WOLF is, for the most part, a fun and engaging riff on the classic werewolf tale about an ordinary man who finds himself bitten by a wolf and before long ends up howling at the moon. It's slightly overlong, but benefits from great casting in the form of Jack Nicholson, who perfectly channels his lead's wolfish nature; out of all the actors working in Hollywood, Nicholson is the one you can truly believe has a bit of the devil in him.
What I liked about WOLF is that it avoids being hokum for the most part. I like B-movies as much as the next guy, but it's nice to see something different and I loved the way this film explores the beast in man theme in a corporate environment. Watching Nicholson's developing rivalry with a slimy James Spader is particularly fine, culminating in that memorable gross-out scene in the men's bathroom.
It's not a perfect film by any means, and some of it does drag a bit. The scriptwriters clearly didn't know what to do with Michelle Pfeiffer's perfunctory love interest and her presence is a little gruelling on the viewer's patience. Still, the excellent Spader helps to make up for that, and there are nice, if minor, parts for Prunella Scales, Eileen Atkins and Christopher Plummer. There's a lot of comedy, too, which works a treat.
Rick Baker's special effects are a mix of good and bad. Nicholson's wolfman makeup is decent, but the animatronic wolves look like they belong in a little kid's film rather than an adult movie. And director Mike Nichols is clearly better at handling the dialogue than he is the action - all those slow-mo shots of actors jumping through the air gets a bit silly after the umpteenth time. Still, this is a highlight in a decade that was virtually defunct of decent werewolf movies.
What I liked about WOLF is that it avoids being hokum for the most part. I like B-movies as much as the next guy, but it's nice to see something different and I loved the way this film explores the beast in man theme in a corporate environment. Watching Nicholson's developing rivalry with a slimy James Spader is particularly fine, culminating in that memorable gross-out scene in the men's bathroom.
It's not a perfect film by any means, and some of it does drag a bit. The scriptwriters clearly didn't know what to do with Michelle Pfeiffer's perfunctory love interest and her presence is a little gruelling on the viewer's patience. Still, the excellent Spader helps to make up for that, and there are nice, if minor, parts for Prunella Scales, Eileen Atkins and Christopher Plummer. There's a lot of comedy, too, which works a treat.
Rick Baker's special effects are a mix of good and bad. Nicholson's wolfman makeup is decent, but the animatronic wolves look like they belong in a little kid's film rather than an adult movie. And director Mike Nichols is clearly better at handling the dialogue than he is the action - all those slow-mo shots of actors jumping through the air gets a bit silly after the umpteenth time. Still, this is a highlight in a decade that was virtually defunct of decent werewolf movies.