Mario Van Peebles parlayed the success of theatrical releases New Jack City and Posse into…a made-for-cable werewolf movie? Maybe he was biding his time waiting for Jaws V: I’m Not Quite Dead Yet. Anyway, as silly as the premise of Full Eclipse is…is as silly as the movie actually is. Not silly “ha-ha” or silly “directed by Uwe Boll,” but silly in a modest can’t-turn-away train wreck sort of way. Van Peebles, he of the perpetual stubble and dangly bangs, is hammy in his own right, but when you combine him with a plot involving werewolf super cops, you just have to throw all standards of excellence out the window and take it for what it is.
If nothing else, it’s nice to see a black person headlining a horror film (granted, it’s equal parts horror and action). I particularly got a kick out of the opening scene that reversed the typical action movie cliche of the rebellious loner (white) hero cop losing his (black) family man of a partner — generally involving an overhead shot of the hero yelling “Nooooo!” — when Max’s (Van Peebles) recently engaged white partner gets all shot up, sending Max into a deep funk that only lycanthropy (Can you say doggy style?) can cure.
The werewolf cops that welcome him into their pack aren’t really very “wolfy” when they turn; they just bulk up all Hulk-like and grow fangs and claws — and yet for some reason, Max doesn’t realize until near the end of the movie what’s happening to him. “You’re a motherfucking werewolf!” he exclaims to main baddie Garou (Bruce Payne). Werewolves aren’t the swiftest.
