I, Frankenstein (2014) Reviews

• Accept it for what it is...

  funkhouser102014-01-24

  Let's talk plainly here... A poodle could of seen this trailer and automatically knew this wasn't going to be Hollywood masterpiece. If you saw the trailer and then still bought a ticket, then you don't have anything to complain about if you hated this film. This movie is about Gargoyles, Demons and Frankenstein!!! I doubt the best movie minds of all time could of turned this plot into a well made movie. It's SCIENCE FICTION people, not every film can get an 8.0 on IMDb. With all that being said, I have to honestly say that I enjoyed this movie. Maybe I enjoyed it because I didn't go into it with high expectations. Yes, the plot was OOOVEEERLY simple, but it did have pretty good special effects and there was plenty of action sequences. Also, I'm a fan of Eckhart, Nighy and Jai Courtney. I would love to go into detail and use all type of specific film lingo to review this movie, but I would be wasting your time. If you want to escape reality for an hour or two and your a true sci-fi fan, I recommend this flick. If your looking for a movie with Oscar potential, you should sit this one out.

• I... didn't find it so bad.

  Quebec_Dragon2014-01-24

  I must admit that I enjoyed watching this supernatural action flick heavy on CGI effects despite its flaws. I wondered why afterwards. First, it seemed to follow from the book events and made a good point that the creature is not actually called Frankenstein. However, the "creature" itself, played by a strong Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent in Dark Knight) did not look like any previous incarnation. Mostly, it looked like a normal-sized, muscular, even handsome man with scars, not like a tall, grotesque, patchwork of a man as it should have been. So, the film following this trend of making "monsters" sexy bugged me, but the performance of Eckhart won me over. He might not have emoted much, as befitted the character who didn't learn how, but he certainly had the charisma and gravitas necessary. He didn't look the part but he acted the haunted, grim part very well. So, the story starts not long after the end of the Frankenstein book by Mary Shelley at the end of the 18th century (1795). While burying his creator, Frankenstein, he find himself attacked by "evil" demons (who look like men, but with demonic faces sometimes) and rescued by, of all things, "good" gargoyles (who look human except when they're CGI gargoyles). The creature is brought to the gargoyle leader and quickly given a name, Adam. He's made an offer to join them in a secret war against the demons over humanity's fate. He declines and lives the next 200 years alone (would have been nice to see, but glossed over in a few minutes), defending against demons. Cue modern day, where his presence is revealed once more to the demons who are trying to bring back life to dead bodies for their own purposes. So, instead of the overbooked vampires and werewolves, we have demons against gargoyles, plus Frankenstein's creature thrown in to act as wild card. I, for one, found that refreshing. However, the demons looked and acted like standard evil vampires, except when you saw their red eyes or their faces reverting to demonic. Except for their sophisticated leader, they were quite underwhelming and even boring from lack of personality. The gargoyles fared a little better, switching from medieval-looking, grey-tunic-wearing human warriors to big, winged stone gargoyles like you see on some old churches. They were supposed to be good (angels in disguise), but I liked their ambiguity. I didn't initially care for their obvious CGI looks, but they eventually grew on me, and who knows what animated gargoyles might look like anyway. Foremost, this is an action flick, not really drama or horror, so it doesn't delve much on the inner psychological turmoils of Adam or his everyday "normal" life, nor does it try to scare or gross you out. However, the somber, tormented portrayal by Aaron Eckhart (mostly with his face and eyes) made him an interesting anti-hero. The action itself was peculiar. There were cool set pieces where tons of demons fought gargoyles around a very impressive-looking Gothic church. It had an epic feel to it, it was quite exciting, but you seemed distanced from the action because it cut things fast and the camera often pulled back. Also, there was a particular vibe as the numerous, weak demons were mostly slaughtered by the fewer, powerful flying gargoyles. It was usually one blow, one kill. On the other hand, you had one-on-one fights involving Adam that were very good for the most part. There were still quick cuts, but it wasn't abusive, sometimes lingering a bit on an angle, making for more involving and easier-to-follow battles. The musical soundtrack was better than expected with epic-sounding classical music and dramatic choruses. Storywise, I found the concept interesting, the demons' motivation made sense, and it didn't hinder my enjoyment with too much obvious stupidity, except a few places where I thought things were just too convenient (like no civilians in the streets or the "secret" base of the demons being so close to the church of the gargoyles). The dialogue seemed awkward or cliché at times, but it was said with such sincerity that it passed through anyway except for a few chuckles from the audience. I liked watching the film, but I don't think I would have wanted to pay full price for it in theatres though. It was like a summer blockbuster but in the middle of the winter. Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (Good)

