Review of Victor Frankenstein (2015) by Brandon L — 04 Jul 2017

I really wanted this to be good. I love the story of Frankenstein and I love of the lead actors (James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe). But alas, I did not love this movie. This film is a re-imagining of the old Frankenstein story, where Dr.

Frankenstein (McAvoy) isn't yet a doctor but has grand ideas, and Igor (Radcliffe) is a circus side-show freak who has somehow amassed an incredible knowledge of human anatomy (don't ask). Also, Igor is the protagonist.

While some of the tweaks are cute, it deviates so far from the original story that it honestly should not even have this title. Part of the fault is in the writing, part in the directing, and a whole lot is in the acting.

Radcliffe does his best to make the plot and characters relatable, but McAvoy doesn't just chew the scenery, he positively devours it. I've never seen him so bad in anything. Both the film and McAvoy's performance are so over-the-top that it's comical, and worse, unintentionally so.

It doesn't even work as camp. The film does have a fun and visually-interesting style, clearly derived from Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" films. Even the plot is the same: swashbuckling genius and intellectual assistant use steampunk to do impossible things.

But inevitably, it's empty-headed and not much more than a mediocre popcorn flick. The twist on the original story was enough to hold my interest, at least at first... but by the end, I realized that my time would have been better spent watching "Young Frankenstein".

Again.