Being a huge fan of horror movies, and in particular, Werewolf flicks- I was extremely pumped up for this particular film. Wolfman had an all-star cast: Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs), Benicio Del Toro (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and the beautiful Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada).I also was intrigued by the fact that special effects maestro, particularly for werewolves and other primates Rick Baker was on board doing the hairy beasts that were running rampant upon the screen ripping apart unsuspecting villagers.

Remaking a Universal classic such as The Wolfman, originally directed by George Waggner almost 69 years ago in which Lon Chaney, Jr. starred, sure had to be an extremely daunting task at hand. Couple in the fact that many purists were probably excited to see this film, but also dreading it because they did not want to see one of the great horror classics become butchered, distorted, and torn apart before their very eyes on the big screen for the current generation of horror fans and moviegoers alike to have viewed, most without having seen the original masterpiece. Let's be honest, I am sure many young teenagers that went out to see this film with their date, hoping he or she will be gripping their their partner's arm due to sheer fright, had never seen the original.

All these expectations for this film, directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3, Honey I Shrunk the Kids), and plenty of hype. Did the film fare decently or did it fail miserably? I have to say that the film succeeded in entertaining me immensely. I may be going against the grain by most viewers comments, but I really enjoyed the film. Part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was that Danny Elfman wrote a brilliant musical score to the film so that even during some scenes that were a little dull or deplete of action, I was amused, more like amazed, by the creative and compelling soundtrack that Elfman scored. The man is a genius and makes every film he works on an utter pleasure to listen to.

Aside from the genius soundtrack, I thought the film was very visually appealing, with its use of drab grays and dark shades of blue and black. The film had a relentless amount of atmosphere tied to it, sort of in the manner that another batch of films involving werewolves, the Underworld franchise, has utilized in every one of their films that I so much enjoy. I believe the film was gorgeous, Gothic in its beauty and presentation of its English countryside, and the credit goes to the cinematography of Shelly Johnson, along with the many visual effects and special effects artists. Wolfman was simply beautiful to look at. I believe the visuals of the film, the awesome soundtrack, and seeing Hopkins and Del Toro working together and acting in the same film all added to my major enjoyment of the film.

The film also had quite a bit of blood, gore, and violence but if you are one that abhors to seeing CGI displayed in a film, then this surely will disappoint because there is a fair amount, if not copious amount, of CGI. There are not a whole lot of organic effects of blood and gore in this film, if any, and although I am prone to choosing organic effects over computer-generated ones, this film still worked in my favor.

As for the plot of the film, it was simple enough- a monster story in the basic sense and it pretty much followed the original's storyline. Lawrence Talbot goes back to his family's estate where his father is living in upon learning of his brother's disappearance. Once there, his brother's fiancee, Gwen Conliffe, tracks Lawrence down in order to get him to help her find her love. But, of course, feelings arise and Lawrence's buried memories of his past, his mother's death, and the true nature of his family and himself are discovered during a beast attack on a group of gypsy's squatting in the woods.

I felt that Emily Blunt's performance was the best in the film, but Hopkins and Del Toro did have their moments, although not many. If it were not for the atmosphere, visual effects, violence, gore, and impressive soundtrack, the average plot and slow points of dialogue during the film may have had me writing a completely different review. The writing in the film was definitely not one of the stronger points to Wolfman, but the overall atmosphere of the film surely won me over.