# Osage's Take On...I, FRANKENSTEIN (2D Blu-ray; Lionsgate Films)



## Osage_Winter

[img]http://www.covertr.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=47169&thumb=1&d=1395411592[/img]*Releasing/Participating Studio(s): Lionsgate Films
Disc/Transfer Information: Region A; 50GB Blu-ray Disc 1080p High Definition 2.40:1 (Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Tested Audio Track: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Director: Stuart Beattie
Starring Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto, Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, Kevin Grevioux 


PLOT ANALYSIS:*

You don’t need to zoom in on the Blu-ray cover accompanying Stuart Beattie’s _I, Frankenstein_ and read the fine print to know this was made by the producers of _Underworld_ – here’s a real visual CGI fest which hits you over the head and doesn’t let go for most of its running time, fusing elements of _Van Helsing, Underworld_ and perhaps _Twilight_ for a final product that was far better than the last film I reviewed, Tim Story’s _Ride Along_. Indeed, _I, Frankenstein_ was a surprisingly fun ride, shocking me with outrageously choreographed fight sequences – better than anything _The Amazing Spider-Man 2_ conjured up actually – wildly graphic displays of quasi-expert CGI usage and a somewhat rousing performance from the lead in Aaron Eckhart…who I never otherwise would have pictured in a role like this. And the underlying notion in the narrative here – that is, what if centuries had passed and the creature known as the son of Doctor Frankenstein found his way to modern day society and merely blended in – actually worked and was effective; that was after I learned that the plot actually took place, mostly, in current day time frames. 

Stuart Beattie takes the nearly ancient folk tale of “Frankenstein’s monster” and reinvents it for a modern day audience – though in this instance it worked where this tactic would usually fall flat on its fat face – throwing in for good measure a dollop of _Thor_ and _Clash of the Titans_-like cheesiness, _Van Helsing_-like setpieces and story and over-the-top CGI work that depicts a war of gargoyles against demons. In this way, _I, Frankenstein_ also smacked of _Constantine_, but without some of that film’s overtly heavy-handed and implausible graphic novel orientation. The story kicks off with Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Aden Young) of course concocting his pieced-together creation that becomes the stuff legends are made of, to the backdrop of Aaron Eckhart’s narration about the fate soon to befall all involved. It seems, according to this telling (and Eckhart’s narration), Dr. Frankenstein was appalled by his grotesque creation so he threw him out a window to drown, but the creature didn’t die and instead comes back to exact revenge in the form of killing Dr. Frankenstein’s new bride while she slept. In the midst of this, the gargoyle horde, led by their queen, Leonore (_War of the Worlds’_ Miranda Otto), pretend to be statues hanging off cathedrals but are actually warriors that fly around eventually coming into human form, entrenched deep in a battle for power with a demon legion lead by Naberius (Bill Nighy). The gargoyles take Frankenstein’s creature into their fold, seemingly to protect it and give it an identity – the queen names him “Adam” – but, as seen in films like _Van Helsing_, the creature’s destiny seems to be to live its own fulfilling “life” somehow. 

What _I, Frankenstein_ does quite haphazardly at times, though, is – though the filmmakers were working from the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel – borrow heavily from projects such as _Van Helsing_ in that the story becomes about this demon prince Naberius attempting to “reanimate” dead demons through empty corpses that will somehow be brought back to life courtesy of Dr. Frankenstein’s formula…and all this takes place in modern day America. But I’m getting ahead of myself a bit…

You see, because these legendary creatures are, of course, immortal across the board, it would only make sense that eventually they would be living in our world, in our time. And so, some 200 years pass and “Adam” finds himself, after escaping the confines of the gargoyles’ lair inside a cathedral, walking amongst us, the scarred facial marks the only clue that this isn’t an ordinary human being (though he just happens to find some stylish, trendy jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt to put on; funny to think this is “Frankenstein’s monster”…but as I said earlier, for whatever reason this just worked). We eventually meet the lovely blonde Terra (Yvonne Strahovski), a scientist working for Naberius but who doesn’t know of his true identity as a demon prince on reanimation technology – the ability to bring a deceased living thing back to life. If this sounds awfully familiar to what Dr. Frankenstein was always working on in all these legendary tales, you’d win a gold star – the difference here is that this Naberius has been waiting 200 years to obtain the journal of Dr. Frankenstein, which Adam holds on his person, so he can tap into the formula needed to reanimate some corpses that his dead demons can possess. In the interim, he uses the talents of Terra to conduct experiments on deceased rodents and the like as they attempt to perfect reanimation.

