I have enjoyed several movies that have dealt with vampires, monsters, werewolves, and the supernatural for years. I also have sat through some bad movies dealing with those subjects. I thought that Wolf was one of the better ones even though it had some problems.

Will Randall was a book editor who had his life change dramatically in unexpected ways after he hit a wolf late one night. When he got out to check on the wolf, he was bitten. In the days following, strange things happened and Will had more energy than he’d had in years. While all that was going on, he also had to deal with changes at work since Raymond Alden, a business tycoon, bought the publishing house Will worked for. Raymond was going to fire Will and replace him with Stuart, Will’s younger protege. Will decided to fight to keep his job and started a relationship with Laura Alden, Raymond’s daughter. As he noticed more changes in his abilities and several strange things happened, Will came to believe that he was turning into a wolf because of the bite he’d suffered.

I thought that the plot for Wolf was fairly original when I first saw the movie. I still do since it presented the plot in a little different manner. It was never said that Will was becoming a werewolf, but it certainly seemed that way from what was happening to him. The other movies I’ve seen that have dealt with werewolves have made it very clear that werewolves were involved from early in the movie. Things were presented in a more realistic manner even though what happened wasn’t really believable. The movie did include some aspects of the supernatural and I enjoyed that. People who don’t care for those types of movies may want to pick a different movie.

Wolf had a slow pace through most of the movie. That did cause some scenes to drag on a bit too long. A few sequences were slightly boring. That didn’t bother me since I thought the movie was entertaining overall, but some people may feel differently. I do think the movie would have been more entertaining if there had been a bit more action and not so many slow-moving scenes. It was fairly late in the movie before there was any kind of action. That was provided though a fight that did get somewhat violent. There really wasn’t a lot of actual violence shown on screen. Instead, it was more implied by other things that happened. The aftermath of the implied violence was shown a few times and that was kind of gory.

After Will was bitten, he went through a few days feeling odd before he started feeling better than he had in years. He also developed stronger senses, like being able to hear people from a great distance, and smell things that most people can’t. I was fairly sure what was going on with Will, so I didn’t feel like there was really any mystery provided by that aspect of the movie. There was a small amount of mystery connected to a few other things and how they would work out. Overall, the mystery aspects for this movie were fairly weak, so people wanting a stronger one should find a different movie. I did think there was a decent amount of suspense in a few scenes.

Will had been married to Charlotte for a while before Wolf began. I don’t remember hearing how long they had been together, but it seemed like they were settled into their relationship. At one point, she criticized how he handled a certain situation and she got nasty about it. They weren’t overly affectionate with each other, but they did share a sex scene. Will did get a bit wild during it even though nothing much was really shown. When Will first met Laura, he did seem interested in her, though he didn’t act on it at that time. Later, once he discovered something else about Charlotte, he did pursue Laura. She knew he was married, and she didn’t have a problem getting involved with him in that way. It was made very clear that they had sex without any actual sex scene being shown, so people that are bothered by those scenes shouldn’t have a problem with this movie.

Will had his job for many years before Raymond bought out the company and decided to make changes. Will really wasn’t shown before he was bitten, but from certain things that were said, it seemed like he wasn’t very outspoken or aggressive about any aspect of his life. He had let people walk over before, but after he started changing, that stopped. Jack Nicholson fit the part really well and did a good job with it. I didn’t feel like he slipped into over doing anything like he has in some of his other movies. Charlotte was only shown a few times, so she was a very flat character. What was shown of her didn’t make seem that nice. Kate Nelligan was fine in the part.

Laura was wild in her own way and liked to do things that would annoy her father even though she was living on his property. She was drawn to Will, probably at least partly because she knew her father wouldn’t approve. Michelle Pfeiffer was very good in the part. Raymond wasn’t around very much, but he didn’t seem to be that nice of a character. Christopher Plummer didn’t have much to do with the part. Roy worked with Will and seemed to get along well with him. David Hyde Pierce didn’t have much to do either. Stuart acted like he thought so much of Will, but he was jumping at the chance to stab him in the back. Stuart was just not a nice guy and James Spader fit the part well.

Main Cast

Kate Nelligan - Charlotte Randall
Jack Nicholson - Will Randall
Michelle Pfeiffer - Laura Alden
David Hyde Pierce - Roy
Christopher Plummer - Raymond Alden
James Spader - Stuart

Mike Nichols - Director

I first saw Wolf in the theater in 1994. Since then I have also seen it a few times on television. Depending on what channel it turns up on, certain things are edited out when it is on television. I found it on one of the movie channels I get the last time I watched it that doesn’t edit movies. I believe that the movie is available on DVD.

Wolf was a bit slow in some scenes, so some people may find the movie boring. Despite the slower pace, I still thought the movie was entertaining and it is worth watching for fans of the cast. People who like movies that deal with werewolves or the supernatural may also enjoy the movie.

Michelle Pfeiffer Movies
Batman Returns ~ Hairspray ~ Married to the Mob ~ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ~ Stardust ~ Tequila Sunrise ~ What Lies Beneath ~ Witches of Eastwick ~


Recommended: Yes