Victor Frankenstein, coming from a tough upbringing, strives to be a superior surgeon than his father, finding ways to cheat death. Finding a mysterious benefactor, Victor gains the tools to put his mad genius to the test, reanimating life but failing to achieve his desired results. When the Creature takes on a life of its own, left alone in an unforgiving world, it confronts its master, with both beings forced to come to terms with the reality of the events at hand.
Written by Mary Shelley way back in 1818, FRANKENSTEIN is one of the most famous stories of all time, and one that has been adapted for cinema in varying forms for over a century. Not all of these films are great or even good, but with his knack for the strange, Guillermo del Toro certainly sounded like the right man to try his hand at a cinematic take on this classic story. While it is perhaps a bit overlong and underplotted in places, his take on FRANKENSTEIN is ultimately a success, breathing new life into a tale that’s seen more than its share of adaptations over the years.
From a production standpoint, FRANKENSTEIN is easily one of the best-looking movies of the year. Del Toro transports his audience back in time to his own version of the story’s setting, painting a picture that ranges from opulent high society parties to Victor’s abandoned building where his experiments to bring back life are carried out. If there’s one thing you can say about this take on FRANKENSTEIN, it’s certainly that you can’t take your eyes off of it!
Furthermore, del Toro has brilliantly cast his take on Mary Shelley’s epic. The all-star cast includes Lars Mikkelsen as a ship’s captain, Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein himself, and a delightfully creepy Christoph Waltz as Victor’s benefactor, who gives him the tools he needs to recreate the miracle of life, proving wrong all those around him.
I also give Mr. del Toro credit for simply not taking inspiration from other versions of this story on film, giving the story his own treatment while still retaining the edge and tone of Mary Shelley’s original tale. I always dread filmmakers adapting FRANKENSTEIN simply copying the Universal Monsters Jack Pierce design of the character with the flat-topped head and electrodes in the neck. Del Toro’s film doesn’t do this at all, and his version of the Creature is a whole different animal altogether. While many of these scenes and situations will seem familiar to those who’ve read Shelley’s story and watched older versions of the tale, there’s enough of a unique take on the source material here that it never feels overly derivative.
If there’s one minor issue with this story, it’s the overlong running time. Thankfully, FRANKENSTEIN is never boring, but one must wonder if this story truly needed to run for two-and-a-half hours. Removing a handful of subplots or characters could easily have been done with no great loss of substance. Likewise, the ending does feel perhaps a bit abrupt despite the long running time, though these are minor flaws.
Guillermo del Toro continues to deliver on the big screen with his take on FRANKENSTEIN! The man who brought us modern classics like PAN’S LABYRINTH and the Best Picture winner THE SHAPE OF WATER has another winner on his hands, breathing new life into Mary Shelley’s classic tale. It’s not perfect, but it’s easily one of the best takes on this story this lover of all things cinema has seen. Very highly recommended!