The gargoyles, meanwhile, urge their queen to continue considering killing Frankenstein’s monster because he’s not of human origin, notably Leonore’s second-in-command Gideon (_Live Free or Die Hard_’s Jai Courtney). “Adam” eventually makes his way to Naberius’ laboratory where Terra and her assistant scientist are working on coming to grips with their boss telling them the “Frankenstein” legend is actually true, with Adam eventually sneaking up behind Terra after she walks home from her train station once Naberius sends her home mysteriously. Adam forms a bond with the scientist, letting her in on the fact that her boss is actually a 200 year-old demon leader, what he has planned for the reanimated corpses and exactly how Naberius could use Dr. Frankenstein’s “technology” to pull it off…and yes, that would mean the end of mankind because demons would pretty much take over the world. The plot here gets a bit hokey and dips even further into silly _Constantine_ territory, but the downright awesome fight sequences that follow and highlight the film more than make up for it.

Adam takes a stand with the gargoyles in a fierce battle against the demon hordes, the gargoyle creatures using their talons and claws to kill the unearthly demons while Frankenstein’s creation expertly wields some energy-infused pipes, or sticks, to quasi-electrify the demonic creatures. The fight sequences are taut, full of energy and will have you looking past the implausibility that a legendary creature has survived 200 years and is now fighting for the lives of mankind. Eckhart really worked here, even though you’d think he wouldn’t, though he wouldn’t have been my first choice to play a “modern day” Frankenstein’s monster; the CGI work, while sometimes rudimentary in application, was seamless in all the right places, making us believe something like this could be taking place above the skies of Earth. The way in which Eckhart’s “Adam” stands atop a roof at the very end, weapon sticks in hand, reminded me very much of the conclusion of _Daredevil_, especially with the character narrating his intentions to continue protecting humans…could this be the beginning of a franchise? 

[img]http://www.gossipcop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Screen-Shot-2013-10-05-at-9.33.03-AM-300x258.png[/img]_*VIDEO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC LOOK?*_

Lionsgate presents _I, Frankenstein_ in a remarkably clear 2.40:1 high def encode, let down only by some moments of inherent softness and annoying bits of noisy film grain-like elements in the background of certain scenes. For the most part, this is a brooding, dark film dealing with brooding, dark subject matter so the 1080p encode doesn’t really get a chance to open up and strut its stuff like if the material was bathed in sunlight and outdoor setpieces; however, detail was solid with lush, deep and inky blacks, accurate if sometimes cold skin tones, gritty and grimy realism and effectively/purposefully muted colors. The facial close-ups of characters showed the most detail, as did shots of wet cobblestone city streets which pulsated and glowed with realistic glitter – but there was an overhanging sense of softness and video noise injection in many of the sequences and this really brought the rating of the video quality down. 

Still, this is no way really detracted from the _I, Frankenstein_ experience – if you get engaged enough in the film, these elements will probably become part of the overall visual landscape to your brain. 

Please note: I reviewed and sampled the 2D version of the film, not the 3D variant. 








[img]http://media.salon.com/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-31-at-3.34.55-PM.png[/img]*AUDIO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC SOUND?*

In my opinion, Lionsgate’s English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track accompanying the Blu-ray presentation of _I, Frankenstein_ fared better than the video. This track delivered wallops of wall-shaking LFE, starting dynamics and an overall “mysterious” design that complemented the film perfectly. What do I mean by “mysterious design”? From time to time, the soundstage of this film would go quiet in many of the channels only to be suddenly cut through by sonic punches that really punctuated the soundfield – this provided and yielded a remarkable sense of depth in the auditory structure, injecting a somewhat “genuinely high resolution” characteristic difficult to put into words. But the overall heft of this mix, from his foreboding LFE signal always throbbing away in the background to its sometimes hyper-aggressive surround activity, was memorable…especially since most of the Master Audio tracks I’ve been sampling on more current Blu-ray releases have been somewhat disappointing. 

Explosions blasted off with solid, rumbling thuds of LFE…gargoyle and demon attacks rushed aggressively into the surrounds to create an encompassing soundfield…dialogue was clearly and solidly locked in the center channel position. This was a first-rate audio experience that went beyond my expectations for the title given its kind of quick-out-of-the-theaters-and-into-the-home stature. 
























