Frankenstein (2004)

I agree with another review that it should not be based or compared to a movie or motion picture because it was made for television. Some did not care for the ending, but I think it was similar to a pilot in that it was interesting and slowly leads you into the mystery of it and when you think there is an ending in sight, it takes a turn to where you see the detective and the "Monster" together figuring out what to do next.The characters were good for a possible sequel because let's face it, we do not know everything about a character from one "episode" and people are generally more multi-layered with concerns, cares, problems of their own that cannot be summed up in one TV movie. I think the director and producer were hoping that people would like it enough to want a sequel or a series and today it could have been done given all the 10 episode series that there are now instead of the full series with the 22+ episodes. It would have fit in nicely, however, in 2004 there were not any and the one's that were came from the UK because their series are done that way for most things.I really liked it a lot. The actors were all good together and played off of each other very well. Vincent Perez and Parker Posey were very good together, the timing was good, the interactions were great and with Vincent Perez being the first of the creations it made me think of how Boris Karloff was about playing the Frankenstein creation. He told his daughter that his "friend" was unique in that only children understood him as not being a villain so much as being someone who did not know things and made big mistakes that were seen as horrible things and in this movie the creation is better than the creator in understanding what it is to be human and understanding the horror of creating something or somethings just because you can and the consequences involved that you can see and those you don't see. I really think this would have been even better if it would have continued on to other TV movies or a series.Plus, I like a lot of things that Michael Madsen is in. I wonder if he is going to be the "Vincent Price" of this generation. If you do not understand what I mean by that, see biographies and a good one regarding a scandal he was involved with, then you will know.

When a New Orleans detective finds a series of strange mutilations and deaths to be the cause of the fanatical doctor and his creations trying to continue their work, she teams up with a sympathetic work to stop him before his rampage spreads throughout the city.This was a pretty disappointing and not all that worthwhile effort that had a few potentially intriguing moments about it. One of the better elements here was the use of the novel to make the new story come around, as it manages to make a lot of the same elements together here in a modern-day take that feels like a true connection between the two, which is quite unique. As well, there's a lot more action to be found in the later half here with several different encounters with the creatures and the victims, a nice shoot-out in a dank factory and some actual energy that makes for an overall enjoyable time here. It's all too late, though, since the first half of this is all pretty much a lame police investigation that isn't in the slightest bit interesting as there's nothing that comes of it as all we do is stumble upon the bodies after- the-fact and there's nothing of interest there when it's not shown. Even then there's not a lot going on with the story until the revelation of the increased organ-count that brings about the experimental genetics angle that carries the story onward, and more so for the fact that, as it's a pilot for a never-filmed TV series there's just way too many hanging story lines that aren't explained the lack of excitement in this section is hammered home even further.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and a mild sex scene.

Let me get this straight to begin with: FRANKENSTEIN is a horrible reinterpretation of the classic Mary Shelley novel, which attempts to modernise the story in a pre-flooding New Orleans. Everything about this production screams cliché: there's a murky, depressing visual style that constantly uses David Fincher's SE7EN as its source material (isn't that so late '90s?) and a storyline that ends up going absolutely nowhere. The reason? This was the ill-conceived pilot of a television series that was never made, so don't go in expecting any kind of plot resolution or tying up of loose ends.The tired story sees a couple of lame detectives (Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg, possibly the most uninteresting cops I've seen in any movie) going after a killer leaving a string of bizarre deaths in his wake. Along the way, they come across Vincent Perez as a strangely scarred and hooded figure, and there are no prizes for guessing who he's supposed to be. There's also some pointless stuff involving ruthless scientist Victor Helios, played by Thomas Kretschmann. He's Frankenstein, but despite taking up a great deal of screen time he never actually gets involved in the main storyline.Yeah, the film really is that muddled and disjointed: the detectives never catch up with Frankenstein, and we never even learn how he's still alive in the modern day. Talk about a con. Instead, the thrust of the plot eventually turns out to involve Michael Madsen, playing a fellow detective with a few secrets of his own. But there's really nothing to keep you watching: no interesting set-pieces, no special effects to speak of, no drama, no tension, not one bit of suspense. Director Marcus Nispel's work feels adrift and aimless outside of his preferred genre (remakes), and Dean Koontz wisely took his name off the thing. You can hardly blame him.

This is one hell of a movie. The suspense, the eeriness and the overall darkness of this film are enough in themselves to encourage a fan or horror / fantasy to buy / rent it. Add to that the amazing acting from (at least to me) all but one unknown actor and it just keeps getting better.It doesn't rely on biog budget special F/X and to be honest I thing they would have ruined it.If it were not for the very end of the film I would never have guessed it was a pilot movie for a series (that looks as though it will never get made). I have yet to read the Deam Koontz book upon which this is based and by all accounts I am glad I hadn't.The ending is so open that I beg someone, anyone to make at least sequel if not the mini series...........