This
re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel from Twentieth Century Fox
is not a complete waste of time, but it is a bad enough that I am sure the
failure has Universal Studios concerned. The iconic horror studio has long been
planning a “Monsters Universe” franchise to mimic the success the comic book
universes, but the last thing that they want is audience’s to think of
unsuccessful attempts such as this. Fortunately, The Mummy is the first endeavor in the open-world of Universal
horror, and hopefully audiences will have time to forget this film before they
re-imagine Frankenstein one more time.
There are many
problems with this latest CGI entry into the familiar world of the mad
scientist, though it all starts with the screenplay from Max Landis. Nepotism
seems to have enabled yet another half-baked script to emerge from the son of
John Landis, whose basic premise for the film is in direct conflict with the
title chosen. Though the film is called Victor
Frankenstein, the narrator for the tale is actually Igor (Daniel
Radcliffe), despite being a character that is not even included in Shelley’s
original novel. Even more importantly, this was the exact same premise for the
animated film, Igor, which was far more
effective despite being made primarily for younger audiences. This is the
largest problem with Victor Frankenstein;
the elements which work are borrowed from better films and aren’t enough to
cancel out the many elements which very clearly don’t work.
One thing that
does work is the performance given by James McAvoy as the title character,
though the screenplay betrays him with illogical actions in the third act. He
is far more believable than Radcliffe, who is a bit too over-eager to prove to
audiences he can act in a role without a lightning bolt on his forehead. Though
his willingness to throw himself into the role is commendable, there is an
awkward stiffness to Radcliffe which often comes off as bad acting. I’m sure
this is not helped by having a far superior actor in a supporting role to
remind us what good acting looks like.
The style of the
film is also vaguely familiar, though it aligns more with Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films than anything
belonging in the horror genre. This makes for a few visual exciting action
scenes in replacement of typical horror tropes. In fact, there are really only
two sequences in the entire film that even remotely resemble horror, both
entirely reliant on computer generated creatures, including Frankenstein’s
monster. But this is not nearly as disconcerting as the gaps in logic it takes
to get to this point, or the convenient way that even the unholy acts of Victor
Frankenstein are justified in order to provide an unearned happy ending for
nearly all involved. The real tragedy is the treatment of Shelley’s original
material.
The special
features on the Blu-ray highlight what seems to be a primary focus on the
visual impact of the narrative in a 7-part documentary about the making of the
film. Also included are three galleries of photos, from the production design
to a behind-the-scenes gallery. There are also a handful of deleted scenes,
though they add no more excitement to the narrative.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5.5/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
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