Review: Victor Frankenstein

Set in Victorian Era London, where Dr. Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) happens upon a circus hunchback who shows a keen study of human anatomy when assisting Dr. Frankenstein in aiding a fallen trapeze artist (Jessica Brown Findlay) whom the hunchback (played by Daniel Radcliffe) adores, as they reset her broken arm. He decides to break the hunchback out of the circus, invites him to live with him and work as his lab assistant. He also finally gives him a name, Igor Straussman (after his often absent roommate), and he even helps straighten his back with a brace. However, in the middle of the circus breakout, someone got killed and that murder alerts the attention of Catholic Scotland Yard Inspector Turpin (Andrew Scott). He’s doggedly attempting to track down the culprit, and quickly decides he doesn’t very much like the cut of Dr. Frankenstein’s jib. Frankenstein, meanwhile, is working on an experiment to bring dead tissue to life through electrical means. Freddie Fox plays a snooty, well-off colleague of the doctor’s, and Charles Dance appears briefly as his disapproving father.

 

Here’s the thing. If I tell you that this 2015 Frankenstein flick from director Paul McGuigan (“Wicker Park”, “Push”) and screenwriter Max Landis (“Chronicle”) isn’t bad, it probably won’t hold much weight. That’s because I also didn’t think “I, Frankenstein” was bad either, and I’m pretty much alone in thinking that. But honestly, this movie really isn’t bad. It’s just not good, either. The best way I can describe it is “Frankenstein” done Guy Ritchie “Sherlock Holmes”-style, and if that sounds appealing to you, you might not hate the film, either. It’s certainly a fair bit better than “Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”, and although slow-paced it’s such a different take that I was willing to cut it a bit of slack.

 

Its greatest asset is undoubtedly a perfectly cast James McAvoy as the titular mad scientist. It’s not a particularly subtle performance, but McAvoy is excellent nonetheless. I’m not sure how intentional it is, but he’s actually genuinely funny at times, especially early on, and it looks absolutely terrific too. Andrew Howard is also good playing a truly hateable villain, who just happens to be a devoutly Catholic policeman. Less effective is Daniel Radcliffe as a quite re-imagined Igor. He’s not bad, but he’s also just OK and looks alarmingly like a pancaked Helena Bonham-Carter crossed with Anne Frank. The role itself, however is interesting to consider. It won’t be to all tastes, but elevating hunchback Igor from servant to assistant doctor status here is an original wrinkle. This way, you’re basically combining two roles into one. I’m not sure I really bought the idea of the genius hunchback, but he gets ‘cured’ fairly early on, in what is a pretty amusing scene actually. Terrific cameo by a perfectly cast Charles Dance too, as Victor’s cold and unsympathetic father. I wish he had more than one scene, to be honest. There’s some pretty good CGI on Victor’s initial ‘creature’ experiment, which is suitably horrific and disgusting, but also interesting. The eventual human ‘creature’, however looks too much like Thing from “Fantastic Four”, which is a bit of a mistake.

 

Silly, schlocky camp, but at least it’s never dull. That counts for something. Hell, the silliness counts for something to, if you ask me. No one’s going to call this a good film in the conventional sense, but it’s quite alright and ‘quite alright’ might be enough for you. It was almost enough for me to recommend it. Almost.

 

Rating: C+