"Victor Frankenstein" Review

Title: Victor Frankenstein

Directed by: Paul McGuigan

Screenplay by: Max Landis and Mary Shelley

Year: 2015


Upon hearing the words "movie franchise," many will immediately think of Star Wars, James Bond, the MCU, and other big budget series. But no one ever thinks of some of the classics, like the Universal Monsters franchise. This series is actually among my favorite film franchises and it contains many hidden gems. Even though Victor Frankenstein is not part of this franchise, or even made by Universal for that matter, it captured my interest. Does this retelling of a well-known classic electrify the story with new life, or leave it on the laboratory table, lifeless?

An unnamed hunchback performs for a circus and acts as the doctor for the performers. One night, a woman is injured and together with a mysterious young man, the hunchback saves the woman's life. Impressed by his skills, the young man frees the hunchback and together they work on a project that will change science forever.

I shall begin by talking about Daniel Radcliffe as Igor because, despite what the title might suggest, Igor is the main character. It is strange to see Radcliffe in a movie that is not part of the Harry Potter franchise, but he gives a very good performance here. His take on Igor is unlike any other. This is not some strange and cooky character, but rather a man with a deformity. His portrayal is fine but James McAvoy, though not the main character, is the real star of this film. McAvoy plays Victor and he gives it everything he has. I am actually surprised with how much he brought to the role. This is the type of film where you would expect the performances to be phoned in but McAvoy is unfathomably spectacular. His performance is actually comparable to Peter Cushing's from Curse of Frankenstein.

Andrew Scott plays an investigator that acts as an antagonist and Scott just does not seem engaged. Granted, the material he is given is not very riveting, but aside from one or two scenes, he does not bring much to this movie. Scott has talent, but it does not show here. Charles Dance is Victor's father and he leaves even less of an impression. His role is so minor it might as well be a cameo and his line delivery has all the emotion of a plank of wood. Dance really did not seem to care for this project.

This is a well-known story but Victor Frankenstein decides to take a very different approach by taking some major liberties. The change is refreshing and allows for a very different version of the story. As I mentioned earlier, Igor is changed up quite a bit, there are two monsters this time, each with a very different appearance from the Boris Karloff one, and the film focuses more on the relationship between our two leads rather than the monster.

The first monster is actually very creative. It is not even human, it is composed of animal parts, which really sets it apart from any other iteration. The second however, is very underwhelming and pretty dull. I bring up these two designs because they reflect the quality of the film. For the most part, the new and inventive stuff pays off and is well done. But whenever the movie falls back on cliches or tired tropes, it becomes very by-the-numbers and even boring.

There is a relationship between Igor and the girl he saved, which is very good at first. But then the female character, Lorelei, is pretty much absent from the film and the little screen time she does have is pretty generic past the first act. The film has an interesting structure, more about perfecting the experiment and the developing relationship between Igor and Victor for the first two acts. But the third act devolves into a poorly constructed action scene. There was no need for this and really conflicts with the previous treatment of the story as something more subdued.

The music by Craig Armstrong was surprisingly good, capturing the gothic nature of the tale wonderfully. The score is beautifully composed and is a major plus for the movie. Another positive is the lighting. There were some creative choices made in regards to the cinematography, but the lighting was especially interesting, helping to keep this from being a simple retread.

The plot starts out promising enough, and there are plenty of great moments, but it ultimately suffers from a lack of focus. Some aspects of the film are brushed over with only a few lines. The villains are incredibly weak, having zero motivation, which makes them incredibly forgettable and certain plot points needed more time devoted to them. I do not want to spoil anything, but the Igor reveal that comes near the end of the second act is a perfect example of this. This plot element is glossed over with less than ten lines of dialogue when it really needed more. But one thing this film absolutely nailed was Victor's motivation. In previous films, his motivation was curiosity as well as a search for power. But here, it is so much more than that and this emotional focal point makes Victor an even better character.

Victor Frankenstein is not as bad as it could have been. I hate to use this phrase because that is how sub-par sequels are made, such Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. But it is true. There are some fantastic elements in here, but they are weighed down with unfortunate reversions to genre cliches. The characters are well realized, with the chemistry between Radcliffe and McAvoy being really great, with the latter giving a spellbinding performance. The visual effects are good and the plot had some promising threads. But in the end, Victor Frankenstein cannot overcome its mediocrity as, by the end, it plays to audience expectations rather than surpassing them. Enjoyable at times, but forgettable.

Grade: C