Colossal

2016 monster movie

Rating: 10/20

Plot: An alcoholic woman, after being kicked out by her boyfriend and moving back to her hometown, discovers that she somehow controls the movements of a monster wreaking havoc in Seoul.

Heavy-handed metaphors and questionable character motives angered me as it seemed like the movie thought I was some sort of dumbass. Nacho Vigalondo, the guy who did one of my favorite time-travel movies, disappoints again with a creative idea that is poorly executed and doesn't really have enough actual story to go along with it anyway. I didn't like Hathaway, and I don't think I ever like Jason Sudeikis who might as well be Bill Paxton because they have the same head shape and tendency to walk around with facial stubble.

It's labeled an action/comedy/drama, but it's too much of a mess to work as any of those. The monster effects are fine when the pair of monsters--the thing on the poster and a giant robot--aren't doing anything. Most of the scenes show them not doing anything in a darkened locale, likely due to budget limitations. There's more action with Sudeikis and Hathaway slapfighting in a park. I find it hard to believe that this is a comedy at all, and the drama is just too obvious to work. I never really felt anything for these sketches of characters anyway.

A more subtle approach could have taken this original spin on the giant monster genre somewhere. This, unfortunately, is just clumsy.