"Victor Frankenstein" by Paul McGuigan - movie review

It was time ... for another one? For inspiration and ... mediocre result? In fact, it was hardly anybody who was mistaken that the story of a good doctor could make a film that would become a hit. Although he possesses all potential qualities - madness, ambition, crazy mania for greatness, scientific knowledge, Frankenstein is not a super-hero or a super-villain - because he has been for years an archetypal image (like Odyssey or Faust, for example). We instinctively put it "over" things-not just because it's made to a Creator who literally snatches out of his famous Monster literally from death, and because it's full of unprepared passion. His passion is concentrated in presenting evidence of the universality and grandeur of rational thought - and that's it!

But it is not about "brainwashing" images and ideas that speaks here, but about the missed chance of a familiar story acquiring something more than a screening life. And honestly, I believed in director Paul McGuigan because ... to say so: there is experience. And I was excited about the choice of James McAvoy for Frankenstein's role, and I also expected with interest how Daniel Radcliffe will be doing as Igor's main narrator and companion. Alas - in vain! Nothing in the puzzle works well, although the atmosphere is authentically soaked in the gloomy weather in Victorian London, and the precisely selected costumes complement the irreplaceable and scruffy details in the overall picture. You remember - once you have time to look at the leather fittings on Victor's apron, or the gentleman's necktie stuff, things do not go well. The whole story is led by Igor's name. It was not clear to me why a ludicrous love story was involved - it stands as a colorful and unnecessary patch in the structure of the story. And my personal opinion about Radcliffe as a narrator is pretty unpalatable - the boy may have some potential (I have not seen him on stage or the films that he starred in after the Harry Potter series) but his Igor just had to run to-face, to be disturbed or to be exalted and act as a faithful sidekick. Whether the reason is a lack of material, insufficient direction, or both - I'm not sure, I know only that the young actor has failed to present to me the image I was supposed to expect.

On the other hand, Macao does not disappoint me with behavior. He managed to apply all of his familiar manners, and he poured that amount of energy into his doctor that he could safely use himself as a conductor of natural elements to breathe life into cinema. Even if it seems to be overwhelming in places, I tend to ignore the minor drawbacks. But that does not mean that the image of Viktor Frankenstein has come to him ... Please make the following distinction: actor / film devotion / passion and force execution - "checked"; character and its impact on the plot and the viewer - "un-checked". And I'm so sorry, because Macauvoi has proven his talent over the years, and he's moving like a normal, average action, and not quite a hundred percent ... Having said "action" - we should not miss the Monster. I did not know that it was still possible to rely so prominently on real props, but after McGagnan had made a period piece, he had to make it as authentic as possible. The solution to the vision of poor Monster is so old-fashioned that in the last part of the film I felt like a machine of the times of the 1930s and the first kinoveries of this plot. The director himself explains to the press that he wanted to change expectations and add a new perspective, something different in history - that is why they decided to present Frankenstein's "creative" work through the eyes of his assistant and friend Igor. This turns out to be the "director's key" to the story. Because, McGagan says, "Mary Shelley's novel is sloppy," and "who likes the book will not like the movie." I believe you will agree that only the arrogance of these words is enough to make sense of the "qualities" of the film. I'm really sorry that Maccabees and Radcliffe are taking part - they could make better use of their time for some other project. Because Victor Frankenstein was a misunderstanding.

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