They’ve created a monster
Back in 1994 when Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was released people had high hopes for the ambitious project. Having the young and vibrant Kenneth Branagh (rumored to be Obi-wan in a rumored prequel), who had just come off his Shakespeare kick, playing Victor Frankenstein was a great cast. Add Robert De Niro as ‘The Creature’ and you already have yourself an all-star cast. Whoever did the cast directing (because I’m far too lazy to actually look that up) should have been given a good chunk of change for the effort.
It wasn’t the lack of acting that killed this movie though; it was simply the confusion on whether it should be a book, a stage play or an actually theatrical feature. While certainly honoring Shelley’s view of the entire Frankenstein story and keeping to the theme of the book wasn’t so much as a problem as with how it was presented. First, the backstory for Victor was far too quick. We have about a two-minute explanation regarding the death of his mother while she was giving childbirth. That sets Victor off on a quest to defeat death. The movie tries to explain everything and move quickly at the same time, which causes horrible conflicts with continuity and the audience actually connecting with anyone. When you finally get to see the monster created and you understand what Victor’s goals are and how they’re shattered, it’s moving. When Victor takes a break and is hunted by the monster then it becomes a little too much and we’re right back with confusion.
The other problem with the film is that Branagh is basically putting on a play on film. This doesn’t work for many reasons. You can’t talk to yourself onscreen unless you’re completely mental. Branagh’s Victor is, to an extent, looked at in a ‘mad’ sort of way, but he isn’t ‘mad’ enough to talk to himself oncreen so much. Add to this oddity that Branagh has to scream a lot in this film (he screams and shouts and overdramatizes every chance he gets) and Victor’s character becomes rather annoying.
I must give some kudos to Robert De Niro, though, who went out on a limb from his normal roles and played a wonderful ‘Creature’. De Niro was scary in real life and is doubly so as a mangled creature who is lost in the world.
In the end, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein isn’t the worst movie in the world, but it has many issues that keep it from being entertainment. Future filmmakers should take warning that if your’e going to translate a book please make sure that it makes sense before moving on. If you shorten the story too much then you’ve failed to explain enough; if you make it bigger then you’re talking too much and slowing down the pace. Either way, check the story before you shoot the film; a phenomenal cast won’t save a faulty storyline.
It’s definitely alive
The saving grace for this film is that it’s on blu-ray. The HD quality is quite sharp on a 1080p or 720p set. Honestly, the movie didn’t fair so well in the box office, but it’s nice to see someone (such as Sony Pictures) cared enough about the transfer to make it look good. It looks and sounds great, and moments where you need to jump you will be visually and audibly pushed to do so.
As for features, there are none.