Review of Colossal (2017) by Rey V — 21 Apr 2017
Colossal is one confused movie. Not confusING, confusED.
It is almost as if Nacho Vigalondo could not decide what kind of movie he wanted to make. Is it a straight kaiju film? Is it a dark comedy about a regular girl dealing with suddenly becoming a mass-murdering force of nature? Is it it some artsy allegory for abusive relationships and alcoholism? A romcom genre subversion? Or just a clumsy feminist war cry of "THE REAL MONSTERS ARE MEN, REEEE!"?
Genre-defying doesn't mean haphazardly mashing things together. In the end, they still have to make sense.
There are some genuinely funny moments, sure. But the kaiju action (and oddly enough, Hathaway's Gloria dealing with the fact that she is responsible for the appearance of a city-stomping monster) are just a window dressing. Center stage is Gloria's interaction with the men around her. Her boyfriend Tim is exasperated (in a most British way possible); her childhood friend Oscar goes from being a weathered barkeep and a decent guy to over-the-top Joker-esque maniac in a blink of an eye, and the prettyboy is pretty but dumb as a stump. Somehow, we are supposed to root for Gloria, who happens to be utterly unsympathetic - she is an immature, slutty and selfish alcoholic that is just as loathsome as the rest of the cast, and after a while, you just want them all to crash and burn.
Without the kaiju and comedy thrown it, this could have been an artsy piece about bad relationships.
Had the kaiju and associated comedy been given appropriate screentime and emphasis, the movie would have matched the trailer.
As is, Colossal is a confused mess. Don't waste your time and money and see it when it comes out on the DVD (which will be very soon, I believe).
This review of Colossal (2017) was written by Rey V on 21 Apr 2017.
Colossal has generally received positive reviews.
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