OVP: The Wolfman (2010)

Film: The Wolfman (2010)
Stars: Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin
Director: Joe Johnston
Oscar History: 1 nomination/1 win (Best Makeup*)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 1/5 stars

Rick Baker has transformed the world of Hollywood Makeup and ranks alongside the Westmores and Dick Smith in his history of creating the masterful images and creatures of the screen.  He has, in the course of his career, received a stunning seven Oscars for Best Makeup, as well as another five nominations.  He is responsible for the spewing vomit of Regan MacNeil, the multi-headed targets of the Men in Black, and a lovable sasquatch named Harry.

So I will admit that, though I was not excited about the prospect of the film, which had received horrible reviews, that Oscar statuette had me at least excited about the technical aspects of this film, and I will admit right now, I wasn't wrong to be disappointed on that front, but let's get into the plot of the film first.

For those familiar with the classic Wolf Man tale, of which I am not (it's scrounging around the Netflix queue, but I will admit right now it's toward the bottom), this may be a repeat of a plot you know well, but for those who aren't, this is the story of a man, Lawrence Talbot (del Toro), who comes home for the funeral of his brother, who has died savagely and unexplainably.  He is intrigued and charmed by his brother's fiance Gwen (Blunt), and put off by his father (Hopkins), who put him into an asylum when he was a mere child, after coming across his dying mother.

(Spoiler alert) You know where this is going, of course-this is a monster tale as old as time, and we learn that, despite him being good-hearted, after the bite of the monster, Lawrence cannot control the evil within him, and he goes out killing and rampaging the English countryside, and eventually the streets of London.  We learn also, of course, that his infection wasn't an accident, and that instead of a random creature of the night, it was his father that infected him with the virus, and that after years of staying in the shadows, Hopkins' werewolf wants to go out into the night.  Of course, this being a movie, this isn't how it goes down, and before the final full moon, both Hopkins and del Toro's werewolves have fallen prey to the silver bullet, and that Weaving's lawman may well be next.

The film is ridiculously formulaic, and poorly acted.  Hopkins, Blunt, and del Toro can all act when given the chance, but here they fall back on their most habitual acting tropes: Hopkins with his creepy cadences, Blunt with her repressed, quiet Brit, and del Toro with his brooding, tortured soul.  The film is almost unnecessarily violent-with pancreases and intestines on full-display.  It's also hopelessly formulaic, and they don't even try to hide the fact that Hopkins is secretly a werewolf.  It's the sort of film that you will instantly forget twenty minutes after seeing it, and that doesn't even attempt to be original or strike up something new in the horror genre.

It's worth noting, though, for the purposes of the OVP that we have to separate out the Makeup work, which is exceptional.  Though Baker is borrowing a bit from his previous, legendary work in Werewolves of London, there's still much to admire here-the growing, decrepit wolves, the golden snake makeup on Blunt, the twisting limbs and body parts are gruesomely real.  Though I still need to see the other two nominees from 2010, this film starts out with a healthy head start in validating its trophy when we do the 83rd Oscar roundup in a few weeks.

And what about you-what are your thoughts on The Wolfman?  Do you have a favorite of Rick Baker's work?  And between del Toro, Blunt, and Hopkins, which do you wish would give another great performance that we know they are capable of doing?