[img] http://timeinc.brightcove.com.edgesuite.net/rtmp_uds/463898949/201401/1322/463898949_3037267955001_11307-ftr-16296-still.jpg?pubId=463898949[/img] *FINAL THOUGHTS:* 

From the production team that brought us the drop-dead-gorgeous Kate Beckinsale and _Underworld_, this was a pretty rousing, action-packed modern day take on the Frankenstein monster material. What would have made it better would have been a Halloween release; I can totally see sitting down with this during the scary film watching season, along with some other under-the-radar titles like _Priest, Trick R Treat_ and _Season of the Witch_ for a change of pace from the usual suspects like _Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror, Friday the 13th, Van Helsing, Nightmare on Elm Street_…while I don’t think this was quite purchase material, it made for a very fun rental and I can recommend it as such.


----------



## Osage_Winter

Nips and tucks made to review; thank you...


----------



## Mike Edwards

I'm in the same mindset as you. It's not an extremely intellectual film, but it was good dumb fun. It delivered what the trailer promised. Frankenstein's monster beating demons and gargoyles with giant iron clubs... can't really say any more than that


----------



## Osage_Winter

Mike Edwards said:


> I'm in the same mindset as you. It's not an extremely intellectual film, but it was good dumb fun. It delivered what the trailer promised. Frankenstein's monster beating demons and gargoyles with giant iron clubs... can't really say any more than that


Totally agreed, Mike; wonder if anyone else on here saw this and felt the same way...


----------



## Osage_Winter

Some additional minor tucks made to review...


----------



## B- one

I'm torn on this one. You mention Season of the Witch and I get worried. But I will try to get this one for $7.99 used on blu. Thanks for the review O.


----------



## Osage_Winter

B- one said:


> I'm torn on this one. You mention Season of the Witch and I get worried. But I will try to get this one for $7.99 used on blu. Thanks for the review O.


LOL...did you not like Season of the Witch? I only mentioned it because I, Frankenstein is kind of in that same boat...where it would make a good Halloween-time watch for something a bit out of the ordinary (which I pointed out in the review). I actually didn't think Season of the Witch was all that bad; it was corny, sure, and not really purchase material, but I could see it for a Halloween-season rental...


----------



## B- one

Osage_Winter said:


> LOL...did you not like Season of the Witch? I only mentioned it because I, Frankenstein is kind of in that same boat...where it would make a good Halloween-time watch for something a bit out of the ordinary (which I pointed out in the review). I actually didn't think Season of the Witch was all that bad; it was corny, sure, and not really purchase material, but I could see it for a Halloween-season rental...


The special effects were a little to pathetic for me. Can't remember what we paid for it blind buy it's a good thing I usually buy used. If I remember correctly a coworker suggested Season of the Witch I need to get him back


----------



## Mike Edwards

I still haven't seen "Season of the Witch". it's been under $5 multiple times and I just can't bring myself to snag it and watch.


----------



## Osage_Winter

B- one said:


> The special effects were a little to pathetic for me. Can't remember what we paid for it blind buy it's a good thing I usually buy used. If I remember correctly a coworker suggested Season of the Witch I need to get him back


Yeah, this was definitely not monumental filmmaking by any stretch of the imagination...and Ron Pearlman's performance was downright embarrassing...but I just thought it was good for brainless Halloween-season fun.


----------



## Mike Edwards

cool little fun fact. Stuart Beattie played the demon at the night club who escaped to tell Naberious of The monster's return (you know the one that Naberious lambasted for daring to suppose his thoughts)


----------



## Osage_Winter

Mike Edwards said:


> I still haven't seen "Season of the Witch". it's been under $5 multiple times and I just can't bring myself to snag it and watch.


I thought I had reviewed it on here; but at any rate, it was pretty cheesy...Nic Cage and Ron Pearlman are Crusades-era "witch hunters" carrying a possessed girl, I think it was, across forests loaded with all sorts of "nightmarish creatures" as Van Helsing's boss would say...:T


----------



## Osage_Winter

Mike Edwards said:


> cool little fun fact. Stuart Beattie played the demon at the night club who escaped to tell Naberious of The monster's return (you know the one that Naberious lambasted for daring to suppose his thoughts)


Ahhhh...and I thought Michael Bay and John Carpenter were the only ones who did those cheesy cameos...:sneeky:


----------



## Mike Edwards

Osage_Winter said:


> Ahhhh...and I thought Michael Bay and John Carpenter were the only ones who did those cheesy cameos...:sneeky:


don't forget Peter Jackson and M. Night Shamalamadingdong


----------



## Osage_Winter

Mike Edwards said:


> M. Night Shamalamadingdong


:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:


----------



## B- one

Mike Edwards said:


> I still haven't seen "Season of the Witch". it's been under $5 multiple times and I just can't bring myself to snag it and watch.


