THATFILMGUY

Victor Frankenstein (2015) Review

An old story told a different way.  The basic elements of the book and the previous film versions are all there: The monster; the scientist driven mad by ambition; the assistant; the beautiful gypsy girl; and the baying mob.  All present and correct, but all in slightly different forms and slightly different proportions. It’s like a ‘fine dining’ version of a favourite old recipe.

Director: Paul McGuigan

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica  Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott

James McAvoy is completely bonkers as Victor and his performance falls, delightfully, just short of Ham.  Daniel Radcliffe plays Egor, the hunchback assistant. His character is the pivot around which the tale swirls. Radcliffe is in danger of becoming somewhat typecast as ‘the normal one’ in the ‘gentle horror’ genre but in this one his skills, as a physical actor, are put to the test and he is not found wanting.

Jessica Brown Findlay  as the feisty damsel does what she can with a limited, window dressing type of performance (as called for by the script). The baying mob is transformed into a single character in the form of Inspector Turpin. Andrew Scott plays the Inspector with a subtle malevolence .  His character is both righteous and obsessive, and thus he provides an equally insane foil, to Victor’s madness. . The story clips along to it’s satisfactory conclusion without too many surprises, but we all know what happens anyway!

The Brilliant Victorian background setting and the CGI both add to the overall look and feel to produce what I think will be a future classic. It will stand equal alongside the Boris Karloff, and the De Niro/Branagh versions.

I never look at my watch and I never wondered what I was going to eat for my supper which in my mind makes it a pretty good movie.

Review By: TheManInTheBLackHat