Cast: John McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott, Freddie Fox
Director: Paul McGuigan
Genre: Sci-fi
Duration: 110 minutes
Now showing at Cinema Magic Metroplex Mall Naalya and Century Cinemax Acacia Mall Kisementi
When I first saw the title, Victor Frankenstein, I could not help thinking, “Not another Frakenstein movie!” I mean, how many times can a movie be brought back from the dead? Pun very much intended. Turns out this is another case of do not judge a movie by its title.
The titular Victor Frankenstein (McAvoy) meets Igor (Radcliffe) at a circus. Igor is a hunchback who tries to stay in the background. At the circus, Lorelai (Findlay) one of the circus acts takes a fall and Igor saves her. That gets Victor’s attention. The two leave the circus in a fracas, where a man dies in the process. Victor takes Igor to his house and soon the two are deep in science experiments. There is also a warrant out for their arrest, and an investigator who is determined to arrest Victor. But that is not what makes the movie interesting.
What is Victor’s obsession with bringing back dead things to life. McAvoy brings just the right dose of drama to his character that you cannot help feeling his desperation. Radcliffe on the other hand is very much the voice of reason. So the refreshing angle to this age old story will make you feel like you have never heard of Frankenstein.
However, there is something about the movie that made me think of an egg that did not get to boil properly. There are bits in the movie that promise to be more exciting than they turn out to be. Like the movie did not get to live up to its potential. Good thing is that the exciting parts really get exciting and we get to see how this story is connected to the Frankenstein we are more familiar with.