VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN (2015)

Paul McGuigan’s film with a screenplay by Max Landis based on Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN is a film as seen from the perspective of the character of Igor Strausman, Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant who in this take happens to be quite brilliant and highly ethical to boot. When he starts to object to the good doctor’s idea of playing God by trying to resurrect life from previously dead body parts is when the story both becomes interesting and starts to unravel. Filmed with an obviously lavish budget and a cast of actors many will recognize from a host of various British dramas from Downton Abbey to Jewel in the Crown, I never the less felt everyone was a bit slumming in a story that really did not need to be told again. I will give James McAvoy as Dr. Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe as Igor (who is truly the film’s lead) credit with doing an excellent job with what they’ve been given to work with and Jessica Brown Findlay as Lorelei, the film’s female lead (and Sybil Crawley Branson from Downton Abbey) as being quite effective. However, this film tripped up on itself from having been told so many times before and in many different incarnations, that I felt it was all a bit of a waste despite it’s well intentioned execution.