The trailer for I, Frankenstein says it all. Does the dialogue look stupid and clichéd? Yep! Does the action look boring and uninspired? Yep! Does it look like it was made BY middle schoolers FOR middle schoolers? You got it! Nothing will surprise you here. It hits every predictable beat and hits them with the grace and subtlety of a cow walking a tightrope
awkwardly and dumbly. The characters are rote and predictable, the makeup and cg (while not bad) is leftover from "Star Trek: The Next Generation", and the entire viewing experience is laborious and forgettable. Set in modern times, Frank is over 200 years old and gets caught in the middle of a war going on between gargoyles, demons, and other fantastical characters. Clearly this isn't Karloff's Frankenstein; it's more in the vein of stylized Gothic action films like Underworld or Blade. Gone is the stumbling, sympathetic horror of the Mary Shelley; instead we have a Batman-wannabe shooting for mysteriously cool and coming off as just lazy and unrelatable. Poor Aaron Eckhart is still trying to find where he fits in Hollywood, and this isn't it. Fun game idea: see how long you can stay awake through this movie. Sure, there are copious fight scenes and mildly complex characters but no rational explanation for anything plot-wise. It may have helped if the filmmakers had their tongues more firmly planted in their cheeks, but instead we are left laughing AT them instead of WITH them. With so many great things in theatres right now, don't waste your time on this.
Review of I, Frankenstein
