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Frankenstein (2025)

Normally I wouldn’t go and see anything at the cinema if it’s made by Netflix but it felt like if anyone was going to make me break this rule then it would be Guillermo del Toro. I wasn’t sure how many people would share my viewpoint on this but there were about 30 on a Friday night which showed that a great director like del Toro deserves to have his films seen on the big screen. This version follows the basic plot of Mary Shelley’s original but there are a few differences which is how it should be when you are making the latest remake. The film starts off at the end with the creature encountering a ship stuck in the ice and also Victor Frankenstein. After seeing off the creature, Victor tells his story about growing up to make the creature and then we hear what happens to the creature after the house/castle is destroyed.

Even knowing there were going to be some changes to the story, the main reason why I wanted to go to the cinema to watch something that will be on Netflix in a few weeks is because of how it looks. Just from the trailer it looked stunning and it's fair to say that this is one of the most stunning films of the year. I don't know if GDT is capable of making an ugly film and I don't know what the budget was for this film but it can't have been cheap and this is the sort of film that Netflix should be doing instead of giving Adam Sandler money to make rubbish. 

The performances are really good. Oscar Isaac delivers a stunning version of Victor Frankenstein. You buy that he is a mad genius and I thought it was made better when he was acting alongside Jacob Elordi’s Creature. This version of the creature is not like previous ones as it is more melancholy than before and it works as it makes him more human than a big brute that we get in other versions. Don't go into this film expecting a Boris Karloff version cause you will be disappointed. Mia Goth seems to have become the go-to horror queen after starring in the X trilogy with Pearl being the best and her best performance but there is something that I don't think anyone else could have pulled off. There isn't very much to the character of Elizabeth but Mia Goth makes that character seem important and her death is quite sad. Charles Dance is in the film briefly as…..well Charles Dance. It did have the vibe of Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones but toned down a little. Christoph Waltz is great which isn't a shocking statement because you know when he is appearing in something that he is going to be great in it and he is the one who funds Frankenstein’s work.   

I still think that Sinners is my favourite film of the year but there is very little in terms of enjoyment between that film and this one. Netflix’s quality control is a bit up and down but this has to be one of their best ones and it shows what happens when you let someone like Guillermo del Toro do what he is very good at. I’m not sure I will always relax my Netflix rule but if I think that I am going to get my money's worth with a visually stunning film then I don't mind spending that money. 


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