I, Frankenstein (2013)  Directed by Stuart Beattie

 

When Victor von Frankenstein (Aden Young) created his monster, he was only thinking about the could, not the should.  The consequences of creating a superhumanly powerful man lacking a soul would cost Victor von Frankenstein his career, his wife, his sanity, and eventually his life.

 

But the story doesn’t end there, it’s only beginning.  No sooner does the monster (Aaron Eckhart) plant his creator back in his native soil than he is embroiled in a war as old as time between two forces; demons and gargoyles.  Demons are bad and they want Frankenstein’s monster for their own purposes.  Gargoyles are good and can turn into hot guys wearing capes, and they want to keep the demons from getting anything they want.  The Queen of the gargoyles, Leonore (Miranda Otto) decides to spare Frankenstein’s creation’s life and the monster, now named Adam, spends 200 years trying to avoid people and slaying demons.

 

The demons want Adam for some unfathomable reason, and at last Adam begins to hunt them before they can successfully hunt him.  What he discovers about their motivations will embroil him in the eons old war and help him redefine his own existence.

 

If you are thinking, “Gee this sounds like Frankenstein meets Underworld” you would not be far wrong. The writer, Kevin Grevioux also helped write Underworld.  He also appears in both; look for the Lycan or Demon with the deepest voice, and you found him.  Incidentally, he also has two Masters in microbiology and genetic engineering. 

 

While he may have two Masters, apparently he only has one idea; the classic good versus evil, monster versus monster epic saga.  This movie is so derivative of Underworld… It even stars Bill Nighy as the chief villain.  And while he makes an excellent elemental force of evil, I would think they would want some variety.

 

I really wanted to like this movie, it has many elements that could make it quite entertaining.  There is much potential for the Creation to find his humanity. That is always an entertaining exercise.  We all love the monster becomes hero.  And they spared nothing on the special effects; visually the movie is awesome.  (Although I would have liked to see Adam just once not look ground in grimy.)  But it just comes off as a cheap attempt to recapture the magic of Underworld.  And that turns it from “it has untapped potential” to “that was rather pathetic.”

 

Save your money folks, and catch it on Netflix; you won’t have long to wait.