By Jeremy Hannaford (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 5, 2014
January is only just over and we’ve already had several bad movies this year.
Certain “bad” movies that can be enjoyable if taken from a certain perspective; the horrible acting and ridiculous storytelling can make a concoction of engrossing drivel. Sometimes, you don’t even want it to end.
I, Frankenstein could have been one of those films if it wasn’t so boring.
Based on a graphic novel of the same name that is somehow non-existent on the internet, the movie takes us back to the time of the monster’s creation. It starts out entertaining with Aaron Eckhart trying his best reinterpretation of his role in The Dark Knight.
The original Mary Shelley is glossed over in less than a minute. Then we are taken on a new and terrible adventure involving demons and gargoyles, which are basically angels. Why they can’t be angels isn’t really addressed even though they fight for God, use angelic references, and ascend into the sky when they die.
But this weird departure from the base text does lead to some hilarious dialogue. When Mirando Otto arrives to judge the fate of the monster, she serves as the queen of exposition and basically explains the entire backstory, plot, and obstacles to come.
Despite some lacklustre CGI, the full-scale battle halfway through the film is quite entertaining. The look of the gargoyles may be simplistic, but the basic colour palette works to subtly hide how cheap they are. It’s at this point when the mindless violence and terrible acting can work together and you can actually have fun watching this movie.
Afterward, it tries to delve deeper into the “I” monster, called Adam in this film. I, Frankenstein only gets worse in its second half as a result. Characters are introduced, then killed 10 minutes later, even when we are supposed to care about them. People like Yvonne Strahovski’s scientist character are blasted with absolutely absurd and comical dialogue about gargoyles and demons and take it like it’s an average day at the job .
Though the film moves quickly, sometimes skimping on detail, it still drags later on. The bad dialogue isn’t funny anymore, the action isn’t captured properly, and it just becomes boring. This says something as the film is barely over 90 minutes long. When you make a film of this campy calibre, the main focus should be to entertain the audience, at the very least. Instead we are given some terrible dialogue between Strahovski and Eckhart as they try to showcase the fact that the monster has “feelings.”
Aaron Eckhart’s choice to star in this film is not surprising. He has become accustomed to starring in campy action films like Battle Los Angeles, The Core, or Paycheck. It’s odd because Eckhart is otherwise a decent actor with some standout performances, like in Thank You For Smoking. He’s certainly dedicated to his craft; for his role in I, Frankenstein he spent three months learning the Kali fighting style. He even said in an interview with Collider that “Frankenstein is an intelligent, evolved man, and that’s how he is portrayed in this movie, for sure.”
You know your film is bad when your lead actor’s description of his character exceeds anything you will get from the overall movie.
I, Frankenstein could make a great party movie if you have nothing else to watch, but it will likely be forgotten well before the year is over.
