Frankenstein
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Movie Reviews of Frankenstein
Movie Review: Very good adaptation of the Mary Shelley story
Summary: 4 Stars
Generally faithful interpretation of the original Mary Shelley story, except with a focus on the dramatic/tragic aspect and less on the vengeance/horror aspect.
Luke Goss' facial expressions and voice do a job of acting a sensitive Creature, whose evil side was only born in response to humanity completely rejecting him.
I thought Nicole Lewis did a great job acting the Elizabeth role. This is a demure, saintly role, and some people might not like the degree of restraint necessary in this role as Ms. Lewis plays it, but I thought she hit it just right. In this film Elizabeth is not one-dimensional, but shows some spirit and rightly wonders what Victor is up to. The Creature's encounter with Elizabeth at the end is one of the great tragic moments of story telling.
It is difficult for a video to fully convey the many and deep themes in the story, as it must show more than tell, but, strangely enough, my favorite version of the story is the new Frankenstein: The Musical (Music by Mark Baron, Book & Lyrics by Gary P. Cohen & Jeff Jackson). The lyrics sing the themes to music that for the most part powerfully resonates the emotions. The concept album is now out of print. Hopefully a new cast version will be available soon.
It wasn't until I was over 50 years old that I learned that the Frankenstein story is more than the silly monster story that it had become in caricature. Now I believe it is a rich drama/horror/tragedy story.
Victor Frankenstein has everything, in terms of bringing happiness to one's life. Yet he loses everything, in obsessive pursuit of scientific discovery, to which he then fails to take responsibility for the consequences, and so the consequences come back to haunt him. Brilliant scientist, but poor on scientific ethics. What a great story!
Movie Review: Good Points And Bad Points - Nothing Monstrous
Summary: 4 Stars
I am not ordinarily a fan of horror-type films but my wife is so, when we saw that this version of Frankenstein was a Hallmark production, we decided to give it a try. For the most part, we were impressed - particularly with the depiction (and performance) of the Creature and with the apparent fidelity to Mary Shelley's book. Much more of a melodrama with occasional horror touches, interspersed with bits of philosophy. The production looked good with the Slovakian locations especially impressive. Some of the first part did seem to drag a bit but Kevin Connor's direction was his usual reliable stuff. The acting, as often happens on these big productions, was rather uneven. I'm not convinced Alec Newman is a strong enough actor to carry a three hour-plus film. But Luke Goss as the very gothic Creature certainly got the viewers' emotions involved.
Overall, quite a good production. I'm glad we sat and watched it (in a single sitting) but there are a few irritating aspects about the production that would make me hesitate to sit through it again. The non-stop background music is frequently unnecessary, intrusive, and not very good. And Nicole Lewis's whiny little girly voice grew progressively annoying - so much so that we actually welcomed her demise. Other bits simply made me wonder: such as what was the great French actor Jean Rocheforte doing in this and why did William Hurt have a German accent when no one else did?
Still, it's probably the best, or at least most faithful, film version of Frankenstein so far. Entertaining without being scary. But there were still a few moments during its running time when I found myself wishing for just a tiny bit of light relief from Marty Feldman.
Movie Review: One of the Most faithful film versions of the classic novel.
Summary: 4 Stars
The story of Frankenstein has always held an endless fascination for me,and may be the reason that as a film fan,Horror has become my pet genre.
Frankenstein has a timeless appeal to it,and I've always welcomed new versions of the story.
This version is a very well crafted one made by Hallmark Entertainment(!),and is probally the SECOND most faithful version i've ever seen.(The first being Calvin Floyd's "Terror of Frankenstein"(1976).
The scope of the novel is pursued and an emphasis is made on characters and dynamics,paticularly what makes Frankenstein tick.
Alec Newman makes a very credible monster maker,full of youthful ambition,and eventually sorrow on the horror he has unleashed.
Luke Goss looks effective as the monster,and inspires sympathy,but unfortunately,little horror.
The major setback for this production,like most modern Frankenstein films,is that while the monster has humanity,the horror is sacrificed in the process.
Frankenstein(2003) is rarely a scary version of the story.
It seems filmmakers fear to make the monster....a MONSTER!
That's something i'm glad no one told Boris Karloff when he played the role.
Still,Goss is effective,nonetheless.
The supporting cast is able,particularly veterans like Donald Sutherland and William Hurt(though Hurt's role seems somewhat inconsquential).
Overall,it's a fine production of the oft told classic,and reccomended for serious horror buffs and fans of the great classic.
Note:Yes,it's much better than the overblown,"Mary Shelly's Frankenstein(1994),alot more faithful,and less silly.
Movie Review: If Not For The Creature
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, I am a Luke Goss fan. I will definately like his performance whatever he's in. I may or may not like the movie as well. This one is a perfect example of those statements. If it hadn't been for the creature, I probably wouldn't have liked the movie. I could tell because I got a little bored waiting for the creature part to start. When he FINALLY showed up, I kept feeling like I had missed bits and pieces of the plot from time to time. I don't know much about film making, but I think maybe this one wasn't edited well. I wondered if the book was written that way. I still think the story itself is beautiful and I still think it was told beautifully in this movie. It wasn't as powerful as I thought it would be, but it was tolerable (in a positive way). I thought it would rip my heart out and make me cry for the injustice (and I'm easy to cry. I cry at TV commercials) so I was a little disappointed that it didn't move me more. Also, I think the story is supposed to be about Frankenstein not the creature, but it turned out to be the creature's movie...for me anyway. Even if I hadn't been a Luke Goss fan, his is the only performance I remember. The creature character seemed to tower over all the other characters. Again, I had to wonder if the book was written that way. Maybe I'll read the book.
Yes, I have a few complaints, but I'm not sorry I bought the DVD and I do intend to watch it again and I won't give it away like some other DVDs that I bought and hated.
Movie Review: A fabulous portrayal of a Mary Shelley novel
Summary: 4 Stars
In our opinion the movie was GREAT! The story was filled with suspense at every second. We thought that the film would have been boring because we had already read the book and we would know what was going to happen next. Actually, it wasn't like that at all because the creatures and script writers of the film switched some of the parts with new ones for the reason of letting the people that watch the movie be surprised instead of bored. For example, the movie had great characters, and a great sense of caring. For example, Victor loved Elizabeth and they got married. Also Victor loved all of the people that the monster killed. It also showed a great amount of respect and how you should and shouldn't treat others. I would reccomned the movie "Frankenstein" to be watched by children and adults all over the worid. There was a lot of elaboration and it wasn't boring throughout the whole movie. It was a cliff hanger from start to finish. The movie taught that being alone isn't always a good thing. The monster in the movie was left alone with no one to love, or no one to love him. In the matter of the monter being alone, he killed Frankenstein's loved ones, causing Victor alot of agony and suffering. Victor died sad, due to the terrible monter that shouldn't have ever been created. Overall, everyone should be able to see this movie.