Frankenstein (2004)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

hyped garbage

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

For me, this picture turned out a lot better than I thought it would be. It uses the familiar Frankenstein concept of patching bodies together from the remnants of deceased degenerates by an evil doctor who's pursuit in life is the creation of perfection. In that regard, I thought the method Victor Helios (Thomas Kretschmann) used to reinvent his own wife was kind of unique. And good old Deucalion gave new meaning to the term 'I sing the body electric'.There are other elements that made the film a unique experience as well. Adam Goldberg got to deliver a bunch of zany lines as Detective Michael Sloane opposite partner Carson O'Conner (Parker Posey). Their back and forth banter was rather amusing amid unusually grim circumstances, particularly with a room full of hanging razor blades and a box with a 'sacred heart' in it. The best though was the reference to Detective Harker's (Michael Madsen) 'go nuts' room. I just never expected to see Zip-loc bags used in product placement for a movie.Depending on your disposition though, the ending didn't seem very satisfying. It left things wide open for a follow up sequel, but who in their right mind is going to follow this thing with another flick. Maybe I shouldn't say that, Martin Scorsese wound up on this one as executive producer.

Frankenstein (2004)This was made for TV on the USA network and had fine production values.A twist on the classic Frankenstein story. This one takes place in modern-day New Orleans where a detective investigates a series of murders.But the 'Frankenstein monster' is an intelligent 200 year old looking for his "maker" (a Victor Helios, also 200 years old, keeping himself alive with genetic experiments) who is creating synthetic humans from stolen body parts to eventually replace mankind.It had a bit of an unusual ending and I see it was originally designed to be the pilot of a series... which explains the ending. Turns out it was based on the book "Frankenstein: the Prodical Son" by Dean Koontz and Kevin Anderson. Which I now want to read. Two Thumbs Up from me. I enjoyed it!I can't reveal any spoilers but there were twists in the characters as well as a massive rewrite of the plot. And all I'll say is... role-reversal.

Over the years many film-makers had provided new movies with new stories inspired on the famous Mary Shelley novel. They often are about the son of Frankenstein or his great-great-great-son or anything else of the sort but they all have in common that they have a mad doctor who is trying to create a new monster. This movie is a Frankenstein movie set in the modern age, which by default already is a very bad idea.The Frankenstein-creature is a classic character. Putting him in this modern day and age already takes away much of his class and heart.This movie basically of course doesn't have a lot to do with the famous Mary Shelley novel or any other previous Frankenstein movie. Yet it of course chooses to carry the name "Frankenstein", while it really isn't deserving to. The movie is more a one that concentrates on the police detective work to hunt down 'doctor Frankenstein', in this movie known as Victor Helios, played by Thomas Kretschmann and his creature(s). It isn't really about the creature trying to be good, though there are certainly still some parallels with the Mary Shelley novel. The good old doctor and the creature are more evil villainous ones, for movie purposes, which in my opinion just was a bad choice. They try to make the creature look sympathetic but the creature just remains too much a mysterious one for it to really work out.I liked the movie its cast with actors such as Parker Posey, Thomas Kretschmann, Adam Goldberg and Michael Madsen involved. The only deserved a better concept and script to work with.No, it's not like this movie is horrible and it's definitely a watchable one but it's just that the story mostly remains uninteresting and really isn't an involving one to watch, while previous, much better Frankenstein movies, obviously were. The movie is lacking a heart and a good true main character you get to care for. Watching this is an enjoyable yet also very shallow experience. Oh well, at least it all isn't as bad and tiresome as the 2004 TV mini-series, with the same name.The movie had a good look and atmosphere. No wonder, since it had director Marcus Nispel at the helm, who is an expert in the genre. He did the "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and is currently working on the "Friday the 13th". So when is he going to do an original horror movie on his own? He seriously needs to start looking for new and original scripts, if he truly wants to become a respected and acclaimed director. He certainly has the talent for it to become one I think. So far none of his movies has been based on original material.And for those wondering why this movie its ending is so abrupt and feels so incomplete; This movie was supposed to be a pilot for a TV-series. Doubtful that this will ever still turn into a TV-series, since it's now 4 years later already and still no word on it.OK so it's watchable but it's not really a movie I would just recommend.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I've never been all that impressed with Dean Koontz' stuff (good plots and characters, but pretty flat prose, dialog, and descriptive passages), so I wasn't expecting much from this, especially given that Koontz withdrew from the project before its completion and the result was "based on" his ideas for the modern day Frankenstein. Still for a TV movie, this is pretty strong stuff, and tries to accomplish some ambitious goals with some success. It seems to try a little too hard in many places, crossing the line between "heated" and "overheated" quite often, which can be hard to avoid given its subject matter (Frankenstein) and it's cinematic inspiration ("Se7en"). I've always had a soft spot for Parker Posey, and it was nice to see her stretch out in a leading role. She doesn't quite have enough "gravitas" to carry the movie, although she is engaging and sympathetic enough to have me rooting for her most of the time, and the guy who plays her partner is adequate to some pretty standard role requirements. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty good for a TV movie too...although I'm afraid that Michael Madsen is becoming hopelessly typecast and is developing a bad habit of phoning his roles in. I'll grant you that even Madsen-by-the-numbers is still pretty good, but he's in danger of becoming a cliché of himself. I'm not sorry I spent the time to see it, there were some nice shots and a nice punchy wrap up that left the viewer sort of wishing that there could be a follow up. (That may have happened in the Koontz novels, but I'm not interested enough in Koontz to find out). Not a bad effort. Worth catching for free on cable if you get the chance on a dull night.