Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Carlos I Kenneth Branagh's 1994 adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is an unfairly derided film that, while not as scary or consistently compelling as its source material demands, offers a surprisingly rich and thought-provoking experience. It boasts a lot of interesting thematic and visual ideas, delving into the philosophical and emotional turmoil of creation and abandonment. Furthermore, the movie features a series of truly fantastic performances, most notably from Branagh himself as Victor Frankenstein and Robert De Niro as the Creature, both delivering intense and nuanced portrayals that elevate the material. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/26/25 Full Review tim s This version of the classic tale lacks the genuine scares indicative of the original story, and some scenes are overly dramatic, but it’s a welcome adaptation, nonetheless. Kenneth Branagh is convincingly obsessive as Viktor Frankenstein, and Robert De Niro brings a hint of humanity to his role as the monster. One detail I particularly enjoy is that, as the movie progresses, the red scarring around the monster’s stitching heals and fades. You can truly feel the weight of Dr. Frankenstein’s actions as he comes to realize the consequences of his dark obsession. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/29/25 Full Review Michael P Best Frankenstein ever made hands down!! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/24/24 Full Review Wendel L Direção: Ok Atuação: Bom Roteiro: Ok Caracterização: Bom Soundtrack: Ok Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/23/24 Full Review DanTheMan 2 Clearly made to capitalise on the success of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is as misshapen and compelling as its central creature. Flamboyant, theatrical, full of sound, fury and fire, lightning, blood and amniotic fluid, Kenneth Branagh's film is a feverishly ambitious work; one that succeeds as a cautionary tale about true monstrosity: hubris and man's inhumanity to man. A visually captivating tribute to Frankenstein's film legacy and a faithful adaptation of Shelley's original text, its Greek tragedy, and its character's utter invocations to the gods in turn, it manages to feel cheesy in exactly the right way. But one man's operatic style is another man's unintentionally comical excess, and the film certainly tempts fate, overambition is certainly preferable to the alternative. Branagh's ambition often clashes with the overwrought tone, but the gothic stylisation is wonderfully combined with the sumptuous photography of Roger Pratt, gorgeously realised production and the mesmerising score by Patrick Doyle. The addition of some truly exceptional performances from its cast just further adds to this film's strengths and, while short on villainy, DeNiro's Creature is one of the best interpretations of the Monster we've ever had, an aesthetically challenged and tragically misunderstood loner with a father who rejected him, one who can swing between genuinely terrifying to heartbreakingly sympathetic on a dime. For all its faults, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a passionately made film about what drives one to excel, what drives one to madness and the dangers of excess beyond reason. A seriously misunderstood cinematic triumph simply too sophisticated and beautiful for this world. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/26/24 Full Review Blu B It's a complete mess but it's not all bad here. So much so that I do have trouble calling it terrible. Just very questionable and misguided. The biggest problems here is the acting and cinematography. The acting is so over the top half the time and looney it comes across as unintentionally funny rather than dramatic. K.B. isn't that good here as the lead. He's not likeable really at all and comes across as a pretentious know it all whose whiny because his Mom died. There is no sympathy here at all. DeNiro isn't bad as the Monster and is probably the best thing in this. I wish his makeup was a bit less Cronenberg like though. Everyone else is forgettable or not that good. The Amadeus Guy best friend I don't get why he's here and he's overacted as well. The cinematography man really sums up the problems here. Fantastic Grade A production value and effort put in. It always shows and yet it's so misused and the camerawork is all over the place at times with crazy camera shots in the action scenes which feel so out of place. You always got people over acting and it gets frantic and the scene itself always comes across as bizarre more than riveting, scary, or thrilling. Every single time this happens and is one of the biggest problems here. The special effects are excellent with tons of practical effects but there always used in just bizarre ways. The direction is another huge issue in general as it's all over the place. That being said, everything else is alright about it. This really isn't scary at all. It's a drama that feels like a Shakesphere tragedy more than anything and I think that's due to the direction. It's very unique and never hard to follow but it just doesn't work well together at all. This feels much more character driven than the 1931 one does. But because Frankenstein isn't that likeable, it's not that interesting to watch. In the middle when it focuses on the Monster is does get a bit better and defintely is the best parts. Too bad it goes back towards the end being more about Victor. It comes across almost as the Monster & Victors storys are two completely seperate films almost. The way this builds the story as a character arc around Victor more than is what seperates it and makes it unique and is also one of the biggest problems. K.B. really needed to go for something scary and moody rather than sweeping and epic like he's shooting Lawrence of Arabia or War & Peace or MacBeth. It feels like the message of the original as a warning of man playing God gets lost in all the bizarre direction choices and character of Victor. I've never read the source material but knowing his track record this is probably almost 100% accurate to the book but the end result I'm sure is not what the author had in mind orignally. If your a DIE HARD fan of the book or the direction of K.B. than maybe check this out but most people should skip this. It's very flawed but an interesting watch. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/10/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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