grade Movie Reviews

• Reviewed by bartonj2410 grade 4 / 10

  Should have been so much better...

  It's hard not to be cynical about Hollywood sometimes, particularly when it produces films as lazy as Victor Frankenstein, an uninspired origin story of Victor Frankenstein and his assistant, Igor Straussman. Before a chance meeting with Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), a then nameless Igor (Daniel Radcliffe) worked as both a clown and a physician. A medical incident one night at the circus leads to their first meeting and Igor becoming Victor's assistant.Sharing a passion for medical science, the pair embark on a project to bring about life from death. After a few mishaps, Igor feels they should stop but Victor's drive to make a name for himself leads to the most volatile creation that even he thinks is too far.Right from the very beginning, Victor Frankenstein feels all over the place. Paul McGuigan directs the film as if he hadn't made his mind up on what sort of film this should be. Unfortunately, in the end he went with an edgy modern retelling of a classic tale that brutally highlights McGuigan's lack of imagination as a filmmaker.Considering the acting talent in Victor Frankenstein makes it even more of a disappointment. James McAvoy majorly hams it up as Victor, coming across as a mix between Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes and David Tennant's Doctor. Daniel Radcliffe, who I've never thought to be a very good actor, takes a step backwards with his portrayal of Igor, with awkward line delivery and no chemistry being his main problems here.They also manage to waste Andrew Scott, most famous for playing Moriarty in BBC's Sherlock, as a police detective on the tail of Victor. His character is so underwritten that Scott has little room to manoeuvre and ends up delivering one hell of a monotonous performance.Max Landis' story lacks any real punch and his script is daft yet not totally void of quality which, considering the history of this story that he had to work with, is a real shame. There are some good visual effects that lead to some entertaining moments and Craig Armstrong's score is a rare highlight in this ultimately disappointing film.I pray to God that the last scene isn't one that means we are going to get a sequel mind, because that is really what we could do without.

---

• Reviewed by scottlang-30253 grade 10 / 10

  A movie about the most civilised era

  This movie is exceedingly British and I love that. I don't want to go into too much detail with this review, but there were so many great things about this movie to the extent I could write a lengthy book about the things I admired in this film.The accents were sublime and posh, the technology of the era was just about right without going too over the top and making people weird and anti-social and due to the lack of cars and relatively slow movement of people it makes me appreciate my lovely electric bike much more, when I'm doddering along at 15 mph on it I think back to those Victorians in this film who would've been delighted with such quick speeds, I fantasise about Victor accompanying me on his steampunk steam powered bike doing 15 mph and having a great laugh with him, my imaginary friend known as Victor Frankenstein wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for this film. All the characters seem so politically sane in this film which is a very refreshing breather from today's harsh, stupid political climate.Also the monster at the end of this film looks very tasty so this film always gives me a great appetite and gives me a longing for some delicious rats, balut, black pudding and mum's foot sweat every time I watch this amazing film. The scenery was truly beautiful and the scenes of London outside made me smell the sweet smell of steam power which made me nostalgic for the old steam ralleys I went to as a kid. You'll enjoy this film if you're British but I don't recommend it to Americans as Americans would probably get too jealous of Victorian London.

---

• Reviewed by claudio_carvalho grade 5 / 10

  Weird Movie

  "Victor Frankenstein" is a weird movie using Mary Shelley's notorious and famous character. There are many versions of this adaptation of the novel to the cinema, but this one rewrites the story in a totally different situation. The result is entertaining and intriguing in the beginning but becomes boring and annoying in the end. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "Victor Frankenstein"

---

Read more IMDb reviews