I, Frankenstein: Movie Review

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

"What movie are you going to see?" My brother asked me as I was arranged things.

"I, Frankenstein."

"What?"

"You know," I continued, "That new Frankenstein movie that just came out."

"Oh, you mean 'Immortal'."

"No, 'I, Frankenstein'.  That's what the movie listings said."

"But," my brother insisted, "That wasn't on the movie poster."

It was.  In small print.  I, Frankenstain.  Not very good marketing.  It's the first of many problems.  Immortal would have been a better name.

This new Frankenstein movie, which begins in 1795 and quickly fast-forwards to modern day, is the classic tale of good and evil.  Demons and Angels.  One group fighting for dominance; the other fighting for humanities protection.  Guess which is which.  The demons appear human until provoked (the villains on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are less corny); the "angels" (gargoyles) were created by the Archangel Michael, left on Earth to watch humanity from a distance.  They're a dieing breed.

Frankenstein (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself in the middle of their conflict.  A body without a soul.  This gives the demon prince Naberius (Bill Nighy) some ideas, and queen Leonore (Miranda Otto) forbearance.

In our present time the Frankenstein story comes full circle.  Dr. Victor Frankenstein may have died revenging his wife's murder, who died after Frankenstein's creation "Adam" killed her, leaving notes that were hidden away.  The lost notes don't prevent Terra (Yvonne Strahovski) from trying to recreate life, creating her own animated soulless corpses, becoming a modern day Frankenstein.  

Plot points aside, I, Frankenstein takes itself way to seriously.  A sense of the Epic was attempted, but smothered by too many heavy elements.  The fight scenes are fun to watch, but the dramatic music, upward shots, and awkward scene transitions make these moments hard to swallow.  The dialogue comes across forced and stilted, like a bad Shakespeare imitation.  The narration provided by Adam feels like an afterthought, a way to speed up time and provide closure, without actually adding anything.  Whenever Aaron Eckhart "Adam" spoke within the film I kept waiting for him to say, "I'm Batman," though he was Two-Face in that movie.  The moments between Adam and Terra work and could have added more to the film if more time was spent on them.

Honestly I'm a bit disappointed.  

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense fantasy action and violence throughout.