Review: The Wolfman (Joe Johnston, 2010) (Extended Director's Cut)

Another full moon means The Wolfman returns in this special extended director's cut Blu-Ray and DVD!

Now, I loved the theatrical cut and hailed it as "perfect", but upon finding out there was an extended cut i was more than happy- how could something I already found good become better? Flushes of images of the LOTR extended cuts washed over me and couldn't wait- if Johnston put the effort in as Jackson did with his trilogy and made something amazing even better with excellent extended scenes, it would be truly great, especially since there were so many scenes for the film anyway which were cut due to the troubled history of the film and it's many changes. Well, having finally seen the extended Wolfman, I think it's good that it's almost an entire re-cut of the film (and almost completely different to the theatrical), but I don't think it actually works now and I actually didn't like it as much as the theatrical! (Though I did love the old-skool Universal logo at the start, which should have stayed in the theatrical, don't know why they didn't leave it in!)

I admire that they have tried to give the first half more weight but it actually works against the movie now, it's too boggy and heavy now, and dare I say- a little boring as well! It seems as if these scenes have just been shoved in there because of the complaints that the first half was too fast, but with little thought of pacing and direction. First half doesn't seem to go anywhere and is all over the place, it drags on too much and the extra scenes really do not add anything extra to the story or character relationships that the theatrical version didn't already do. We know there's something wrong in the house and that eventually Gwen and Larry feel for each other, but these do not need to be emphasised by scenes between them which drag on as they talk about, well, nothing in particular. Giving them more time together doesn't necessarily mean a relationship is strengthened, especially when they don't do much in those scenes.

Thankfully, more scenes regarding the backstory of the tragic Talbot family have been included

Just because there's more doesn't make it better. The theatrical did it and it was more concise and to the point- There's a death in the family, Gwen writes to Talbot and he comes down, meet and greet, and then we find the troubles and sinister background to the family. Done and done. The extended is pointless banter back and forth between the three principle characters (Gwen, Larry and John) which really doesn't give any weight to their relationships, in fact I think it worked better in the extended when it's all done faster because the major points are ticked, rather than it going on and on with no substance. The theatrical did it better- the scene by the lake where Larry teaches Gwen to through rocks was tiny but i think worked very well- a traditional little scene from the classic days of film where love can be sparked from the smallest of occurrences (just like in the original Wolfman and the flirting in the Antique Shop). But in the extended it seems that they want to give more substance to their relationship by putting them in more scenes together, but it doesn't work at all. The theatrical hits the notes better regarding them both.

I liked the scene on the train though where he gets his cane, that was great, And other small scenes of carnage and gore were good. It's a shame that we can't choose what scenes we'd like to view and what not to see with a special DVD/Blu-Ray feature, as i'd love to do my own personal cut of the film, especially with all those other extended and deleted scenes.

More scenes between Gwen and Laurence have also been added...but at what cost?

Other tiny scenes are okay but again not really needed (like the small shot of the CG werewolf at the start just before it roars into the camera- that was awful, why couldn't they have used a practical version instead of bad CG?). I was disappointed to see some of the other extended London Chase scenes cut out but upon viewing them in the deleted scenes section i was glad they weren't in the film as they were horrible! Lawrence (forgetting he's a monster) and casually walking going into the ballroom (where everyone mistakes him for a Halloween costume) and getting smitten and all puppy dog eyed over the singer because it reminds him of Gwen i guess, then causing rampage? Was that a parody joke scene or what? Completely did not fit. He should have barged in there and caused havoc, not walk in there calmly and have everyone think that it's a costume- completely does not work with the vibe of the film (who directed that, it was atrocious). The alternative endings i liked i guess, i thought it was cool that Larry kills Gwen but is still alive himself- but then the camera rushes towards his face and he turns to smile at the camera!? Again, was that a joke or what?

Benecio Del Toro and Rick Baker argue over which version of the film they thought was better- theatrical or extended?

Disappointed that these were not in the film but all for the better as the extended cut makes it longer than necessary. So anyway, after consideration i prefer the theatrical as it is faster and to the point, the pace has rhythm and it works better as a tighter film, not baggy and bloated with unnecessary scenes when those scenes already convey (more meaninglessly) that Larry and Gwen feel something for each other and that something bad happened between Larry and John. These were already shown perfectly in the theatrical, more subtlety of course but it worked better that way for me. Otherwise the extended version is just too long, and not evened out enough (too long and baggy in the first half because of the longer added scenes, resulting in the second half being too fast because it's relatively unchanged). It doesn't blend together as a whole, because now the film is longer with the drama and so needs more scenes of action (of which there really aren't many to begin with in the first place but that's fine for the theatrical) but now doesn't work when the extended cut is longer with the drama, now the action scenes are too little too late.

Unfortuneatly, Hugo Weaving's eccentric Inspector Abberline doesn't have as many scenes put in

More to the first half is of course a great idea, I just felt this extended cut went the wrong way about doing it with the extra scenes added in- there's too much of them which show too little, if you get what i mean. There's not enough substance in these scenes and not enough driving force. Havin Gwen come and see the performance and then tell him to come didn't work at all, it was forced, and the performances between both actors was dead, nothing there, and not convincing at all- it really was not needed as no spark is there; watch the scene again to see zero emotion. It should have been left out in favour of something else, something that was relavent and worked.

I'll have to read the novelization, i've heard that it's good and would love to see how a proper extended version would have worked.

Anyway, it's a long time i've been to this board but i did say i would come back upon seeing the extended! It wasn't as good as i had hoped and i'm slightly gutted, but it doesn't matter since i still love the theatrical and that's the version i will most probably always like. I'm glad that they have kept both versions on the Blu-Ray and DVD for future viewing and haven't automatically regarded the extended version as the "definitive" one now and completely disregarded the theatrical. The cinematic version is i think a lot better!