Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Now Playing: I, Frankenstein

It's not like we needed a dsitraction movie, but having watched five of nine Oscar Noms, Jadek and I decided on a palate cleanser.

I, Frankenstein (brought to you by the same people from the Underworld franchise, which I enjoy) had some potential.  Excellent source material, depth in casting, and CGI tech that's never been better.  I'm the kind of person that really likes when you take a classic and "reveal" other aspects.  But somehow, it didn't quite come together.  I think it maybe because of two big (bad) choices:

1) Casting Bill Nighy as the bad guy.  Again.  You know, I love Mr. Nighy, I really do, but he can't be the bad guy for every gritty fantasy world.  And he's already been a badass vampire.  (In a testament to his acting abilities, I think Mr. Nighy played the demon-prince role perfectly, with a balanced mix of detachment and cruelty.  It just seems like lazy casting, though.)

2) The demon make-up is completely uninspired, looking like a mild upgrade from the days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I really expected much much more.  And the choice of gargoyles?  Okay - but aside from making the choice of gargoylke-as-good-guy, they did nothing with them.. 

I didn't expect much and I got even less.  So not worth it.  1 out of 5 stars; solely for the acting, with  Aaron Eckhart, Miranda Otto, and Bill Nighy doing the best they can with what they're given. 

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