Time: 150 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Content that may disturb, graphic violence
Cast:
Oscar Isaac as Baron Victor Frankenstein
Jacob Elordi as the Creature
Mia Goth as Lady Elizabeth Harlander, Baroness Claire Frankenstein
Christoph Waltz as Henrich Harlander
Director: Guillermo del Toro

Frankenstein was one of my most anticipated movies. While there have been plenty of adaptations of Frankenstein already, the latest one is helmed by Guillermo del Toro, and from his filmography, he’s kind of perfect for this material. So I was greatly interested, and a good cast including Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, Jacob Elordi and Christoph Waltz certainly helped too. Frankenstein ended up being one of my favourites of the year, I just wished that I could’ve watched it in cinemas.

One thing for sure is that from beginning to end, it definitely feels like a Frankenstein movie from Guillermo del Toro. There’s certainly stuff that del Toro has done before here (“man is the real monster” particularly) and it leans a lot into the gothic romanticism. Even if he’s working in familiar territory and he’s done better work before, his Frankenstein is still very good, empathetic and human with great character work, and I liked how it paid off by the end. I can understand the criticism about it simplifying the original story to a degree, it generally didn’t bother me personally, although some of the dialogue is a little on the nose and obvious for its own good. It is a long movie and you definitely feel its length of 2.5 hours. I mostly liked the careful pacing, but I think it could’ve been a little tighter, at least in the first half. The build up to Frankenstein’s creation being brought to life was decent, but the movie becomes significantly better after The Creature is introduced

I’ve seen a lot of mixed reactions to Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein. His performance is definitely over the top and this portrayal is far more of an egotistical maniac than you’d see in most other adaptations. By the end though, it worked for me, and I thought that Isaac gave a really good performance for this version of Frankenstein. I feel like Mia Goth wasn’t given a whole lot to do with her character, but she gives a lot with what she has. Additionally, Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance, and Lars Mikkelsen deliver very solid supporting performances. Jacob Elordi was the standout of the cast as The Creature, and this is the best work I’ve seen from him as an actor. His portrayal of the monster is very well realised. Along with the makeup being transformative and his physicality great, Elordi delivers such a tender and captivating performance with a real layer of humanity.

Guillermo del Toro’s direction is amazing as usual. The cinematography is visually beautiful, and there is such fantastic attention to detail with the gothic production design and great costumes. The practical effects were really good, though the CGI aspects felt a little off, especially for a film from del Toro. Finally, Alexandre Desplat composed a fantastic, beautiful and fitting score, which elevated the movie further.

Frankenstein (2025) is a lengthy, but beautifully made and wonderfully directed take on the classic gothic story, with amazing performances especially from Jacob Elordi. One of my favourites of the year so far.