With all adaptations, I know reactions will be mixed - some dudebros may find this adaptation a bit slow. For fans of the original book, however, I don't think you will be disappointed. Del Toro, in a Q&A after my screening, mentioned that adaptation is like "marrying a widow". Respect the dead, party on Saturdays. Party he has - this is an absolutely bombastic, huge version of this story, that spares no gorey graphic gothic detail.

Bear in mind, you are signing up for the chopping up bodies film, remember - the gorey monster flick with both CGI and practical effects in full swing. You will see parts of the human body you don't want to, surely. The scope, however, is just massive - everything is huge and magnificent, from the sets to the score to the performances. Of all the adaptations of this material I've watched, this is the one that does the most justice to the imagination of that young Shelley.

Everyone is on top form - but it's Jacob Elordi that surprises the most as the Monster. Forget all the Oscar-bait-ness of the discussion around the physicality etc. - this guy puts in one of the most innocent, raw and shakespearean performances of his career, and all at once catapults himself far beyond the estimations of his previous outings. He's been pretty good for a while, but in GDT's Frankenstein, Elordi became great. We expect Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz to be great - we all know this. We expect Del Toro to deliver, of course. I am going to be honest reader - I was not aware of Jacob Elordi's game. Woah Nelly.

This is a blockbuster - if it gets awards, it will be awarded as a blockbuster, and all the "Why doesn't Spider Man have an Oscar" bros better applaud. It's a shame to me that a film of this magnitude will not get the proper Theatrical run it should - but I know it will probably get a wider re-release when people see it in theatres, because it is built for theatres. It's built for the biggest screen and the loudest sound system - it's maybe the first Netflix film I've ever said that about.

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