Movie Reviews: Frankenstein Or The Modern Prometheus - Director: Guillermo Del Toro

 

Title: Frankenstein Or The Modern Prometheus

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

Country Of Production: USA

Year Of Production: 2025

Film Length: 2 hours

 

Main Cast:

1.   Oscar Isaac As Baron Victor Frankenstein

2.   Jacob Elordi As The Creature

3.   Mia Gaith As Elizabeth Harlander

4.   Claire Frankenstein As Victor’s later mother

5.   Felix Kammerer As William Frankenstein Victor’s young brother, Elizabeth Boyfriend

6.   David Bradeley As Blind Man befriend with the creature

7.   Lars Mikkelsen As Captain Anderson, the head of Royal Danish Navy

8.   Charles Dance As Baron Leopold Frankenstein

9.   Christopher Waltz As Enrich Harlander

10.  Elizabeth’s uncle Kyle Gate As the young hunter, unnamed son of the blind man

11. Lauren Collins As Alma young hunter’s wife

12. Sofia Galasso As Anna Maria  the granddaughter of the blind man, daughter of the young hunter

13. Ralph Ineson As Professor Krempe a professor who oversees the hearing of Victor

14. Burn Garman As executioner who hangs some criminals

 

Genre: Gothic

 

 Plot

This movie is divided into two parts.

The first one narrates the point of view of Victor Frankenstein , faithful to the text written by Shelley.

The second parts tells us the point of view of the creature

 

In the first scene we see a ship stranded in the ice and a dying man, Victor Frankenstein, is on the ground. He is brought aboard in front of Captain Anderson, who listens to his stories. The crews are terrified by the presence of the creature.

The narrative is not linear. The first scene concerns Victor's childhood, with a tyrannical and insensitive father. 

We are inside a courthouse. Victor, is an adult, he takes a veil  and discovers a half-corpse with exposed nerves. Thanks to electricity, he revives it for a few minutes. The resurrected man is capable of reason and does not speak, but he grabs the peach (symbol of life and youth) thrown to it by Victor.

In the stands there is a distinguished man, the future financier of Victor's studies. After having assembled a human body,  with a bolt of lightning, Victor brings the creature to life. He is amazed by his actions, speaks with the creature, and becomes his teacher. Victor soon emerges as an abusive father who, he claims, chains the creature to protect the safety of both.

In the next phase, he invites his loved ones to see his creation.

The first to see the creature is Elizabeth; there is harmony and sexual attraction between the two.

Victor's most significant sentence is: "In seeking life, I created death."

 

In the second part, we have the point of view of the creature.

The creature takes refuge in the warehouse of a mill. Between the wooden beams, he sees an old man and a little girl, a mother and father, a happy family.

The creature comes into contact with the old man, who educates him with some books in the room and John Milton's poem "Paradise Lost."

The creature confesses its discomfort at not being accepted by society and especially by his Father Victor. For the blind man, the creature is fundamentally good, but not for Victor, who considers him a monster.

The creature asks his father to give him an immortal companion like himself, since he feels lonely and, thanks to Victor, is forced to live for eternity. Victor laughs in his face.

The creature is in Victor's palace. Hearing him, it shoots him, but accidentally kills his new bride, Elizabeth, and then blames the creature.

A fight ensues, and the victim is Victor's brother, who tells him that he is the monster.

Victor follows the monster to the North Pole. After a fight with his creature, he is in mortal danger, and is rescued by Captain Andersen.

At a certain point, the creature enters the room, and the captain is terrified. Victor apologizes to his creature and tells him for the first time that "son" is a motivation to live for eternity.

 

At the end, a quote from Lord Byron appears: "And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on."

 

The events narrated are taken from Mary Shelley's novel.

Narrative Techniques: Alternating time frames with the use of flashbacks.

The most captivating characters are Victor's father, a callous and despot, and Victor's brother, a spineless being who, on the verge of death, will tell Victor that he is the monster, not his creation.

1st Part: Protagonist : Victor Frankenstein (Victor Isaac)

Victor Frankenstein is a wealthy and handsome man, he is seeking to defeat death, through science, he loves to play as a terrestrial God, he doesn't care about morality and ideals.During his childhood has had an "abusive father" he will do the same with the creature.

His ego prevails on everything and everyone.

Antagonist: The Creature (Jacob Elordi)

At the beginning the creature is like a child with the semblance of an adult. He searches the meaning of life and his existence betrayed by a cruel father who doesn't care about him. he will fall in love with Elizabeth

 

2nd Part:  Protagonist : The Creature (Jacob Elordi)

In the second part, we have the point of view of the creature.

The creature takes refuge in the warehouse of a mill. Between the wooden beams, he sees an old man and a little girl, a mother and father, a happy family.

The creature comes into contact with the old man, who educates him with some books in the room and John Milton's poem "Paradise Lost."

The creature confesses its discomfort at not being accepted by society and especially by his Father Victor. For the blind man, the creature is fundamentally good, but not for Victor, who considers him a monster.

The creature asks his father to give him an immortal companion like himself, since he feels lonely and, thanks to Victor, is forced to live for eternity. Victor laughs in his face.

The creature is in Victor's palace. Hearing him, it shoots him, but accidentally kills his new bride, Elizabeth, and then blames the creature.

A fight ensues, and the victim is Victor's brother, who tells him that he is the monster.

Victor follows the monster to the North Pole. After a fight with his creature, he is in mortal danger, and is rescued by Captain Andersen.

At a certain point, the creature enters the room, and the captain is terrified. Victor apologizes to his creature and tells him for the first time that "son" is a motivation to live for eternity.

 At the end, a quote from Lord Byron appears: "And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on."

The events narrated are taken from Mary Shelley's novel.

Narrative Techniques: Alternating time frames with the use of flashbacks.

The most captivating characters are Victor's father, a callous and despot, and Victor's brother, a spineless being who, on the verge of death, will tell Victor that he is the monster, not his creation.

 

1st Part: Protagonist : Victor Frankenstein (Victor Isaac)

Victor Frankenstein is a wealthy and handsome man, he is seeking to defeat death through science, he loves to play as a terrestrial God, he doesn't care about morality and ideals.During his childhood has had an "abusive father" he will do the same with the creature.

His ego prevails on everything and everyone.

Antagonist: The Creature (Jacob Elordi)

At the beginning the creature is like a child with the semblance of an adult. He searches the meaning of life and his existence betrayed by a cruel father who doesn't care about him. he will fall in love with Elizabeth