Any new Frankenstein is always intriguing. However, it still needs to contain a capable team in giving us a new approach to this story. In this one, we have director Paul McGuigan who lately has been doing work in television. However, he has directed films such as Lucky Number Slevin. We also have a star studded line-up lead by James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe in only his second film that I have seen of him outside of Harry Potter (the other being The Woman In Black).
I had heard some bad box office numbers from America and not impressive reviews. So I was going in with lowish expectations. Even with that the knowledge of that, I was still going in not sure what to expect.
Despite it being far from perfect, there managed to be enough to surprise me, entertain me and make it fun viewing that made me ignore the majority of its flaws. There was a lot of sub-lots that gave this film legs. Not all of them worked, but I liked that they went in various directions.
Definitely the big attraction for this is James McAvoy. He really does 'ham up' the role, but in a good way in the opening half. For the rest of the film, it becomes more grounded and well developed. We definitely see a passionate character and how his genius could be mistaken for madness.
Daniel Radcliffe gave a refreshing performance that compete well with McAvoy. It was inevitable that Radcliffe would struggle to get out of the shadow of Harry Potter. But from where I am standing, he is definitely doing a decent job of gradually moving away from the magical franchise.
A few of the supporting roles were worth mentioning. Andrew Scott gave us an interesting character that gave the story much needed depth. His intensity and mystery made him a watchable presence. Another one was Freddie Fox, who always plays this slimy upper class character that always gets his way.
One positive that I never thought I would mention for Victor Frankenstein would be the script. I found to be quite good. I noticed during the credits that the writing was actually done by Max Landis. I am familiar of his work, especially as he makes occasional appearances of a couple of YouTube movie review channels that I subscribe to. So I am aware of his vision for his films and the quality of this script is completely understandable now.
From a technical standpoint, the set-design looked impressive. With the visual accompanying the sets, the final product was definitely pleasing to the eye. The costumes also had a nice mix of fitting in with the period and being slightly glamourised. One costume design that I really liked was for Frankenstein's Monster. It genuinely looked terrifying, and the person playing the creature (Spencer Wilding) played a valuable part in the finale.
Most of the negatives are to do with the story, and general feel of it. It was never going to be a strong story, as it most of the story itself had been over-used enough. Some of the film felt a bit weak, especially in the opening segments and I did get bored at times.
Despite the review highlighting more on the positives, the film remains to be a satisfying watch at best. There are problems with it at a basic level and that is why it is nothing exceptional. It will not win any awards, but for what it is, it's definitely worth watching. However, I would not watch this on the big screen. I feel you can the most enjoyment if you rent it or wait till it is on TV.
I liked the on-screen partnership McAvoy and Radcliffe. You can feel for their characters that they were continuing to push the boundaries of Science. Its visuals were better then I expected and even soundtrack works when needed.
Despite it exceeding my expectations, I am still confident that the box office will be a bad one. I do hope I am proved wrong as with Radcliffe being in it could give it a respectable taking.
Rating: 7/10
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