In London, there is a traveling circus where a once nameless hunchback is forced to be a clown and practically a slave for the owner. When he’s not performing, he is studying anatomy and the way that the human body functions. On a seemingly ordinary night, a trapeze artist named Lorelei is doing her routine and the rope snaps. After she plummets to the ground, she can’t breath and Igor rushes to her side. Victor, a student of medicine, happens to be in the audience and says that she is hopeless without a proper hospital. Igor convinces him that they can save her life and they succeed but she needs to go to the hospital anyway. Victor tells him to leave the circus and work with him but the owner doesn’t want his sniveling, little slave to leave so he locks Igor in an animal pen for his punishment. But the persistent Doctor isn’t going to let a little thing like a locked cage stop him.

The film VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN is directed by Paul McGuigan who is best known for PUSH and LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN.  It stars James McAvoy as Victor, Daniel Radcliffe as Igor, and Jessica Brown Findlay as Lorelei.  Even though the film is called VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, the main focus is really on Igor.  It’s a little like the title flip-flop that was used with WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.  The film really focused on the Charlie Bucket character rather than Wonka himself.  With this film, it is told from Igor’s prospective and how he saw the doctor.  I know that Radcliffe has done a few movies after The HARRY POTTER Series but this was one of the first real characters he’s played since the series end.  He does a wonderful job as the kind-hearted assistant and partner that tends to play the doctor’s opposite.  As for McAvoy, his performance is way over-the-top and at times it can be a little much.  I understand he’s playing a madman but he just doesn’t have the gravitas that Colin Clive had in the 1931 classic FRANKENSTEIN and you need that with this character.  As far as the overall film, it feels like they were trying their hand at reviving the monster movie genre in the way that THE MUMMY and DRACULA: UNTOLD has.    I did enjoy the story from Igor’s recollection of the events and the little tweaks the filmmakers put on the film.

Cast
-James McAvoy as Doctor Victor Frankenstein
-Daniel Radcliffe as Igor
-Jessica Brown Findlay as Lorelei
-Andrew Scott as Inspector Roderick Turpin
-Charles Dance as Baron Frankenstein
-Freddie Fox as Finnegan
-Spencer Wilding as the monster Prometheus

The video is a 1080p AVC transfer.
 
The video is set correctly for the feel of the film.  The intentional haze gives everything that vintage look without sacrificing a lot of detail.  It does, however, affect the contrasting a little if the settings are up on high on the viewing equipment.  You tend to see some ghosting and black crushing at times.  That being said, the darkest images have great contrasting and deep blacks due to a lot of the film being in darkness.  As for the coloring, everything is very rich in burgundy and darker colors aside from the high shot of London.
 

The main audio track is an English DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix.
 
The mix on the film is pretty powerful.  From the jump, the circus scene is loud and immersive with the audience cheering at one moment and gasping during Lorelei’s fall.  The treble is even and during the moments where Victor is screaming at another person, there levels never get out of control.  The electricity is an effect that uses the treble and bass simultaneously as they move around the home theater.  You can feel the strength of the current as it connects to the different parts of Victor’s laboratory.  Also, the final storm at the end is the big winner.  There is so much happening with the weather, people communicating, machines being used, etc.  It really is a well-mixed track.

Bonus Features:
-The Making of VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN: This is a collection of clips with behind the scenes, character creation, and interviews.
 
-Deleted Scenes
 
-Gallery:
Production Design
Production Photography
Behind the Scenes
 
-Theatrical Trailer
 

Disc Details
1 Blu-ray disc
Digital Copy
 
Running Time
110 mins
 
Edition Ratings
PG-13
 
Region Coding
Region A
 
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
 
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
Czech Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish Dolby Digital 5.1
 
Subtitles
English SDH
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Arabic
Bulgarian
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Finnish
Greek, Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Icelandic
Norwegian
Polish Romanian
Slovak
Slovenian
Swedish
Turkish

The film delivers a story that the novel is trying to get across with the question being asked, “who is the man and who is the monster?”  At the same time, this is also one of those “popcorn flicks” where it is entertaining and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  If you’re expecting a lot of time with the monster they create, don’t because he doesn’t show up until third act.  As for the Blu-ray, it has a good video transfer but an incredibly strong audio mix.  The supplement list is decent and explains what the filmmakers were trying to convey.  I would say to give it a rent and decide for yourself.