The goal here is for “I, Frankenstein” to be a big, loud action movie about monsters, angels, demons and a man who cannot die. Nothing about it succeeds. This 2014 film, starring Aaron Eckhart as the creature created by Dr. Frankenstein, attempts to remake the classic story as a horror thriller with explosions and a twist ending. What actually happens is a mess of plot holes, flat characters and a script that cannot decide if it wants to scare anyone or simply throw bodies at the screen.
Stuart Beattie wrote and directed the film, adapting a digital-only graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux. Aaron Eckhart plays Adam, the creature, while Bill Nighy takes on the role of Naberius, the demon prince. Yvonne Strahovski appears as Terra, a scientist who works for the bad guys. Miranda Otto shows up as Leonore, the gargoyle queen, and Jai Courtney rounds out the cast as Gideon, her second-in-command.
Trailer, via Lionsgate Movies.
Adam’s Long Life
Adam has lived for 200 years and survived a war with demons, and now he finds himself caught between two sides fighting for control of humanity. He holds the key to ending the conflict, though the film never quite explains what that key is or why anyone cares. The setup is a hook, but the execution lets it slip away.
In 1795, the story begins with Dr. Victor Frankenstein assembling a creature from dead bodies and giving it life. Filled with dread at what he has wrought, Frankenstein attempts to destroy his creation, yet the monster endures and murders his wife Elizabeth. Frankenstein then chases the monster to the Arctic, where he succumbs to the cold. Upon returning to bury him, the monster is set upon by demons but saved by two stone guardians, Ophir and Keziah.
Leonore names the monster “Adam” and offers him a spot among the gargoyles when they bring him to their cathedral, but he turns it down. Over the following 200 years, Adam keeps to himself away from society, taking on demons that come after him. Now in the present day, he attempts to return to ordinary life, though he gets caught up in a struggle that costs a police officer his life. The gargoyles lock him away, and a demon who survived the fight, Helek, tells his master Naberius that Adam is still living.
The Demon Prince’s Plan
The demon prince Naberius hides behind the guise of Charles Wessex, a rich businessman. He hires the scientists Terra Wade and Carl Avery for their work reanimating dead bodies. He also sends demons under the command of the warrior Zuriel to seize Adam and strike at the gargoyles’ cathedral. Many demons die during the assault, while 16 gargoyles, including Ophir and Keziah, are elevated, sent back to and trapped within Heaven.
Leonore is captured by Zuriel, who means to trade her for Adam. Instead, Gideon proposes setting Frankenstein’s journal, found with his body, and secures Leonore’ free. Adam then tracks Zuriel to the Wessex Institute, where he finds thousands of dead bodies and learns that Naberius is employing reanimation technology to raise an army.
A Cast That Deserves Better
Across the board, the cast delivers solid performances. Adam, played by Eckhart, carries a physical presence that the script cannot sustain. Nighy remains watchable throughout, even when his character descends into a smarmy villain. Strahovski’s Terra, a brilliant scientist, is given no depth beyond her role as a pawn. Otto is strong as Leonore, yet she is left with little to do once the story moves on to the Wessex Institute.
The film’s most promising player is Courtney, who plays Gideon, the leader of the gargoyle army. He brings energy to a role that should anchor the picture, yet the script sets him aside for long periods while the action centers on Adam and Naberius. Among the supporting players, Kevin Grevioux appears as Dekar, a high-ranking demon who works as head of security at the Wessex Institute, and Caitlin Stasey shows up as Keziah, one of the gargoyles.
| Character | Role | Best Known For |
|---|---|---|
| Adam / the creature | Protagonist | Aaron Eckhart |
| Naberius | Villain | Bill Nighy |
| Terra Wade | Scientist | Yvonne Strahovski |
| Leonore | Gargoyle queen | Miranda Otto |
| Gideon | Gargoyle leader | Jai Courtney |
The Fight Scenes That Don’t Land
City street chases, battles against demons and a final showdown at the Wessex Institute are all supposed to be what sells this film. None of it works. The fight arrangements feel plain, the stunts come across badly, and the cutting keeps pulling away before any real violence has time to land.
The movie relies heavily on practical effects, and the results are uneven. The demons that attack the cathedral are genuinely unsettling, but some of the creature designs look cheap and unfinished, with CGI that reveals its seams. The gargoyles are rendered inconsistently too, appearing as towering stone statues in some shots and as human-sized actors in prosthetics in others.
A Plot That Runs Out of Gas
The issue goes beyond mere execution. The story’s own fabric is thin and riddled with contradiction. Adam is built up as a mighty hero capable of overcoming demons, yet he passes the film’s runtime being pursued and broken down instead. His supposed allies, the gargoyles, lock him away for an offense he did not commit. And the demons, meant to strike terror, appear mostly as nameless masses rather than distinct foes.
There is also a structural issue. The film jumps back and forth between 1795, 200 years later and the present day, and it never quite connects the threads. We see Frankenstein create the monster, but we do not learn why he did it or what happened to him afterward. We see Adam survive for two centuries, but we do not understand how he managed it. The film sets up questions it never answers.
A Timeline That Doesn’t Work
How the narrative develops is disorganized. A rough outline of its progression follows:
| Event | Year |
|---|---|
| Frankenstein creates the monster | 1795 |
| Frankenstein pursues the monster to the Arctic and dies | 1795 |
| Adam is taken by the gargoyles | 1795 |
| Adam lives apart from society for 200 years | 1795–1995 |
| Adam attempts to reintegrate into society | Present day |
| Police officer killed in a fight with demons | Present day |
| Demons attack the cathedral and ascend 16 gargoyles | Present day |
| Zuriel captures Leonore | Present day |
| Adam follows Zuriel to the Wessex Institute | Present day |
On paper the sequence of events is hard to follow, and the film offers little assistance in helping audiences piece together what happens when. This leaves the story feeling scattered and unfinished.
The Final Act That Falls Apart
The peak of the story is a disaster. Adam goes up against Naberius at the Wessex Institute, yet the fight feels hurried and thin on detail. A twist about a key that could end humanity is brought into the plot, but it never gets explained well. The ending leaves the audience with no sense of satisfaction, merely confusion about what actually occurred.
A shot of Adam walking alone closes the film, marking a solitary struggle that continues without end. That ending suits a picture that never quite settled into its own identity. The movie attempted to become a grim, heavy tale of a creature unable to escape his past. Instead, it became a jumbled action picture carrying a costume drama along with it.
The Verdict
“I, Frankenstein” is a failure on almost every level. The script is lazy, the direction is unimaginative, and the performances are hamstrung by poor writing. The film grossed $76 million worldwide against a production budget of $65 million, making it a box-office bomb. It received extremely negative reviews, and it is easy to see why.
Neither Aaron Eckhart nor the viewers were treated well by this production. It offers nothing of value to anyone who isn’t a devoted follower of the genre, and even they will discover little to please them. What this film leaves behind is proof that spending millions of dollars does not guarantee a movie people want to watch.
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