Wolfman

I can’t wait until Hollywood gets so obsessed with producing old properties that they “re-imagine” The Bible. Or does The Da Vinci Code count for that? Anyway, this whole idea has been hit or miss. I’m having a little trouble coming up with any in either category because these rehashes usually don’t prove as worthy or memborable as their originals. Based on the trailer for Universal’s The Wolfman, that crappy tradition might finally be broken.

The uber-competent Joe Johnston directs a pretty bang-up cast that features Benicio as the proverbial Wolfman, Emily Blunt as the damsel in distress, Hugo Weaving as the monster-hunter and Anthony Hopkins as the wise old guy who seems to know more than he’s letting on.

Johnston is described as uber-competent because he’s spent plenty of time with creatures before, including being at the helm of Jurassic Park III, Jumanji, and with giant ants in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. While these films are enjoyable, they’re not necessarily stylistic achievements. But the trailer proves Johnston’s got that in spades too. It’s atmospheric, dark and creepy — everything a thriller called The Wolfman should be. Beyond that, the effects look disturbing and realistic, at least moreso than the JP3 raptors.

The other concern anyone might have is with story. Well, Wolfman‘s plot seems to have teeth too. It looks like, come February 2010, we’ll be getting a little bit of romance, a little bit of mystery, a little bit of horror and a lot of bit of full moons.

The bang-up Wolfman trailer, which was released under the radar on the same day as Avatar‘s teaser, proves itself more hype-worthy at the following link: http://movies.yahoo.com.