"Werewolves are a disease!"

So I made good use of my third consecutive Snow Day yesterday, and saw The Wolfman on opening day. I really was prepared to love everything about The Wolfman, but here's the sad truth: if you like long shots of Benicio Del Toro traipsing around the misty moors in a top hat and fur-lined cloak (and I do), then there is something for you in this movie. However, when moors-traipsing is the best thing about a movie, there is a problem afoot. The fact that no two characters have even remotely similar accents reinforced my impression that I would soon be wanting my $8.50 back. I think Anthony Hopkins knows it, too, because he raced through his lines with zero inflection / commitment to character, and the subliminal message seems to be this: "Rent was due, get off my back."

And when is someone going to realize that when the monster lurks just outside our range of vision (or the gypsy camp, whatever) the monster is actually frightening. When the monster looks like Anthony Hopkins in a werewolf costume: not frightening. Not frightening!

My primary gripe re: The Wolfman concerns a missed opportunity for a Hugo Weaving in-joke. It is pretty awesome when Agent Smith (Weaving's character in The Matrix) intones, "Humans are a disease." I kept waiting for someone involved with The Wolfman to capitalize on the fact that, HEY, Hugo Weaving's on the set! It would be so fantastic if at some point his detective character casually mentions that "Werewolves are a disease!" You know, casually but with an exclamation point.

It is also curious that every character saves up all of their nighttime errands and pub-goings for the full moon. They collectively stay huddled up indoors during the safe times, and then head out en masse once they hear some howling on the moors. Oh, those moors again! And I'm not even going to get into Emily Blunt's character except to say: How did "Lawrence Talbot" (come on, I know it's you, Benicio!) know where your antiques store was located? Hmmm?