Prepaid mailer you can have mine.


----------



## Osage_Winter

Wow...something tells me Brandon _really_ didn't care for Season of the Witch... :blink: :unbelievable:


----------



## Osage_Winter

BTW Bran: Adorable avatar...is that your poochie?


----------



## B- one

Osage_Winter said:


> BTW Bran: Adorable avatar...is that your poochie?


Yes our Jack Russell Terrorist "Super" Cooper.


----------



## Osage_Winter

B- one said:


> Yes our Jack Russell Terrorist "Super" Cooper.


Very cute! LOL "terrorist"...

We ourselves have a terrorist in the form of a Chihuahua mix; actually she's a really good girl...


----------



## B- one

Osage_Winter said:


> Very cute! LOL "terrorist"... We ourselves have a terrorist in the form of a Chihuahua mix; actually she's a really good girl...


Sounds cute pics?


----------



## Osage_Winter

Awwwww he's adorable....our Sally plays like that too with her squeak toys...

I will work on uploading some pics, my friend...


----------



## asere

I plan on watching this one this weekend. Looking forward to the cheesiness and action and perhaps some nice LFE. The LFE has mixed reviews from what you and Mike said. You guys are awesome at reviews and I am sure equipment and room modes play a big factor on the LFE.


----------



## Mike Edwards

asere said:


> I plan on watching this one this weekend. Looking forward to the cheesiness and action and perhaps some nice LFE. The LFE has mixed reviews from what you and Mike said. You guys are awesome at reviews and I am sure equipment and room modes play a big factor on the LFE.


actually I believe osage and I have very similar takes on the LFE... my only COMPLAINT (and it's just my own peronsal nitpicking) is that I was expecting the wildly over cooked bass of the Underworld series, you know the type that makes each footstep sound like Godzilla and a gunshot sound like the anti-aircraft cannons from a battle ship. the LFE is VERY nice, just a bit different than say Underworld or "Van Helsing"


----------



## asere

Mike Edwards said:


> actually I believe osage and I have very similar takes on the LFE... my only COMPLAINT (and it's just my own peronsal nitpicking) is that I was expecting the wildly over cooked bass of the Underworld series, you know the type that makes each footstep sound like Godzilla and a gunshot sound like the anti-aircraft cannons from a battle ship. the LFE is VERY nice, just a bit different than say Underworld or "Van Helsing"


I see. In speaking of Godzilla I hope they do not put filters for the LFE once it becomes available on BD.


----------



## Mike Edwards

asere said:


> I see. In speaking of Godzilla I hope they do not put filters for the LFE once it becomes available on BD.


they better not addle:


----------



## Osage_Winter

asere said:


> I plan on watching this one this weekend. Looking forward to the cheesiness and action and perhaps some nice LFE. The LFE has mixed reviews from what you and Mike said. You guys are awesome at reviews and I am sure equipment and room modes play a big factor on the LFE.


Hey asere,

Thanks for the kind words; indeed I too read some mixed reports about the LFE and some reviews even went so far as to say the overall surround activity on this disc will "put some viewers off" because of the way, after awhile, it just begins to sound like sonic mayhem...I didn't experience this at all on I, Frankenstein, and in fact I thought that was a more apt description of Man of Steel's DTS-HD MA track...


----------



## Osage_Winter

asere said:


> I see. In speaking of Godzilla I hope they do not put filters for the LFE once it becomes available on BD.


Gonna see Godzilla tomorrow night after my birthday dinner with my wife...let you know how it turns out...:T


----------



## Osage_Winter

Mike Edwards said:


> actually I believe osage and I have very similar takes on the LFE... my only COMPLAINT (and it's just my own peronsal nitpicking) is that I was expecting the wildly over cooked bass of the Underworld series, you know the type that makes each footstep sound like Godzilla and a gunshot sound like the anti-aircraft cannons from a battle ship. the LFE is VERY nice, just a bit different than say Underworld or "Van Helsing"


Actually I only have Van Helsing on DVD...:hide:

...but that disc's Dolby Digital track is plenty rousing...:T


----------



## asere

Osage_Winter said:


> Gonna see Godzilla tomorrow night after my birthday dinner with my wife...let you know how it turns out...:T


Yes please tell me what you think of Godzilla. Hope you enjoy the movie and birthday dinner. Happy Birthday


----------



## B- one

Osage_Winter said:


> Gonna see Godzilla tomorrow night after my birthday dinner with my wife...let you know how it turns out...:T


I'm tempted to see Godzilla even. Good luck with a great birthday and dinner I suggest Morton's.


