Cinema-Report #6 - I, Frankenstein
I should write those reports up faster - it's one day before the next film already.
Anyway, "I, Frankenstein" may advertise that it's from the makers of Underworld, but you shouldn't expect something as good. Yes, Bill Nighy is in it and he's quite perfect for his role, too, but that's about all.
The backstory of Underworld with the feud between the vampires and werewolves and the possibility to mix the bloodlines made sense and provided material for several good movies. Telling a tale about how (evil) demons and (good) gargoyles both can't quite decide whether they want to kill Frankenstein's "monster" or win him as an alley does not make much sense. Just as it's a bit odd that the demons apparently move freely among the humans of every age (including wearing contemporary clothes), while the poor gargoyles hardly seem to leave their church-home unless it's for a fight (which is probably why they don't feel the need to update their wardrobe).
By the time of the end-fight and story-end, logic more or less had left the cinema in my opinion.
Frankenstein himself is hardly a monster, by the way. Yes, he still is supposed to be made of dead people's body-parts, but any accident victim might have more gruesome scars than he and Aaron Eckart himself looked more ghastly when he played Two-Face. However, the actor did a pretty good job of showing the conflicted character of the "monster".
One of the few plus point this film has are the special effects. The many shapeshifter moments look nice, although the demons and gargoyles themselves are designed a bit odd. I liked the flight scenes, for example, which are always an opportunity for good 3D.
Another nice touch was the fact that Adam (Frankenstein's monster) was fighting with two sticks, which isn't something you see every day.
Anyway, "I, Frankenstein" may advertise that it's from the makers of Underworld, but you shouldn't expect something as good. Yes, Bill Nighy is in it and he's quite perfect for his role, too, but that's about all.
The backstory of Underworld with the feud between the vampires and werewolves and the possibility to mix the bloodlines made sense and provided material for several good movies. Telling a tale about how (evil) demons and (good) gargoyles both can't quite decide whether they want to kill Frankenstein's "monster" or win him as an alley does not make much sense. Just as it's a bit odd that the demons apparently move freely among the humans of every age (including wearing contemporary clothes), while the poor gargoyles hardly seem to leave their church-home unless it's for a fight (which is probably why they don't feel the need to update their wardrobe).
By the time of the end-fight and story-end, logic more or less had left the cinema in my opinion.
Frankenstein himself is hardly a monster, by the way. Yes, he still is supposed to be made of dead people's body-parts, but any accident victim might have more gruesome scars than he and Aaron Eckart himself looked more ghastly when he played Two-Face. However, the actor did a pretty good job of showing the conflicted character of the "monster".
One of the few plus point this film has are the special effects. The many shapeshifter moments look nice, although the demons and gargoyles themselves are designed a bit odd. I liked the flight scenes, for example, which are always an opportunity for good 3D.
Another nice touch was the fact that Adam (Frankenstein's monster) was fighting with two sticks, which isn't something you see every day.