Frankenstein (2015)

Wonderful character development!

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Better Late Then Never

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

This is a modern day setting for the classic Frankenstein tale, including the little girl and blind man. Adam is artificially created and narrates in very intelligent first person, a level of intellect he never really achieves in the film. He is left for dead a few times and is abused by the system which sees his skin lesion deformity as ugly. The film is not a real horror or science fiction thriller, but a drama that makes us look at how society, especially our law enforcement, treats the mentally ill and how society marginalizes those who are different. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of the theme is that the director/script writer felt he needed to inform his audience verbally what he was attempting to do visually. This made the film unnecessarily preachy when he had succeeded visually. Sometimes less is more.Now for what it was, Xavier Samuel nailed the role as "The Monster" and certainly deserves top billing for his lead and performance. Won't appeal to those looking for a sci-fi horror thriller or fans of the LAPD.Guide: F-bomb, blurred camera phone sex/nudity.

Married scientists Elizabeth (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Victor Frankenstein (Danny Huston) reanimates Adam (Xavier Samuel) although he only retains the mind of a baby. He starts to deteriorate with deformities. The scientists try to euthanize him but he is too strong and too hard to kill. He escapes but causes chaos and is attacked by the angry public.I like the idea of bringing Frankenstein into the modern world. I like doing some of the classic story elements such as the little girl and the angry mob. Around the midway point, the film loses me. The cop taking him out back and shooting him in the head is completely wrong. There are some more wrong-headed stuff like a voice-over suggesting an advanced mind which isn't right. The A-list stars Moss and Huston leave after the first act and only return for the last confrontation. Samuel is perfectly fine. This is an intriguing idea but it doesn't come to much more than an indie.

Yes pun intended or meaning both the movie and the "monster" itself. This is a modern adaptation of one the best known monsters. Though obviously many still confuse the name Frankenstein (the inventor) with his creation (which would be the "monster" and not Frankenstein). But back to this, because by updating this and giving it somewhat roots in reality here with a great cast, the movie achieves something that other newer adaptations failed to do.We do feel for the monster, which is splendidly portrayed here. It's almost existential to a point. What is life? What is the meaning? So all the things that made or rather make Frankensteing the story great, can be found here. So I do wonder: Where is the love? (again pun intended)

6.75 of 10. Frankenstein zombie or Frankenstein clone? It's definitely not Frankenstein robot. Nonetheless, it feels like a horror story inspired by Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - or at least the the question, not the more developed Blade Runner adaptation.It's better than any of the film/TV versions of Frankenstein. Rather than trying to stay literal to a story we know is, at least technically, nonsense, it pursues a more realistic though still at the moment purely sci-fi angle.What makes the film engaging beyond the slightly revised plot setup is the pacing and the thoughtful adaptation and fitting in of the book characters that interact with "Monster". What makes it less engaging is the narration. By the end it feels like a setup for either a TV series or a sequel or 2 rather than a complete story.