This version is overly melodramatic in an effort to romanticize Shelly's novel and allow for the many actors a chance to put forth their acting chops.
The direction and acting remind me of older movies like 1939s Wuthering Heights where It was all about actors chewing the scenery helped with an epic soundtrack crescendoing to punctuate moments.
This is what reminded me why I like the original B&W version so much, it was so minimal and stark for its day. When I saw it on a large screen several years ago, it really scared me and I'd seen it on TV many many times before. Something about the silence at certain moments in the film created eery and shocking scenes that much "more".
As the creature In Branagh's version, De Niro's NY accent made me chuckle at times and HB Carter chose to ham it up as Elizabeth ( and in this version becomes the bride of the creature as well!! Yikes) I think there were too many famous named actor's to please, so they made each character an important enough role to extend this to nearly two and a half hours long (Maybe longer).
Now that's Self involved story telling.
Sorry, I know this will be an unpopular review, but it's honest.
Review of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
