Alright, a brand new Guillermo del Toro film! Let's see what he cooked up this time.
Frankenstein is a gothic drama movie based on Mark Shelley's iconic 1818 book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Production was done by Double Dare You, Demilo Films, and Bluegrass 7 w/ distribution done by Netflix. Guillermo del Toro both wrote and directed.
The story is, in 1855 Victor Frankenstein was expelled from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for reanimating corpses. But this disturbing talent doesn't go unnoticed when he's approach by Arms merchant Henrich Harlander, who'll provide him unlimited funding to conduct his experiments. Fueled by his ego Victor creatures new life, but this act of playing god will have dangerous consequences.
Initial Reaction
This is gonna be one quick explanation. I wanted to see this because del Toro is a phenomenal filmmaker. I don't think I can think of one bad movie he's every made. Come to think of it, I don't think he has made a bad movie. So I decided to this because I firmly believe del Toro was gonna continue his winning streak.
Cons
I've got nothing.
Middle Ground
Now the story still follows the same beats as every other Frankenstein film. The man plays god, and in typical del Toro fashion, we see a monster who isn't an actually monster, etc. So yes, the story is really good. Especially since we get both sides of the story, that being Victor's side and The Creature's side. But as much as I love del Toro, this movie does have a habit of dragging in some places. Sure when dealing with a story like this ya gotta a lot of ground to cover. However there are moments when you're almost gonna feel that two hour and twenty-nine minute runtime.
Pros
First let's start off with the performances, mainly from Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi. Oscar once gain showcases why he's such a great talent. He has the ability from making Victor Frankenstein go from manic and driven to being a deeply tormented with a dark moral compass. But then we got Jacob Elordi who I can see being viewed as show stealer. He did a fantastic job making "The Creature" (that's Frankenstein's name this time around as suppose to Frankenstein or Frankenstein's Monster) and playing three different roles. For one part of the Elordi makes The Creature coming off as innocent and almost child like, to being something that's trying to find meaning in it's life, to then being a rageful monster seeking revenge on the only father figure he had in his life.
Now it's time to praise the thing that Guillermo del Toro is known for. His movies having a beautiful dark cinematography. The overall look to this film perfectly captures the dark, moody, and dirty tone of the story. It's a true feast for the eyes, even if you're gonna see some pretty gross cut opened bodies and wolves being torn apart.
The last thing I'll praise is the production designs, holy crap the production design. It's amazing. Now yes, there's more than likely moments where CGI and green screen, but the fact there were moments where you question it should tell you how great the production design is. In a cinematic world, where it seems like almost every movie, and keep in mind I said almost and not every, it's also refreshing to see that there's still practical effects and built sets being used. CGI and green screen do and always will have it's place in cinema but we can't forget what came first.
While the pacing could've used a little more work, Frankenstein (2025) is a fantastic watch. If you're a fan of Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein, whatever, I think you should give this a watch.
My final rating is, Good.
Okay, that's gonna do it. Due come back on Thursday, Nov 13th, for my A Look Back at review of The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. A celebration review for Edgar Wright's version. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
Oh, and tomorrow, to all of the brave soldiers who severed, Happy Veterans Day.


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