I’m pretty sure that it is no secret that I like the remake of
The Wolf Man,
I would even go as far and say I’m a positive fan of it.
Which doesn’t stop me from niggling mind you:
The first time I saw Sir Hopkins transformation sequence I felt awfully reminded of Michael J.’s dad's in Teen Wolf, probably not the effect they were aiming for.
*j/k*But seriously, some of the cheaper looking CGI FX tipped the balance and prevent the movie from becoming a true classic, more pathos and a few more memorable lines wouldn’t have hurt either. More choice pieces like Hugo Weavings:
“Rules Mrs Kirk. They ‘re all that keeps us from a dog-eat-dog world, you know.”
(Great delivery there)
But there's a lot to love about this movie, from steady paced action to brooding atmosphere and a great cast. Like Sir Anthony Hopkins taking on the role formerly played by Claude Rains, and not making a bad figure doing so. Then there's Emily Blunt who can easily compete with other female leads in the field, like Yvonne Romain or Nurse Alex, Jenny Agutter; and truly, I think nobody suffers more beautiful these days.
Not to forget the movies fun and action packed homage to the legendary Piccadilly carnage scene from
An American Werewolf in London.
Speaking of which, it sure is not necessary to mention that Rick Baker worked on the creature FX for both
Wolf Man and
American Werewolf. I would like to insert here though that he also worked on the vastly underrated
Wolf; and seeing how the formidable make-up FX he used there are clearly a tip to the hat towards the Universal Classics, I feel that Rick came finally full circle with his work on
Wolf Man*.
*
Please do not take this as me saying that we are going in circles in this genre, nothing could be further from my mind!
My admittedly first thought when I saw the poster for "The Robot" was actually of Bradbury's novel "Fahrenheit", but the poster for THX was a better fit.
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