JacobsonCinemas

It’s alive, IT’s ALIVE!

The Netflix logo that was shown at the showing I was at was themed to Frankenstein with batteries and electricity, just wanted to point that out because I always love it when a studio logo is themed to the movie. If you know the original Frankenstein story by Mary Shelley than it won’t be hard to understand Guillermo del Toro’s adaption. For those who don’t know Frankenstein is about a mad scientist named Victory Frankenstein who challenges the idea of life and death by creating a creature and giving it life.  

Much like his adaption of Pinocchio, you can tell Guillermo del Toro really wanted to make his own version of the story instead of doing a shot-by-shot remake of the 1931 version. The whole film is amazing to look at thanks to Del Toro’s amazing directing. The shot where you see the monster far away in front of the sunset in the North Pole might just be one of, if not my favorite shot from any film this year. I heard someone say that the film’s themes can all be summed up in that one shot. I also like how this film is structured in chapters with each one being told by either Victor (when he’s creating the creature) or the creature (after he escaped). If I had a few problems with the film, it’s that the whole “who’s the real monster” theme is a bit forced.

Oscar Isaac is great as Victor Frankenstein. What I like about his performance is that he had some sympathetic traits but not to the point where he’s too sympathetic to forgive for the awful stuff he does. The true MVP however is Jacob Elordi as the creature. I love his unique design and how Jacob Elordi managed to balance being both intimidating and. The friendship he has with the blind old man is also very sweet. He absolutely deserves a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is one of if not the best and most unique film adaptions of this famous story that would make Mary Shelley very proud. I’d even say it’s better than the 1931 version. With this and Monsters Unchained at Epic Universe, 2025 really has been the year of Frankenstein.

Verdict:

+Chapter structure

+ Guillermo del Toro’s directing

+Jacob Elordi as the creature

+Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein

-Forced “who’s the real monster” theme

Score: A