One complaint that's been resurrected again and again about the upcoming Aaron Eckhart vehicle is its title I, Frankenstein furthers a monstrous misnomer. As any fan of the James Whale-helmed classics Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein can tell you, Frankenstein is the name of the mad scientist; his creation is known in those movies as The Monster.
But with the latest clip courtesy of Comic Book Movie, that misconception gets cleared up a bit as Eckhart speaks to two gloomy authority figures about the dangerous experiments of one Victor Frankenstein.
Here's the official synopsis for I, Frankenstein:
200 years after his shocking creation, Dr. Frankenstein's creature, Adam, still walks the earth. But when he finds himself in the middle of a war over the fate of humanity, Adam discovers he holds the key that could destroy humankind. From the co-writer of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie, screen story by Kevin Grevioux and Stuart Beattie, based on the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel "I, Frankenstein" created by Kevin Grevioux. The story is brought to life by a cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney, and Aden Young as Victor Frankenstein.
Movement on this movie first occurred four years ago, when Lakeshore Entertainment attached producers to the adaptation of Grevioux's graphic novel. But it wasn't until the fall of 2011 that those producers wrangled The Dark Knight's Aaron Eckhart to front the feature as Frankenstein's iconic monster. Shortly thereafter, consummate character actor Bill Nighy joined the cast along with Yvonne Strahovsk and Miranda Otto. Fun fact: Grevioux, who aside from contributing to Underworld's mythology also has a noteworthy acting career, will appear in the film as a character called Dekar. All told, this fantasy actioner has a solid cast, so why aren't we expecting i to be worthwhile?
Well, first off the trailer wasn't promising.
Plus, the January release date for this reportedly $68 mil movie isn't a good sign. The first month in the year is often where studios attempt to hide subpar cinema among the still hot award-season favorites. Of course, sometimes January can offer a rare gem of a movie that's pretty damn fun even if it's too weird for studios to understand. You know, like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which turns out to be pretty awesome.
How will I, Frankenstein shake out? We'll find out when it opens January 24th.