----------



## Osage_Winter

B- one said:


> I'm tempted to see Godzilla even. Good luck with a great birthday and dinner I suggest Morton's.


Thank you, Bran -- much appreciated! Indeed -- I would have definitely considered Morton's...it's just that I'm an Italian food freak so we're doing a place called Maggiano's...but Morton's totally rocks...went there recently on a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim...:T

I'll definitely check back in with an overview of Godzilla.


----------



## Osage_Winter

asere said:


> Yes please tell me what you think of Godzilla. Hope you enjoy the movie and birthday dinner. Happy Birthday


Thank you so much, asere! Appreciate the Happy Birthday wishes from you and Brandon! :wave: :wave:

I will definitely check back in at some point on Saturday regarding Godzilla...:T


----------



## ericzim

Mike Edwards said:


> actually I believe osage and I have very similar takes on the LFE... my only COMPLAINT (and it's just my own peronsal nitpicking) is that I was expecting the wildly over cooked bass of the Underworld series, you know the type that makes each footstep sound like Godzilla and a gunshot sound like the anti-aircraft cannons from a battle ship. the LFE is VERY nice, just a bit different than say Underworld or "Van Helsing"


Good review Osage, I like campy movies and this one doesn't disappoint. I have watched this movie 3 times and (using Beetlejuice quote about The Exorcist here) it just keeps getting better every time I watch it.:R 
Thanks Mike for mentioning the LFE on this one. After re-watching the entire Underworld series (so far) while I have been laid up, I half expected this one to BOOM with the best of those. Outside of that I thought the overall sound track was ok just a bit weak in the dialog but perhaps that was just me trying to wade through all the accents used in the movie. :whistling:
Now I am off to watch the 2012 Re-mastered version of Hammer's Horror of Dracula. Supposed to be better than the Warner version.


----------



## Osage_Winter

ericzim said:


> Good review Osage, I like campy movies and this one doesn't disappoint. I have watched this movie 3 times and (using Beetlejuice quote about The Exorcist here) it just keeps getting better every time I watch it.:R
> Thanks Mike for mentioning the LFE on this one. After re-watching the entire Underworld series (so far) while I have been laid up, I half expected this one to BOOM with the best of those. Outside of that I thought the overall sound track was ok just a bit weak in the dialog but perhaps that was just me trying to wade through all the accents used in the movie. :whistling:
> Now I am off to watch the 2012 Re-mastered version of Hammer's Horror of Dracula. Supposed to be better than the Warner version.


Thanks very much for your thoughts, Eric!

Let me know what you thought of Horror of Dracula; we're gonna watch Independence Day, per our yearly routine...:T


----------



## ericzim

Osage_Winter said:


> Thanks very much for your thoughts, Eric!
> 
> Let me know what you thought of Horror of Dracula; we're gonna watch Independence Day, per our yearly routine...:T


Wow, what an improvement YCM LABS did with Hammers 1958 Horror of Dracula. I don't know what all the details are but they sure know their stuff and I hope they do more of Hammers films in the future.


----------



## Osage_Winter

:T


----------



## Savjac

Late Late Late to the party again.
I just watched this last night and wow what age was the dialogue written for ? I am thinking an 8 year old at best. 
I liked the movie but more as humor than anything else, it is really dumb, but dumb fun.
I liked the video and sound but maybe it could have been more aggressive, not sure. I watched the 3D version and it was very good, I am totally surprised, but it held my interest and never let go.

Fun.


----------



## Mike Edwards

Savjac said:


> Late Late Late to the party again.
> I just watched this last night and wow what age was the dialogue written for ? I am thinking an 8 year old at best.
> I liked the movie but more as humor than anything else, it is really dumb, but dumb fun.
> I liked the video and sound but maybe it could have been more aggressive, not sure. I watched the 3D version and it was very good, I am totally surprised, but it held my interest and never let go.
> 
> Fun.


yeah, it's a HORRIBLE movie, but for some reason it's stupidly entertaining. basically the trailer says what you're gonna get. Frankenstein's monster beating demons with big sticks


----------



## Osage_Winter

I thought it was surprisingly entertaining if for the CGI captured fight sequences alone, but don't consider it a "must-own."


----------



## Savjac

Osage_Winter said:


> I thought it was surprisingly entertaining if for the CGI captured fight sequences alone, but don't consider it a "must-own."


Agreed, I really do recommend that folks interested in this type of science fiction watch it, there is much to enjoy if one checks their sensibilities at the door.


----------