• Doesn't deserve the overwhelming negative reviews

  helmutty2014-01-27

  With a miserable 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems like I, Frankenstein is one of the worst movies in 2014 and it is only January. The abysmal rating made me lower my expectations and surprisingly it is a solid entertainment. Sure, it doesn't impress on any level but for a January movie, it is an entertaining one. The story: The story is as generic as a Direct-To-DVD movie can be. The Frankenstein's Monster, Adam, is caught in a battle between Gargoyles and Demons. Many decent action and 'dramatic' scenes are squeezed into the brief runtime of 1 hour 32 minutes. Thankfully the pace moves briskly without becoming boring. However, the short runtime also poses some problems such as skimping on characters' development. But it is expected as this is a mindless action movie which relies more on action and CGI than story and characters' development. Acting wise is okay, nobody impresses. Bill Nighy is playing his usual self as a villain. Aaron Eckhart has nothing much to emote as an emotionless monster except fighting and showing off his body. The rest didn't particularly stand out. Music is surprisingly good and fits the tone of the movie. 3D: For a post-converted 3D movie, it looks good. There is a good depth between characters and backgrounds. It is also effective when it comes to action scenes especially the flying of Gargoyles and the bursting of the demons. Overall: It is obvious that I, Frankenstein tries to follow the success of the Underworld movies. On its own merits, it provides an entertaining watch with decent special effects and action. I guess it could do better if it is released straight to DVD. It may not be great but for a January movie, it is a decent watch with decent 3D.

• Forgettable

  mwltrz-743-560212014-01-24

  I, Frankenstein is a January monster movie starring Aaron Eckhart in the classic role of Frankenstein's monster. Did you really expect a masterpiece? I, Frankenstein is not a total mess. The film does contain some impressive special effects, as well as cast of reasonably well-known actors that help the audience to trudge through the incredibly predictable and uninteresting story. The events of the classic Frankenstein novel are hashed out in less than a minute, as Frankenstein's monster encounters a group of demons, followed by a group of gargoyles, neither of which seem to have any motivation for what they're doing. He's given the name, "Adam", wanders the world for 200 years (which passes in 2 minutes of movie time) and finds himself in the middle of the gargoyle-demon war in modern times. The story that follows is one fueled by terrible pacing, unclear character motivations, and dry dialogue. The fast paced introduction to the film leaves little time to invest in any of the characters, and even Adam's motivation throughout the film is incredibly unclear. It is difficult to invest in a character who doesn't have a soul. If you're a fan of the Underworld series, and can appreciate good special effects, you may find some enjoyment with this one. Otherwise, I would pass.

• Not Worth A Rental

  didonatope2014-01-23

  To say that "I, Frankentein" was a waste of time would be an understatement. Much like "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," "I, Frankenstein tries to re-invent a classic tale for the action audience with little success. Though to be fair, "Witch Hunters" at least had some moments of memorable silliness and creative set pieces. "I, Frankenstein" has neither, nor does it present its audience with decent writing or memorable thrills. The plot itself is a mangled-up mess and a failed attempt to re-invent Mary Shelly's classic character. In this film, Frankenstein's monster (played by the seemingly disinterested Aaron Eckhart) somehow gets involved in an ongoing battle with demons and gargoyles after the events of the classic story. Everything from his backstory to the motivations of the demons and gargoyles is told in rushed exposition and gives absolutely no time for the audience to care about any of the characters. It doesn't help that the editing and pacing is extremely choppy, often skipping hours and years into the future with no reasonable transition. In the span of what feels like five minutes, the film tells Frankenstein's backstory, introduces the demons and gargoyles, explains their ongoing war, shows a training montage of Frankenstein learning to use the gargoyle's weapons, and suddenly cuts from the 18th century to present day. Nearly all of this is done in cheap narrated exposition and it kills the possibility of the audience getting attached to the characters. Now, I'm sure many people can overlook a lackluster script if a movie has "good action." Unfortunately, this movie fails in this department too. All of the fight scenes are bland and dull with redundant, badly executed CGI. Perhaps the most frustrating example of this is that every time a demon is killed on screen, it turns into a swirling fireball. This effect looked cool for about a minute and it quickly got stale, especially when the demons are dying left and right and the effects start to look like they've been copied and pasted. The PG-13 rating also takes away the possibility of even a little gore to entertain the horror buffs. This is especially a shame because there are some very sleek and polished weapon designs that look like they could have been used for some good ole hack-and-slash fun. Little effort seems to have been put into this film, and even a big-time star like Aaron Eckhart can't elevate the material. Here he seems dazed and bored, almost as if this film was just a project to waste some time. In fact, none of the actors seem interested, and with the exception of maybe two awkward line readings, there is nothing to laugh at either. Like many films released in January, "I, Frankenstein," comes across as filler and it is not even worth a view on Netflix streaming. Between the poor script, the dull characters and the bad effects, there is next to nothing here worth enjoying. After watching this, I actually appreciated "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" more; at least it had some effort put in it.