Teen Wolf: The Movie Review: This Follow-Up Film Is a Disservice to Fans

Warning: This review contains spoilers for Teen Wolf: The Movie.

Teen Wolf: The Movie‘s disservice to its fans is palpable.

The jagged edges of this hollow hack job carve away at the teen series with careless plotting and canon-crushing blows.

Teen Wolf had its share of flawed storytelling but always embraced the bad as the satirical sidekick it was. The movie, however, plays fast and reckless with the preservation of that imperfect world. It does not transcend the fires that consume Derek Hale. Instead, it all but scorches the pillars of a beloved show.

Teen Wolf: The Movie is a rush job, and the inability to give this project the attention it deserves forces this film to face fatalities before it even begins.

It is aimless without original relics or set pieces, offering fans an artificial homecoming void of nostalgia. Instead, the film uses sets from Wolf Pack (a show not connected to the Teen Wolf universe), and the unfamiliarity greets us with hostility.

The biggest betrayal is the choice to host the big lacrosse game at a college. We championed the uncut grass and street nets because these cheap set pieces symbolized the show’s scrappy likeability.

Yet that, too, has been stripped away for convenience.

The soundtrack, a once vibrant, nostalgic element of the testosterone-filled drama, is reduced to a less-than-cinematic soundscape as indie teen anthems are replaced with dulled elevator music.

It is upsetting to see Beacon Hills scrubbed of the character that made this fictional town feel like home.

The Kids Are Not Alright

When we think of what made the show special, images of laughter, lacrosse, and Stiles and Scott’s friendship come to mind.

The removal of Teen Wolf‘s heart — its humor — plagues this movie’s stiff drama shtick. The series was never intended to be a comedy, but the ensemble’s ability to transcend quirky dialogue gave it no choice. Yet, in the absence of Dylan O’Brien, the movie fights its calling.

This is unfortunate, as most returning players can land a killer one-liner. Jackson gets some good digs in about the tail, and I have zero notes for Coach. But everyone else drowns in this bleak premise.

Overall, the film lacks teen spirit. Yes, even a film that jumps 15 years in the future still has to find ways to honor that — especially when it has teen in the name.

It’s not about forcing the pack into a school setting. It is learning to elevate the teen subgenre and pay tribute to that loss of youth.

As the film states, teen wolves are inevitable. So lean into that sentiment and ditch these futile efforts to exploit the Nogitsune when Derek accompanying Eli to his lacrosse game is your relevancy. Nurturing those relationships with the next generation is how you pay respect to the kids that grew up — to the teen show.

One is left with an empty feeling when excavating the ruins of this film’s intentions.

Despite a 2+ hour runtime, the ensemble barely speaks to each other or to a deeper sentiment. Any meaningful acknowledgment of the pack’s history or time beyond graduation is sparse. They act like strangers because the script treats them as such.

As a result, these characters are but hollow shells of themselves.

The superficial dialogue works against chemistry, and the last-minute plotting carelessly overlooks relationships. Mason and Liam, Allison and Lydia, Parrish and Sheriff Stilinski; these pairings have almost no dialogue exchanges. If it does not involve Allison and Scott, it goes unsaid.

Even with the impossible return of Allison, an Argent family reunion is not a priority. And Scott cannot acknowledge the jeep or the Sheriff at risk of mentioning Stiles. Instead, they are reactionary plot tools for whatever this convoluted story cooks up.

The new additions show promise, but the script fails them too. Eli is a cut-and-paste of Stiles, providing physical humor and banter for Derek in the first act. Hikari is treated like a glorified prop, completely interchangeable as a faceless love interest.

All Hale the King

When it comes to Derek, however, Tyler Hoechlin understands what needs to be done.

A late addition to the cast, the actor slips effortlessly back into Derek Hale’s stern glare as if no time has passed. The familiarity is enough to make fans tear up.

For a few glorious seconds in the kitchen with Eli, we are transported back to the pilot as Derek squares off against a smart-mouthed teenager. His run-in with Coach and locker room pep talk strikes that balance of juvenile humor and earnest growth we crave from this film.

Even his battle with Allison feels like it was plucked from the first season.

Derek carries the essence of the original series on his shoulders, making the tired decision to torture him just as frustrating after all these years.

Alas, Derek’s reign comes at a cost as the reformed anti-hero sacrifices himself to non-existent stakes — and a fire, no less. It’s an unjust end that confirms Jeff Davis still clings to the same tired plot tools.

Going Down with the Ship

There is no denying this film’s two most potent scenes are also the most controversial.

And here lies the conundrum, do we embrace the pain of losing Stydia and Derek, or do we resent this film for rewriting arguably the best parts of the series in a bid to shock us?

I choose resentment because, after six seasons of watching Stiles and Lydia fall in love, I don’t see value in undoing all this work to punish us for O’Brien’s absence. Regardless, Holland Roden’s performance is a gut-wrenching jab at this muddled plot.

The funeral reveal is arguably the best Sterek fan fiction ever brought into the canon. I mean Derek taking care of the jeep when no one else would, the Sheriff using the jeep’s perseverance as a metaphor for Derek — that is devastating!

Yet, it is only after Derek dies that an emotional development comes to light because this queer-baiting show cannot help itself.

These beautiful, emotionally manipulative scenes contrast the rest of the plot for a reason. The death of Stydia and Sterek appeal to the film’s relevancy, but for many fans, these changes to our beloved lore come at too great of a cost to admire.

Mourning a Loss

Teen Wolf wasn’t a perfect show, but it was genuine. This film doesn’t feel like a love letter to fans; it feels like a convenience.

The plot is a mess. The pacing rushes through emotional payoffs and embraces shock value. A mini-series was the better fit here, with a script acknowledging the Hale/Argent feud as a more poignant conflict to the half-assed Nogitsune storyline.

Not all is lost, however. Teen Wolf: The Movie boasts surprisingly deep-cut cameos with the return of Adrian Harris, Condrad Fenris, and Victoria Argent. The moments spent with Roscoe the Jeep are a warm hug of nostalgia, and I have missed the tranquility of Coach’s yelling. All these elements reward fans.

But, unfortunately, so much of the project’s intentions do not.

There is nothing to anchor this film to its fans, thus nothing to justify its existence.

Other Thoughts:

• The swearing was weird but not nearly as bad as the unnecessary nudity reserved only for the female characters.
• I don’t have anything of note for Scott. His character is weaker in this iteration, which is disappointing for our sweet cinnamon roll. But Scott McCall needs to be more than his love interests.
• Apparently, Search For a Cure was not a fever dream. But I love that we pay respect to the better movie (aka the one with Stiles in a baseball cap).
• The hooded figure is a fun callback. Dedicated fans with a passion for rewatches will clock that voice immediately as Harris.
• “I understand that reference,” I say as Jackson dramatically eats a green apple.
• Coach refusing to acknowledge Scott covered in blood is such a Coach response.
• Allison is a standout in this ensemble, but she has no help from the larger story. Her getting back together with Scott is the priority, not her character arc.
• We all know how well Buffy’s resurrection went. I’m sure after nearly 20 years dead, Allison is fine. No need to ask questions.
• Derek cared for the jeep? Derek Hale removed that duct tape and cared for it? How dare this film.
• Oh, but the revenge fan fiction is going to be immaculate.

Watch Teen Wolf: The Movie online, now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!

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Teen Wolf: The Movie and Teen Wolf are streaming on Paramount+.

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