In 1794, Captain Robert Walton (Aidan Quinn) is obsessed with reaching the North Pole. His ship is frozen in and he encounters Victor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) followed by his monster (Robert De Niro). It's back in 1773 Geneva. His father Baron Frankenstein (Ian Holm) brings home the orphan Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) whom Victor loves as they grow up together. After the death of his mother, he vows to eliminate death. In 1793, he's studying in Ingolstadt under the tutelage of Professor Waldman (John Cleese) and befriends Henry Clerval (Tom Hulce). Waldman is experimenting with electricity inspired by the Chinese. When Waldman dies, Victor steals his notes and tries to create life despite Waldman's warnings.
This is more of a costume drama than a horror. There is a fundamental problem with director Kenneth Branagh's vision. It feels like a lifeless melodrama. He's better off to cut out much of the beginning. Most of it is unnecessary other than introducing Helena Bonham Carter and having his mother die. The monster should be the heart of this movie but it takes too long to get there. The grotesque is so close but Branagh holds back. Instead, he's concentrating on making a broad melodrama. This is the shameful part because the experiment and the monster is well done. The overblown melodrama actually fits that part of the movie. The inclusion of the original ice voyage is again unnecessary but at least, it's something different.
This is more of a costume drama than a horror. There is a fundamental problem with director Kenneth Branagh's vision. It feels like a lifeless melodrama. He's better off to cut out much of the beginning. Most of it is unnecessary other than introducing Helena Bonham Carter and having his mother die. The monster should be the heart of this movie but it takes too long to get there. The grotesque is so close but Branagh holds back. Instead, he's concentrating on making a broad melodrama. This is the shameful part because the experiment and the monster is well done. The overblown melodrama actually fits that part of the movie. The inclusion of the original ice voyage is again unnecessary but at least, it's something different.