when he ended up starring in overall poor films.  While in recent years I’ve found more and more reason to dislike Anthony Hopkins (All the King’s Men and Alexander), but here he was able to portray the horrible father role perfectly.  He somehow was able to let you know from the moment he entered the film how distant and cold a father he was to Lawrence as a child, and even now.  Hugo Weaving on the other hand had the trouble of playing the role of the British detective who felt almost like he was channelling Robert Downey Jr.’s role in Sherlock Holmes.  He had an air of arrogance to him at first, looking like he didn’t care for the case that seemed simple enough.  Then he met the beast and his response to the case was just unimaginably great.

In the end this isn’t the best film you will see at the theatre, but it may be perfect for a gory Thursday night when it eventually hits DVD.  Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving save the movie from being a boring reimagining of a genre that deserves to remain in our memories.

IMDB says 6.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 32%

I say 5.0/10