Movies: I, Frankenstein

Movies: I, Frankenstein

Hi all, don't have extra much to say before the review of the movie posting except that there ain't very much high budget blockbusters thus far into 2014. Yet there is still people who need some entertainment of which movies are still a good form of. So is there any movie worth seeing? How about this one about Frankenstein.

Just for your information, this Frankenstein is an alternate storyline and is not the traditional slow and clumsy one word sprouting Frankenstein that we are familiar with. Of course the movie does use elements from the original Frankenstein such as the monster with no soul and the same scientist that created him called incidentally Victor Frankenstein (There seems to be some kinda link between the name Victor and bad guys like Frankenstein, Hugo, Von doom). So is this rehash or revised version of Frankenstein good to watch? Lets read the review and find out!

This is how he used to look like.. not much to look at...

Today, the new and improved Frankenstein looks like....

Impressive huh?

Or to be even more impressed

One day.. just one day....

Anyway how did this movie perform?

Storyline 3.5/5

Given that this is another take of a story that most people used to be accustomed with, this movie is able to keep the audience enthralled for quite a while as they introduce the audience to this new world that Frankenstein lives in, which is actually somewhat like our world. However, the movie only does this briefly which would be fine if this movie is going to be just a one off thing. This is further exemplified by the 90 minutes show time so you shouldn't be expecting too much of a description of this world Frankie is in.

The whole flow of the story is determined pretty quickly from the start and from then its just a progression of things with little twists and turns. It is basically just following a angry Frankenstein as he discovers himself stuck in a battle between good and bad and his reaction towards that as he chooses sides. Nonetheless, the movie does a good job of keeping the story flowing and as a result it helps ease you from action scenes to action scenes and you will not feel too bored but neither will you care about the story too much as its quite standard.

In short, the story is done well enough to not be a chore but help move the movie along. Its not overly complex but at least it generally makes sense  and doesn't become a bore.

Character 3/5

The main character of this movie is obviously Frankenstein. It is also clear to say that he is the only main character. The rest of the people you see in the movie are all supporting characters.

Despite this, there is actually little emphasis on who Frankie actually is probably because he has no soul and hence nothing unique to to really focus on. This trend follows on to all the supporting characters also and hence all of them are forgettable cliche character types that you will see in every other movie. 

It's saving grace is that it focuses on introducing instead of the person, the two distinct groups of people that we have which are the gargoyles and the demons. But even then there is not particularly that much emphasis placed in this part especially when you consider the 90 minutes show time.

This is good.. didnt know good was ugly too

This is evil, as usual ugly

Cinematography 3.5/5

This is supposed to be the area of focus for for most action movies and this movie captures these few aspects. 

Epic shots that show how big some buildings buildings are and how magnificent they look. 

Many many fire and light special effects that have a intended meaning of someone dying. 

Large scale fighting where you will see many pretty lights with snippets of close up to the various more important fighters 

Close up fights involving only a few combatants that are nicely choreographed. 

These are the expected aspects that all action oriented movies must have or should try to involve. However there are areas that can be improved to lend more immersion and areas such as large scale battle are basically just skirmishes with little tactics or strategy. That is unlike how LOTR does it which should should be a good reference point for large scale battle Cinematography. 

Music 3.5/5

The music is actually pretty significant and strong in this movie adding alot to the overall immersiveness and feel of the movie. Makes the action and impacts sound a lot more strong. Overall this is the way action movies should strive towards.

Spectacle 3.5/5

For a action show it has pretty above average storyline and the action scenes are pretty good. The 90 min timeframe for the movie is also alright as some other action movies, when they try to drag for time end up frustrating or boring the audience which is not what this movie did. This movie flows from battle scene to battle scene with appropriate amount of backdrop. Battle scenes are pretty fair with people "dying" from both sides save the more important characters.

Of course there is more to be improved like via slow mo cam and first person and stuff like that but this movie does alright.

Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (Coherent and has a flow to it, can be better but is pretty good for action flick)
Character: 3 (Focuses on one character but this character doesnt have much character to him because that is his character. Understand this statement? :) )
Cinematography: 3.5 (Does action scenes and epic scenes well. Action scenes generally enjoyable but there are clear areas for improvement)
Music: 3.5 (Strong score and sound effects to add alot of umph to the movie)
Spectacle: 3.5 (For a action movie its above average in terms of action and storyline. Doesn't really do anything particularly new however aside from its new world situation)

Overall: 3.4 (This score is a good reflection of a movie that is good for passing time. If you have nothing else to do, you cant really go wrong with this movie as its action is sufficient for the mainstream audience. Is it a must see, a show that you will regret not seeing? Most likely not. So if you have no other plans for a weekday night you could catch this movie. Especially if you are on a time budget of 1 and a half hour movie.)

I should honestly have wrote this review as soon as i got home after the movie so that the week end viewers would have this info.. Will try to do that in the future :)

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