Review of Colossal (2017) by Ken S — 31 Aug 2017

The buzz from several film festivals and eventual spring release for this indie had me hooked. A young woman who has lost her direction and returned in shame to her hometown mysteriously controlling a kaiju was such an intriguing premise.

When I finally streamed this I was disappointed. A majority of the buzz positively called out the skillful mix of genres. I, however, strongly suspected that Spanish writer/director Vigalondo just didn't know what direction he wanted to go with this story.

The twists and turns do not strike me as quirky, clever plot devices, but as flimsy and groundless attempts to fool the audience. Jason Sudeikis's character, who we expect to be a goofy comedic guy, is really quite nasty.

Anne Hathaway's character is a spoiled, out of control alcoholic. She is so unstable that despite the actress's obvious charm and trying to make her character sympathetic through her consciously putting a stop to her kaiju's destruction in Korea, she is still unlikeable and her motivations are baffling.

The scene with the fireworks inside the bar is equally distasteful and baffling.