At the Theater - "I, Frankenstein" - This modern-day tale concerning a world weary Frankenstein's Monster (Aaron Eckhart) thrust into the center of a centuries old war between Gargoyles and Demons isn't nearly what it should have/could have been, but it still manages to fall in guilty pleasure territory... if just barely. An Australian production and apparent franchise-starter from the producers of Underworld, I didn't feel this was as bad as so many pro critics were letting on, though it definitely could have used an injection of much needed humor (for levity's sake) and a substantial fleshing out involving it's many characters. Perhaps what's most disappointing here is how self-serious the tone is, something that I felt plagued all four of the Underworld entries.
Aaron Eckhart (Battle L.A.), though obviously trying, seems miscast as the scarred wanderer just looking to be left alone- the role needed a bigger more formidable sort to chew scenery and throw his weight (and the weight of others) around. Those who've read the Mary Shelley novel are aware that the Monster referred to himself as "the Adam of your labours" when conversing with Dr. Victor Frankenstein- this film marks the first time in which I've seen the character labeled as "Adam", for what that's worth.
Yvonne Strahovski (NBC's Chuck) is the leggy scientist unknowingly working for the bad guys in reanimating the dead. Strahovski isn't much more than a typical damsel in distress here, though the story thankfully forgoes a romance between her character and our anti-hero.
Miranda Otto (The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King) supplies the Gargoyle Queen, "Leonore", while Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher) is the commander of her army, "Gideon".
Bill Nighy (Love Actually) provides the film's main villain, a wealthy demon-prince named "Naberius". Nighy's role here is painfully similar to that in which he played in the first three Underworld films, so much so that it's a distraction.
This film is based on a graphic novel from DarkStorm Studios and written by Kevin Grevioux- most will remember him as the hulking lycan "Raze" in a couple of the Underworld films- he makes a few appearances here as a demon henchman named "Dekar".
I, Frankenstein is a near bloodless PG-13 romp- when the villainous Demons are dispatched, they combust into swirling streaks of fire and errant embers whereas the righteous Gargoyles make their final descent as rays of bluish beams of light. The Gargoyles, in their winged creature form, are entirely CGI creations (second rate stuff but serviceable) while the Demons occasionally flash their true wicked selves with solid makeup effects on display. Comparatively, all of the Underwold films were drenched in blood and often quite gory, all rated R and deservedly (appropriately) so. The creature effects in those films were primarily developed (indeed with notable exceptions) utilizing commendably sharp practical makeup and guy-in-a-suit type effects.
I did enjoy the impressive sets and a few scenes of extensive destruction - one sequence where our scarred hero dukes it out with an airborne Gargoyle in an abandoned building, reducing it to dusty rubble, is actually kind of cool. The action is filmed and choreographed well and although a rather dark film, I never had any problems understanding what was happening onscreen. I would have appreciated a good five to ten extra minutes of "Adam" bashing the hell-fire out of demons with his blessed, silver tipped batons.
Most will find the lack of human interaction as somewhat laughable- aside from one unfortunate policeman and a couple of scientists, there's very little "commoners" to speak of while the larger-scaled battles unfold.
I had to check this out in 3D because of the convenient time in which the showing fell as the first in an intended double feature- the gimmickry isn't worth it here, with little adding to the overall experience.
All things considered, it's a merely OK time passer that's much better than 2004's God-awful Van Helsing but not quite as entertaining on the guilty pleasure scale as any of the Underworld films- expect an Action/Fantasy/Horror hybrid that falls somewhere on the quality scale near 2011's Priest. I, Frankenstein is missing depth, fun, machine guns, blood and gore galore and Kate Beckinsale running around in black latex. That said, anyone who could actually hate this film was well outside the target audience to begin with, making them pretty damned dumb for checking it out in theaters.
To be completely honest, I'd much rather watch another one of these films than have to sit through Paranormal Activity 38 or any of those soulless entries in the seemingly endless parade of low budget possession flicks (The Devil Inside, The Possession, The Apparition, The Last Exorcism, etc.,) that are currently diluting the horror genre. I'm a creature-feature kinda guy by heart and tend to make concessions whenever the rare opportunity presents itself- there are so few monster movies released in theaters that I tend to be rather lenient when they do roll around...
My call - those who are interested should skip it in theaters and wait for it as a rental.
6.5 out of 10
Director: Stuart Baettie
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Bill Nighy, Jai Courtney, Kevin Grevioux, Socratis Otto, Caitlin Stasey, Mahesh Jadu and Bruce Spence
Run-Time: 92 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense fantasy action and violence throughout
No comments:
Post a Comment