Excellent version of an enduring classic This is not a monster movie in any shallow slasher sense. It probes and contemplates some eternal questions humans have been pondering for thousands of years, set in a time when so many things we know today were yet unknown, adding to the mystery and horror of the situations that occurred. This movie has pathos, sumptuous sets, costumes and screenplay, some utterly disturbing scenes and ideas, and culminates in classic tragedy.

***Gothic mania with Kenneth Branagh, Robert DeNiro and Helena Bonham Carter*** Kenneth Branagh's 1994 version of the oft-filmed Frankenstein story was the most faithful to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel up to that point, which explains its name. It features fine actors and looks great (sets, costumes, locations, etc). There are several quality scenes, like the creature's time spent with the peasant family where his unseen help is taken for a "good spirit of the woods." The first time I viewed the movie I was a little turned off by its manic style. People are introduced, scenes flash by, times shift and the soundtrack blares, which struck me as overdone. The characters seemed so melodramatic at times, emoting, yelling, running, confronting, fighting, dying: "Ahhhhhh!!" "NoooOOOOOoooooo!!!" I just wanted them to stop, take their meds, and chill for 5-10 minutes. I’ve since read Shelley’s book and watched the even more faithful version, Hallmark’s “Frankenstein” (2004) with Luke Goss playing the creature, which runs almost 3 hours. Seeing this version again I appreciated it more and was able to see how Branagh provides a nice balance between the hyper moments and more subdued sequences. If it sometimes seems too manic it’s because Branagh tried to cram the bulk of the novel into 2 hours. On the positive side, this makes it play better for those who prefer constant thrills, melodram…

Kenneth Branagh made quite an artistic hit with his first film **HENRY V**. Next, he had great critical and financial success with his popcorn flick,** DEAD AGAIN**! The success of both of those films meant he could take on any project he wanted. He chose **MARY SHELLY'S FRANKENSTEIN**. He would return to direct and star as Victor Frankenstein. He would bring along many of his friends including Patrick Doyle to add another aggressive and bombastic score. Because of his newfound clout, he was able to bring in Oscar winning screenwriter Frank Darabont (**THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION**, **CRASH**). Maybe his greatest display of the young directors status was bringing in Robert DeNiro to portray the creature! The resulting film with all of this incredible talent is... _silly._ I didn't have any good memories of the film in theaters in 1994. Especially awkward was DeNiro's creature spinning toward the camera and yelling _"Frankenstein!!!"_ which brought nothing but laughter from the crowd. I hoped my re-watch in 2022 would bring me a new perspective. While there were there things I noticed that I now appreciated, the flick is still silly. It must be said that Branagh's vision for the film is strong and clear. Darabont's script is very clever and multi-faceted. The music is excellent wall to wall support and some of the performances are noteworthy. Unfortunately, much of…

This could have been a far better interpretation of the wonderful story of the man-monster but it lacks potency. Frequently a problem when one of the stars is also the director; the focus becomes a bit blurred and in this - despite the super performance of Robert de Niro in the title role - the result is a rather meandering story devoid of the usual swathe of emotions "Frankenstein" usually evokes. Aiden Quinn is "Walton" an explorer obsessed with reaching the North Pole. When his ship collides with an iceberg, they are stranded only to encounter "Victor" (Kenneth Branagh) who proceeds to regale them with his story of how he, as a brilliant student attempted to cheat death by creating a creature restored from death. The scientist succeeds, but rejects his abhorrent creation to the elements expecting it to perish. It doesn't and is soon on it's own path of revenge on it's creator and on those whom he loves. To it's credit, it has none of the bolt-through-the-neck stuff; it is closer to the original story and has little of the James Whale to it; but it also lacks soul and "humanity". On paper, a great cast should have added depth to the story, but somehow there is just too much going on, the story is allowed to meander and the empathy and pity normally felt for the monster just saps away leaving us with quite an hollow shell of a recollection. The imagery is great, though - from…