Introducing a new take on Mary Shelley’s classic 1818 novel, Victor Frankenstein tells us the story of the creation of the monster, but from Igor’s point of view. Featuring James McAvoy as Victor Frankenstein and Daniel Radcliffe as Igor, we see the origin story of the troubled assistant’s dark origins throughout his friendship with a young medical student.
Through his eyes, the audience sees the greatest accomplishment in science as the monster known as Frankenstein rises from the legend that we all know today. However, despite their work at trying to create life after death, their work does eventually land them in trouble with law enforcement and they are considered to be fugitives on the run as they continue to pursue their research and reach their goals.
The Movie Itself (3/5):
The story of Victor Frankenstein started off rather promising., showing how Victor and Igor came to know one another and the development of their relationship into a scientific partnership. It was an extremely intriguing perspective on classic literature that I personally hadn’t seen done before. However as the story progressed on my television, it felt as if it had dragged along too much. Sure, there was the scientific work they did together to try and bring life after death, however there was minimal time spent on the monster they had actually created.
The original story of Frankenstein not only had focus on the scientific duo, it dedicated a fair amount of the story to the monster post creation. Despite having minimal exposure to their creation, the movie was still average. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t good by any means. The performance of James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe working together was done exceptionally well and I would love to see more work with these two together. But, this movie’s limited success will likely dampen any prospects for this partnership to work again in the future.
Picture Quality (4/5):
Every visual aspect of this film was presented beautifully on Blu-ray. Maintaining the 1080p resolution all throughout, we were able to see every detail of the story and the time period it took place in. Making sure to emphasize on the rustic, visual appeal of the 18th century really stood out as we moved through the film. Obviously, there were a few parts that included the use of CGI animation. While it was clear they were computer generated graphics, they seemed to have been really well done and blended in well with the overall scenery. Overall, it is a typical transfer of a newer digitally shot film; clean, smooth, but otherwise not very noteworthy.
Audio Quality (5/5):
With the use of the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on this film, I was able to completely understand everything from the dialogue to the ambient sounds as they played out through my speakers. The film’s musical score as the story progressed was absolutely beautiful and on point with their reflection of the emotion the audience is expected to feel during the various parts of the film. One scene that really stood out to me was when Victor and Igor worked together to finally bring life to their creation. The inclusion of lightning and thunder from the storm that was going on really powered through my speakers and subwoofer. As the thunder boomed, I felt the floor of my living room shake; hell, it even scared my dog to the point where she started barking like crazy.
The Packaging (2.5/5):
There really isn’t anything special about the packaging for Victor Frankenstein. This release comes packaged in your typical amaray Blu-ray case and is a single disc release. Included with the physical copy of the film is the digital redemption pamphlet allowing you to add it to your digital library on either iTunes or your favorite UV service. The included artwork for the case really stood out to me as it represented the film really well.
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Special Features (4/5):
After peeking through the special features of this release, I wasn’t too shocked to see that it came with the Deleted Scenes and the Galleries. However, the inclusion of the 7-part documentary that went through the making of the film was a really pleasant surprise. Watching the work that went on during the production process of this film was a great experience and if you have this film in your collection, you should really consider checking this out!
- Deleted Scenes
- The Making of Victor Frankenstein – A 7-Part Documentary
- Galleries (Production, Design, Production Photography, and Behind-the-Scenes)
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Victor Frankenstein was just an okay film. I wasn’t too happy nor was I too disappointed with the experience that it offered. Personally, I wish they would have included the monster a little more. Sure it was all from Igor’s point of view, but at least play into the chaos the monster wreaked throughout civilization as the original story did so well.
The audio/visual presentation of this release was extremely beautiful. The colors of this film really stood out, despite them having that 18th century, washed-out appearance to them. The work between the two lead characters was absolutely phenomenal and like I mentioned earlier, I would love to see them work together more. Maybe there’ll be a second film to follow up with this one?
Victor Frankenstein received quite a bit of negative feedback after its initial release and is now considered to be a box office bomb. With a budget of $40 million, the film only grossed $34.2 million. After seeing these numbers, I was quite shocked as the Director, Paul McGuigan has had some fantastic films throughout his career including Lucky # Slevin. Hopefully he is given the opportunity to redeem himself after this film, which I did not think was as bad as its box office return suggested. You can pickup Victor Frankenstein on Amazon HERE.
