I, Frankenstein
Directed by: Stuart Beattie
Written by: Stuart Beattie, Kevin Grevioux
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney, Socratis Otto, Aden Young, Caitlin Stasey, Mahesh Jadu, Steve Mouzakis, Nicholas Bell, Kevin Grevioux
Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi - 93 min
Written by: Stuart Beattie, Kevin Grevioux
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney, Socratis Otto, Aden Young, Caitlin Stasey, Mahesh Jadu, Steve Mouzakis, Nicholas Bell, Kevin Grevioux
Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi - 93 min
On the monster scale, Frankenstein’s monster falls short of Dracula who is usually ripe material for a decent film but is a bit more compelling than The Mummy who is little more than a moaning zombie. Previous movies have faithfully shown Mary Shelley’s monster arise from the dead, attempt to understand itself, and inevitably collapse due to misunderstandings and persecution. More recently, we’ve seen the monster tap dance with Gene Wilder onstage courtesy of Mel Brooks and morph into a reanimated dog in Tim Burton’s 2012 children’s version, Frankenweenie.
Now we get Frankenstein’s monster, the action hero, a vigilante refusing to take sides in the never-ending war between heaven and hell. Incorporating a few elements from Shelley’s original 1818 tale, our monster (Aaron Eckhart), is brought to life by mad scientist Victor Frankenstein (Aden Young) and then quickly montages to present day. Along the way, the monster is attacked by demons from hell that want to capture him. Saved by heavenly gargoyles, who name him Adam, he learns about the war between the gargoyles, protectors of humans and sort of angels from heaven, and the legions of demons cast out of heaven that want to take over the world.
Call him Adam, the monster, or just Frankenstein, the film never quite makes up its mind on that, our loner is not one to take sides; he only looks out for yours truly. Trudging around the world, slaying demons every now and again, and perfecting an omnipresent sneer, Adam searches for something, be it comfort, companionship, or merely solitude, neither he nor the audience really knows why he chooses to just walk the Earth.
Choosing to return to the city that hosts both the gargoyle garrison and the demon squad from hell, Adam stirs up a couple bloody battles yet steadfastly grumbles, “This is not my war!” We have no idea what city this is by the way where it always seems to be midnight. The gargoyle castle resembles Notre Dame but the one line uttered by one of the very few civilians we see is spoken with an American accent.
I, Frankenstein, a ridiculous and silly title, is dark, gothic, and wants to remind you of the Underworld franchise, its elder brother. The Underworld series sports vampires, werewolves, a whole bunch of fetish leather, and Bill Nighy as the bad guy. I, Frankenstein sports flying and morphing angels/gargoyles, demons disguised as humans who burn their flesh off when they get mad showing horns or whatever, blunt axes and staffs for bludgeoning, and Bill Nighy as the bad guy.
The similarities are there because the same production company fronts these movies and they share the same writer. The Underworld series has the edge though. Vampires are just more interesting than Frankenstein, or whatever the hell his name is. Plus, the flying gargoyles just look creepy. We can only hope, for all our sakes, that I, Frankenstein is a one-off movie and does not come with the infinite sequels the Underworld franchise relentlessly spawns off every other year or so.
Now we get Frankenstein’s monster, the action hero, a vigilante refusing to take sides in the never-ending war between heaven and hell. Incorporating a few elements from Shelley’s original 1818 tale, our monster (Aaron Eckhart), is brought to life by mad scientist Victor Frankenstein (Aden Young) and then quickly montages to present day. Along the way, the monster is attacked by demons from hell that want to capture him. Saved by heavenly gargoyles, who name him Adam, he learns about the war between the gargoyles, protectors of humans and sort of angels from heaven, and the legions of demons cast out of heaven that want to take over the world.
Call him Adam, the monster, or just Frankenstein, the film never quite makes up its mind on that, our loner is not one to take sides; he only looks out for yours truly. Trudging around the world, slaying demons every now and again, and perfecting an omnipresent sneer, Adam searches for something, be it comfort, companionship, or merely solitude, neither he nor the audience really knows why he chooses to just walk the Earth.
Choosing to return to the city that hosts both the gargoyle garrison and the demon squad from hell, Adam stirs up a couple bloody battles yet steadfastly grumbles, “This is not my war!” We have no idea what city this is by the way where it always seems to be midnight. The gargoyle castle resembles Notre Dame but the one line uttered by one of the very few civilians we see is spoken with an American accent.
I, Frankenstein, a ridiculous and silly title, is dark, gothic, and wants to remind you of the Underworld franchise, its elder brother. The Underworld series sports vampires, werewolves, a whole bunch of fetish leather, and Bill Nighy as the bad guy. I, Frankenstein sports flying and morphing angels/gargoyles, demons disguised as humans who burn their flesh off when they get mad showing horns or whatever, blunt axes and staffs for bludgeoning, and Bill Nighy as the bad guy.
The similarities are there because the same production company fronts these movies and they share the same writer. The Underworld series has the edge though. Vampires are just more interesting than Frankenstein, or whatever the hell his name is. Plus, the flying gargoyles just look creepy. We can only hope, for all our sakes, that I, Frankenstein is a one-off movie and does not come with the infinite sequels the Underworld franchise relentlessly spawns off every other year or so.
Comment Box is loading comments...
