Frankenstein

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein follows Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein as he unleashes terror after creating a sentient being (Jacob Elordi) from random body parts. There’s little doubt that del Toro, armed with his own screenplay, does a terrific job of instantly capturing the viewer’s interest and attention, as Frankenstein opens with a larger-than-life and impressively brutal prelude that seems to be setting the stage for a pulpy epic – with the agreeable, promising vibe heightened by Dan Laustsen intensely cinematic visuals and several sterling performances. And while the picture subsequently segues into a deliberately-paced narrative, Frankenstein doesn’t entirely begin to wear out its welcome until it arrives at its repetitive, meandering midsection – with the wildly overlong runtime, coupled with del Toro’s rather disastrous decision to stress the Creature’s less-than-gripping exploits, doing little to allay the progressively tiresome atmosphere. The periodic inclusion of engaging sequences (eg the Creature’s encounter with a pack of wolves) prevents one from tuning out completely, to be fair, while the strong closing stretch ensures that the picture ends on a relatively strong note – although such attributes aren’t enough, ultimately, to compensate for a sluggish, padded-out narrative.

** out of ****