Film Review: FRANKENSTEIN (2025): Guillermo del Toro’s Vision is a Lengthy, Insightful Take on Mary Shelley’s Legendary Tale

Frankenstein Review

Frankenstein (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by Guillermo del Toro and Mary Shelley and starring Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Charles Dance, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Kyle Gatehouse, Lauren Collins, Sofia Galasso, Joachim Fjelstrup, Ralph Ineson, Peter Millard, Peter MacNeill and Burn Gorman.

In what occasionally feels like a pretentious take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro focuses his attention on the point of view of “the Creature” just as much as Victor Frankenstein, himself, and the results are a bit of a mixed bag that ultimately teeters to the positive side thanks to the scope and complexity of the ambitious project. Oscar Isaac sinks his teeth into the role of Frankenstein, but after his creation (Jacob Elordi) finally comes into being, the two actors battle for screen time with Elordi’s monstrous role always one beat ahead of Isaac’s in terms of maintaining audience interest. Running nearly two and a half hours, the film is a chore to sit through at times early on until the last hour arrives which hits the viewer over the head with an emotional sledgehammer.

By changing the time period of Shelley’s story until after the author’s death, del Toro takes a big risk that pays off for the film in a big way. It allows del Toro a bit of flexibility with some of the plausibility of the story being that it is set at a later time. Meanwhile, Alexandre Desplat’s score plays triumphantly in the background to dictate the height of emotions that are being conveyed in every scene where the music is showcased.

Opening in the Arctic, a ship captain (Lars Mikkelsen) finds Frankenstein left for dead and the creature arrives to be wrongly misinterpreted as the evil foe that it appears to be. Wearing a memorable hood, Elordi’s “the Creature” is a lost soul looking to find meaning for his existence and acceptance by society. This film takes us back in time where we meet the young Frankenstein (Christian Convery) and his overbearing dad, Leopold (a well-cast Charles Dance). Frankenstein soon manages to discover a penchant for examining the vast differences between the living and the dead.

Enter Heinrich (Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, always on point), a man crazy enough and successful enough to give Frankenstein the money he needs to do some devilish research. Frankenstein is about to play God and del Toro revels in every second of the insanity that ensues as the plot finally begins to take off with wicked results all around.

Mia Goth appears as Elizabeth, Heinrich’s niece, who is engaged to William (Felix Kammerer). Goth figuratively throws herself into her role with the help of the costume designer and makeup and hair stylists who have a true admiration for the actress’s physical attributes. Goth will win even more fans than she already has with her genuinely effective role in the new picture.

With a laboratory that could only be seen in a big budgeted Netflix film, Frankenstein combines body parts in order to create the quintessential Creature. Putting together this monster requires skill and Frankenstein is more than up to the task of using his intelligence to create the perfect live being. The Creature becomes something of an every man as he is misinterpreted by society and heartbroken by the excesses he finds in everyday life. The best scenes are between the Creature and the blind man portrayed brilliantly by David Bradley. These scenes touch the heart and hint at the frightening realities that are yet to come in the Creature’s life. Bradley and Elordi truly shine together on-screen and then some.

Oscar Issac has found the role of his career in a part that allows the actor to be at his most vulnerable and his most cinematic. Elordi is, in the final analysis, the star player, though, and that says a lot when considering the quality of Isaac’s work. Elordi’s Creature is heart-wrenching to behold in all his glory as well as all his sorrows. Since del Toro has employed an excellent cast of characters to support his two main stars, the movie feels like a Hollywood event rather than an independent film and there will probably be no complaints. Thanks to the film’s big budget, the movie’s technical values are all top-flight with Mia Goth being the supporting performer who the camera loves the most.

Frankenstein feels a bit too emotionally resonant for its own good. This situation the movie proposes is a frightening one and, perhaps, we sympathize too much for the characters who are all mostly flawed save for the Creature who can’t catch a break and when he does, it’s just a few moments of peace before everything starts to get crazy again. Wild animals come at the Creature and he overpowers them, but this character, as played by Elordi, has many of the markings of a genuine human being except that he’s not one in the literal sense. He’s a creation of a disturbed man who is brilliant, but ultimately overthrown by his own creation.

Guillermo del Toro has always been an acquired taste for mainstream viewers. He’s made a few films that have won great critical acclaim. I didn’t love The Shape of Water or Nightmare Alley, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did. I predict they’ll love Frankenstein too. Elordi and Isaac become consumed by their characters in such a way that they both deserve Oscar nominations in their respective acting categories. If there’s a flaw with del Toro’s film, it is that it’s too perfectly crafted to tell the imperfect story that it ultimately tells. This legendary tale has succeeded in different iterations for years and del Toro’s take is certainly one to be respected in a world where cinema is still a thriving art form. It’s nice to call del Toro one of our most intriguing filmmakers, and though I wouldn’t call him the best, this new Frankenstein more than captivates.

Rating: 8/10

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