Frankenstein's Monster has gone through numerous
permutations in the centuries since he made his first appearance in Mary
Shelley's seminal work of gothic fiction, first published in 1818. It's
doubtful that Shelley ever imagined her most famous creation as a matinee idol
action hero. That's just how the creature has been re-imagined in I, Frankenstein, a movie that sprung
from the mind of actor/writer Kevin Grevioux, who conceived the idea as a film
and graphic novel. The physically imposing thespian also helped develop the Underworld franchise and the two could
easily exist in the same universe. In fact, an earlier draft of the screenplay contained
references to the Underworld series.
I, Frankenstein picks
up right where the novel ended. In a fit of rage, the Monster (Aaron Eckhart)
has murdered Dr. Victor Frankenstein's fiancée. Seeking vengeance, the Doctor
attempts to hunt down his creation, only to succumb to the elements. The
creature buries his "father" in the Frankenstein family cemetery when
he is attacked by a group of demons. He is rescued by gargoyle warriors who
take him to Leonore (Miranda Otto), queen of the Gargoyle Order. Leonore
renames the Monster as Adam and explains the gargoyles were created by the
Archangel Michael to defend the Earth from the minions of Hell. Although her lieutenant
Gideon (Jai Courtney) wants to destroy Adam, Leonore asks him to join their
cause, an offer Adam promptly rejects.
For nearly 200 years, Adam is hunted by the demons until he
finally decides to turn the tables. As it turns out, Prince Naberius (Bill
Nighy), one of the original fallen angels alongside Lucifer, has been searching
for the secret to reanimating the dead. The rules of I, Frankenstein state that demons cannot be killed, but merely
"descended," sent back to Hell in a ball of flame. Their only ticket
to return is by possessing a body without a soul and only Adam has no soul.
Hence, Naberius has been collecting corpses for centuries to prepare for the
eventual return of his brimstone brethren. To assist in this endeavor,
Naberius, under the guise of businessman Charles Wessex, has hired brilliant
electro-physicist Dr. Terra Wade (Yvonne Strahovski) to assist in discovering a
method to revive the dead.
I, Frankenstein is
every bit as ludicrous as it sounds. Not only do demons morph their faces and
burst into flame ala vampires on Buffy,
their angelic counterparts "ascend." In other words, they rise to the
heavens in a beam of blue light. Yet, this war has remained secret throughout
the history of mankind. You'd think someone would have photographed all those
fireballs and beams of light from the sky on their iPhone. Not that it matters,
except for a lone police officer, ordinary humans appear to be nearly nonexistent
in this world. And don't ask how Naberius's corpse collection hasn't rotted
away by now. Were they sealed in Mylar?
Aaron Eckhart has amassed a varied filmography from indie
flicks like In the Company of Men and
Thank You For Smoking to blockbusters
such as The Dark Knight and Battle: Los Angeles. He certainly has
the good looks and strong chin to be an action hero, but that's not what you're
looking for in Frankenstein's Monster. Eckhart doesn't come close to resembling
a being stitched together from different body parts. At least, Billy Nighy
appears to be having fun chewing the scenery in the manner of a modern day
Peter Cushing.
Director Stuart Beattie handles the action scenes
competently enough, but your brain will have long checked out after being
exposed to so much inane dialogue and nonsensical plot points. Or maybe it’s the
tiresome post-Matrix aesthetics that
will bore you. Either way I, Frankenstein
is a decayed corpse beyond the reanimating abilities of Victor Frankenstein,
Herbert West, and Ra's al Ghul.
Rating: * (*****)
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