Colossal is a science-fiction comedy film starring Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, and Dan Stevens. It is hard to explain without giving away too much of the story which unfolds so well in the film.
The less you know about the movie going in, the more you will enjoy it. Yet, if you don’t know enough then you may end up disliking it. It would be similar to judging Stranger Than Fiction to be like any other Will Farrell movie which it clearly is not.
The Concept
There are many trailers for it out there, but this one does the best revealing the basics and setting the tone.
Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is an unemployed writer with an alcohol problem. After her boyfriend (Dan Stevens) kicks her out, she moves back home. Her childhood friend (Jason Sudeikis) hires her to work at his bar while she figures things out. Meanwhile, in Seoul, a giant creature appears at a set time, place, and for a specific amount time then disappears after wrecking havoc. Gloria begins to realize that she is in control of the creature.
Not That Kind Of Monster Movie
This is NOT Pacific Rim. This is NOT Godzilla. The movie isn’t about the creature and the amount of footage that takes place in Seoul is under 10% of the whole movie. It is a monster movie, though, but not because of the creature. It is more about the internal demons doing external damage.
A better monster movie to compare it to would be the 2007 version of Stephen King’s The Mist. The creatures in both movies have about the same amount of screen time. The point of The Mist is deciding if the monsters in the mist are worse than the humans in the store.
Not That Kind Of Comedy
It has been described as a comedy and in some places as a romantic-comedy. It has funny moments in it which may cause you to laugh out loud. Yet, there are huge parts of the movie where you would feel very uncomfortable describing this as a comedy.
What It Is…A Well Crafted Movie
Once you have set expectations, you can sit back and enjoy the film. It has solid acting performances by everyone involved especially Jason Sudeikis. He usually doesn’t get to play roles like this, but he knocked it out of the park.
Colossal was written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo. He is not a name you may recognize, but one of his short films was nominated for an Academy Award. His first feature film, Timecrimes or Los CronocrÃmenes, was on Edgar Wright’s list of favorite films of 2008 and of his top 1000 favorite films.
Each scene in the movie either plays to character or plot. There isn’t any weird subplots or scenes for the sake of a joke. It has a mission and it stays on the point which is hard to say about a lot of films out there at the moment.
If You Have To Compare It…
While not exactly the same kind of thing, Marvel’s Jessica Jones Netflix series would be the closest comparison. Much like Jessica Jones is not about her being a superhero nor her relationship with Luke Cage, Colossal is not about a monster nor the character’s ability to control it. They both have a lot more social commentary to them.
Now That Your Expectations Are Set
You should go off and enjoy the movie. It had a limited release in early April but has been released to more theaters in more areas around the country.
If it is not in your area, add it to list to watch when it is available on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, etc. You won’t be disappointed.
[UPDATE] Colossal is now available on Blu-ray and Hulu.
The Questing Geek 