Taking a fresh, new viewpoint on the 200 year classic by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein received some expectation to live up to the masterpiece. The science fiction horror film, starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, was released on Nov. 26. Promising lots of action as one can see from the official trailer, the plot keeps one engaged, or at least puts in good effort in trying to.
Frankenstein begins with the perspective of Igor (Radcliffe) and continues to for the entire film. Living as a clown in the filthy conditions of the circus, Igor has experienced the downfall of poverty along with incessant harassment by his fellow coworker and boss. That is, until, he meets the man who can give him life again (figuratively of course), Victor Frankenstein (McAvoy).
Upon performing his medical expertise on one of his fellow peers as a result of a tragic fall, Frankenstein is clearly impressed with Igor’s intellectual abilities. Whisking Igor away to join him in his laboratory that serves as his home, Igor then becomes Frankenstein’s fellow partner/lab assistant. Thus, begins Igor’s and Frankenstein’s journey to give life a new definition as the pair strive to recreate a being from remnants of carcasses along with the occasional corpse.
Possibly, the worst aspect of Frankenstein was its plot. I had high expectations for the movie to be the film counterpart of the novel by accurately portraying the brutality along with the troubled mind of Frankenstein while making his creation. The gruesomeness of Frankenstein’s idea definitely made its point to anyone watching the movie, because of the well done CG effects and cleverly placed jump scares.
While, the villain in this case, was the police in which one of them constantly voiced his own morals and resistance against Frankenstein’s radical mind, it would have been nice to see some more development of his enemies. More like, it was chase after chase with bland dialogue.
Regarding the monster, it was disappointing to see how unconvincing the creature looked and didn’t seem to exert the ferocity that I was expecting despite the heavily action packed plot.
The only thing worthwhile in this movie was the recruitment of well established actor James McAvoy and A lister Daniel Radcliffe. Both actors displayed excellent performances with Frankenstein’s disturbed nature and Igor’s conscientious mindset and naivety. Combining the two personalities into one powerful force, it was refreshing to see how the two worked together hand in hand and developed a dynamic yet fond relationship.
Due to the fact that the interaction of the two main characters was the only saving grace of this film, I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone plainly because of its plot that leaves one confused and also because it doesn’t live up to the classic’s name.
Taking everything into consideration, this movie would receive a two out of five stars.
Official trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQF2d0gqPDI
