Frankenstein

This weekend, Frankenstein, the newest film from Guillermo Del Toro, was released on Netflix. Frankenstein is another retelling of the classic horror story by Mary Shelly. It follows Dr. Victor Frankenstein as he works to bring a creature back to life. It stars Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as The Creature. I know Guillermo Del Toro is a very good director, and I always like a good Frankenstein story, so I was very interested to see how this movie turned out.

I thought that this was a very good adaptation of the Frankenstein story. This is a movie that looks visually stunning. It has large-scale sets such as Frankenstein's Laboratory and Captain Anderson's ship, as well as fully constructed sets. Something that is very refreshing to see instead of the usual green screen. I also thought the gothic style with the architecture and costumes was very well made and just adds to the overall tone of the story. Out of the two parts of this movie, I thought that The Creature's story was the best. It does a great job at humanizing The Creature and showing how he is the real victim in the story. On the Dr. Frankenstein side of the story, the movie does a great job of showing his flaws and how his ego and ambition are what turned him into the real monster of the story. These two aspects combined together do a great job of selling the overall tragedy of the story while also exploring the relationship between a "father" and his creation. I thought all of the performances in this movie were great. Oscar Isaac brings a unique take to the role of Frankenstein with more of a modern flair to it. Jacob Elordi is great as The Creature, as he showcases so much emotion and growth with very limited dialogue. Both of them, I think, have decent Oscar chances. I also think this movie has a decent shot at getting some Oscar buzz.

The biggest hang-up I had was that the movie was a tad too long. I don't think it really needed to be 2-1/2 hours and could have tightened up the first half and gotten to the creation of the monster a bit sooner. I also thought the release date was a bit odd. It should have been released a week earlier to capitalize on Halloween.

Overall, this is a great adaptation of a classic story and is a good example of how more movies should be made.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A- Recommendation: Check it out