Film review: I, Frankenstein

A handsome monster – can that be right?
I, Frankenstein: Aaron Eckhart as AdamI, Frankenstein: Aaron Eckhart as Adam
I, Frankenstein: Aaron Eckhart as Adam

There have been many silver screen versions of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but the latest, I, Frankenstein, sees the nuts, bolts and ghoulish green paint of yore cast aside for a rather more attractive ‘monster’, played by the handsome Hollywood star Aaron Eckhart.

In the film, Eckhart, who has been Christened Adam and is implausibly made out of the corpses of eight equally attractive hunks, has been roaming the earth for 200 years looking for his purpose in life.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While doing this, Adam meets the demons and the gargoyles who are embroiled in an age-old conflict between good and bad.

The demons, fronted up by Bill Nighy, are desperate to get their mitts on Adam, to see if they can use his soulless body to resurrect their late demon pals, and have also got hold of Adam’s creator’s diary to find out how to create more monsters.

The gargoyles, meanwhile are busy enough trying to keep peace on earth.

A big task and one they take very seriously, as they repeatedly infer.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Naturally, when a young scientist played by Yvonne Strahovski finds out what the Demon Prince (Nighy) is up to, she tries to help Adam get the diary back and abort the demon prince’s plans.

Will they get the diary back?

Can Adam be saved?

Will the rest of the cast perfect their pained expressions in time for the final fight..?

To be honest, by that stage, you’ll scarcely bother to ask the question, let alone be interested in the answer.

Despite I, Frankenstein being billed as an epic battle of good versus evil, the simplistic plot, one-dimensional writing and next level corny script (entirely lacking in intentional humour) mean you neither root for the good, abhor the evil or cheer on the monster. You simply don’t care.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That’s not to say that Eckhart is bad, he’s not, it’s just that I, Frankenstein is beneath his, and the rest of the cast’s, talents.

The film is mercifully short though. And, on a plainly visual level, Eckhart’s monster is the only one in cinematic history that most people would like to see rip off their shirt and prepare for dissection. So there is that.

Related topics: