Writer: Nacho Vigalondo (Screenplay)
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell, Tom Blake Nelson, Dan Stevens, Hannah Cheeramy
Plot: Gloria is an out-of-work party girl forced to leave her life in NY and move back home. When reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, she gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this phenomenon.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Very Hard Work
Story: Colossal starts as New York party girl Gloria (Hathaway) is kicked out by her out of patience boyfriend Tim (Stevens), forcing her to return to her home town. It doesn’t take her long to meet an old friend in Oscar (Sudeikis) and the regulars from the bar Joel (Stowell) and Garth (Nelson).
Finding herself a job at Oscar’s bar the world starts to come under panic when a giant monster appears in Seoul randomly and continues to appear, after a while Gloria notices a movement the monster makes that is like the nerves tick she has.
When Gloria confirms she is the monster she must figure a way to stop things happening using only her new friends knowing the truth but things take a turn for the worse through the days of trying to control this phenomenon.
Thoughts on Colossal
Characters/Performance – Gloria is an out of work alcoholic who enjoys the party life, she is forced home to face old memories but soon finds herself dealing with a bigger problem, she is in fact controlling a giant monster terrorising Seoul. This is a good look for a character that has seen life not go the way she wanted it too. Oscar is the old friend in the old town that finds himself going through the same routine going in the direction he never thought his life could go. The rest of the characters are the trademark bar locals and the boyfriend that gives up help Gloria.
Performance wise, Hathaway and Sudeikis are good without being great, I personally feel we could have got a lot more out of other actor in both roles but that is down to the confusing and poorly decide tone for the film.
Story – I want to start this by saying I liked the idea, I think there was loads of potential in this story, but I feel this feel missed out on most of it, only really uses the concept, not using the personal growth needed in the characters and lacking the idea of what a comedy is meant to be.
Action/Comedy/Sci-Fi – The action doesn’t happen often and when it does it is easily forgettable, the comedy happens in the early parts of the film but soon gets forgotten that this is a comedy, with the sci-fi side of the film coming in how monsters arrive.
Settings – The small town setting should be used for the personal growth to go next to the monster side of the film.
Special Effects – The special effects are all good when needed and are the best part of the film.
Final Thoughts – For me this film disappoints on many levels, it should be a full comedy but it does turn dark and serious for the 2nd thirds of the film, I feel we can have better written characters and a better selection of story creation.
Overall: Disappoint comedy that drags once we forget the comedy side of the film.
Rating