Victor Frankenstein (C+ or 2/4 stars)
'Victor Frankenstein' (an action-oriented update of Mary Shelley's classic novel directed by Paul McGuigan) focuses mostly on the friendship btwn. Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) & his partner, Igor (Daniel Radcliffe). McAvoy is the titular star, but we actually view most events in the narrative through Igor's perspective. When we 1st meet Igor, he's yet to have his name. Why? Because he's just a lowly circus hunchback ... a humiliated outcast in a sea of outcasts. Loathed by his employers, Igor takes solace in studying anatomy books and longing for beautiful acrobat, Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil). When Lorelei takes a horrible, near-fatal fall from the trapeze, it is with the help of enigmatic med student Victor Frankenstein that the soon-to-be-named Igor saves her life {pretty neat visualization on screen of how they immediately assess the injury & fix her clavicle/lung issue}.
Victor, who is visiting the circus in the hopes of stealing parts of animal cadavers, sees an untouched brilliance in this hunchback & quickly breaks him out of his servitude {again, neat escape scene}. Victor takes the hunchback 'back' to his lab, fixes his back {cool scene!!}, names him "Igor" {look for a bizarre reveal late in the proceedings}, and makes him assistant; which sets-off a collaboration of weeeeeird science (trying to stitch body parts of animals together & bring them back to life with electricity). Victor has his own poignant, if also hell bent reasons for trying to create life from death, & his research has - shall we say - enormous implications for the rest of the world. This puts Victor/Igor squarely in the cross hairs of the relentless, religiously minded Scotland Yard Inspector Turpin (moustache-twirling Andrew Scott), who is unflinchingly resolute to prevent this science duo from exploring human-made methods of creation. And after a violent incident involving an early chimp experiment goes terribly wrong, Igor starts to fear that Victor may be going down the wrong path. Grand Guignol chaos ensues.
My overall impressions of this film are "mehh & yuck ... with a dash of unique production design & lively performances". At first, this film focuses on the odd-yet-tender, 'sometimes' amusing friendship btwn. our 2 leads ... and that works well. But the film starts to get tedious in the middle and then veers off in too many dissonant directions before ending with a non-bang. James McAvoy's performance can best be described as cheerfully manic -- gonzo, really. He's so charismatic, so over-the-top, & so INTO what he's doing that all you can do is sit back & admire his bug-eyed enthusiasm. We BUY the performance because he infuses the mad scientist role with genuine emotion, intense struggle, & a real sense of urgency. The relationship btwn. Victor & Radcliffe's Igor is the best/driving force of this "mehh" film. Radcliffe, especially in the early scenes, creates a heart-wrenching take on the sad, lonely, deformed outcast -- it's a soulful performance (like McAvoy's) that doesn't quite fit-in with the rest of the film's scattered, dismal, pandemonium-filled happenstance.
See, Max Landis' script is flawed; he doesn't impart much thematic/intellectual depth, he tacks-on too many subplots, & creates too-thin characterizations. For example, while I love Jessica Findlay Brown, her romantic subplot with Radcliffe just didn't fit in this tale. Also, the 'bad guys' are bad guys with no shading. Direction-wise, McGuigan fares a bit better. I enjoyed his visual flair. The action scenes are relatively well-choreographed {controlled mayhem}. I admire the tech team that McGuigan assembled. The production design is ghoulishly beautiful (SO many interesting, unique, bizarre 19th century contraptions & macabre-ly gorgeous sets/costumes). The sound design is notable, as well. Having said that, the whole thing feels choppy. There's a bleak, downbeat crudeness to the proceedings that felt off-putting. The interest/cinematic wheels start slowing down big time in the middle. And the ending felt half-hearted (directly following the climactic castle showdown with Frankenstein's monster -- who, by the way, is one SCARY-ASS looking dude). 'Victor Frankenstein' has strengths, but sadly, it's not a great movie.
Victor, who is visiting the circus in the hopes of stealing parts of animal cadavers, sees an untouched brilliance in this hunchback & quickly breaks him out of his servitude {again, neat escape scene}. Victor takes the hunchback 'back' to his lab, fixes his back {cool scene!!}, names him "Igor" {look for a bizarre reveal late in the proceedings}, and makes him assistant; which sets-off a collaboration of weeeeeird science (trying to stitch body parts of animals together & bring them back to life with electricity). Victor has his own poignant, if also hell bent reasons for trying to create life from death, & his research has - shall we say - enormous implications for the rest of the world. This puts Victor/Igor squarely in the cross hairs of the relentless, religiously minded Scotland Yard Inspector Turpin (moustache-twirling Andrew Scott), who is unflinchingly resolute to prevent this science duo from exploring human-made methods of creation. And after a violent incident involving an early chimp experiment goes terribly wrong, Igor starts to fear that Victor may be going down the wrong path. Grand Guignol chaos ensues.
My overall impressions of this film are "mehh & yuck ... with a dash of unique production design & lively performances". At first, this film focuses on the odd-yet-tender, 'sometimes' amusing friendship btwn. our 2 leads ... and that works well. But the film starts to get tedious in the middle and then veers off in too many dissonant directions before ending with a non-bang. James McAvoy's performance can best be described as cheerfully manic -- gonzo, really. He's so charismatic, so over-the-top, & so INTO what he's doing that all you can do is sit back & admire his bug-eyed enthusiasm. We BUY the performance because he infuses the mad scientist role with genuine emotion, intense struggle, & a real sense of urgency. The relationship btwn. Victor & Radcliffe's Igor is the best/driving force of this "mehh" film. Radcliffe, especially in the early scenes, creates a heart-wrenching take on the sad, lonely, deformed outcast -- it's a soulful performance (like McAvoy's) that doesn't quite fit-in with the rest of the film's scattered, dismal, pandemonium-filled happenstance.
See, Max Landis' script is flawed; he doesn't impart much thematic/intellectual depth, he tacks-on too many subplots, & creates too-thin characterizations. For example, while I love Jessica Findlay Brown, her romantic subplot with Radcliffe just didn't fit in this tale. Also, the 'bad guys' are bad guys with no shading. Direction-wise, McGuigan fares a bit better. I enjoyed his visual flair. The action scenes are relatively well-choreographed {controlled mayhem}. I admire the tech team that McGuigan assembled. The production design is ghoulishly beautiful (SO many interesting, unique, bizarre 19th century contraptions & macabre-ly gorgeous sets/costumes). The sound design is notable, as well. Having said that, the whole thing feels choppy. There's a bleak, downbeat crudeness to the proceedings that felt off-putting. The interest/cinematic wheels start slowing down big time in the middle. And the ending felt half-hearted (directly following the climactic castle showdown with Frankenstein's monster -- who, by the way, is one SCARY-ASS looking dude). 'Victor Frankenstein' has strengths, but sadly, it's not a great movie.