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The wait is over. The monster is here. And the critics are conflicted.<\/p>\n
Guillermo del Toro<\/strong>\u2019s long-awaited adaptation of Frankenstein<\/em> has finally premiered at the Venice Film Festival, ahead of its theatrical release on Oct. 17 and a Netflix streaming debut on Nov. 7. Over a decade in the making, the film is a passion project for the acclaimed director, who returns with his take on Mary Shelley<\/strong>\u2019s classic novel. According to critics, this version sticks closer to the original text than most previous adaptations.<\/p>\n More from Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Currently sitting at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>, the film has garnered a wide range of responses with near-universal praise for Jacob Elord<\/strong>i\u2019s performance as The Creature, even as some feel the film falters in other areas.<\/p>\n David Rooney<\/strong> of The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/em> hails Elordi’s work as “a revelatory performance notable for its expressive physicality but perhaps even more so for its innocence, its deep well of yearning and the crushing emptiness that follows as the Creature comes to understand who and what he is.”<\/p>\n While Vulture\u2019s<\/a> Bilge Ebiri<\/strong> similarly emphasizes Elordi\u2019s impact with the role: “Elordi makes the creature\u2019s awakening, his growing curiosity and hurt, feel fresh, vital, new. Of all the parts that make this movie, it turns out his is the one that holds its soul.”<\/p>\n Reaction to del Toro\u2019s visual and narrative approach is more mixed. While Rooney is effusive, calling it “one of del Toro\u2019s finest,” and lauding it as “epic-scale storytelling of uncommon beauty, feeling and artistry,” others are more skeptical.<\/p>\n Ebiri argues that the film is “a lavish assemblage of elements that have electricity but no soul,” and points to Oscar Isaac<\/strong>\u2019s performance as Victor Frankenstein as an example of what\u2019s missing: “not a bad performance, just not a very interesting one.” He adds that until The Creature becomes the central focus, Frankenstein<\/em> “feels busy but weirdly lifeless.”<\/p>\n Peter Bradshaw<\/strong> of The Guardian<\/a><\/em> characterizes the film as “a bombastic but watchable new version of Mary Shelley\u2019s great novel” and critiques its aesthetics: “The visual style of the movie is utterly distinctive and unmistakably that of Del Toro: a series of lovely, intricate images, filigreed with infinitesimally exact cod-period detail; deep focus but also strangely depthless.”<\/p>\n Peter Debruge<\/strong> at Variety<\/em> is critical of the film\u2019s production value, remarking that it “cost more than Titanic<\/em> and still looks like it was made for TV (as much as that pains me to say).” Despite this, he’s impressed by the director\u2019s attention to detail, writing, “Rest assured, del Toro remains a cinematic master, and every costume, set and prop was crafted with formidable imagination and a daunting attention to detail.” He also comments on The Creatures’ overall look, describing Elordi as “looking like an emo jock or a wounded soldier, which is partly true, as he\u2019s been reconstructed from the corpses of several.”<\/p>\n While Pete Hammond<\/strong> at Deadline<\/a><\/em> praised del Toro\u2019s deeper exploration of the story\u2019s underlying themes, noting, “Even though\u00a0Frankenstein\u00a0<\/em>has been a horror staple for nearly a century in cinema, del Toro here turns it into a fascinating and thoughtful tale on what it means to be a human, and who is really the monster?”<\/p>\n Best of Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n