Monsters – Movie Review
So yesterday i left my warm and fluffy cave into a cold cold and wet weather to see the movie ‘Monsters’. What i expected of the movie was some action like Cloverfield. Well… not exactly like Cloverfield. Quieter and more character driven. Well it certainly is no Cloverfield but it is character driven.
The story is actually pretty simple. A journalist, currently in mexico, has to find and bring the daughter of his boss out of the country as soon as possible. Quite a big part of mexico is a quarantine zone due to extraterrestial creatures that settled there because of a crashed NASA exploration probe that brought something alien with it. Now a couple of years later some really big creatures evolved. The mexican and of course us american military is trying to keep them in the dedicated infected zone. But nature doesn’t like to be caged in. So the creatures start to spread. That setting is everywhere in the movie. Everywhere are signs and destruction of battles and attacks done against the creatues. You get a glimpse of how big these battles must be when it happens. But you actually never really see it. That’s what i missed a little bit. A tiny bit more action would have been nice. However. The movie keeps a quiet tone and that’s something that sets it apart from other movies that feature such or similar settings. While our journalist guy isn’t pleased to have this babysitting job on his tail he soon gets why the woman actually is in mexico. Soon he learns a few background facts and understands that she is kind of fleeing of her normal life. It’s nothing there for her except cold ignorance from her fiance and her father. Now the strength of the movie comes into play. The ‘little things’ you see in a person when you’re on your way to fall in love to him or her. I think the way the movie shows how the ‘love’ is building up between our two characters is pretty cool and very well acted. Both Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy have a nice connection to each other here. It’s beautiful to watch. The contrast is the environment it all happens in. Mexico is not a very nice location in that movie. Everywhere you see things falling apart. People suffering from the quarantine and enduring attacks from and on the creatures. Our two friends try to catch the last ferry into the states but circumstances hinder them to get it. The alternative is to cross through the infected zone to the border of the USA.
The movie has a lot of scenes that leave room for your own interpretation. As a result you have lots of answers to all the unanswered questions in the movie. Especially the ending of the movie. I like the ending. It’s quick. I also have the impression that the creatures are intelligent. These aren’t just stupid animals. The creatures seem more like defending themselves instead of attacking in blind rage. At the end you have these two big creatures almost like a symbol for our two main characters. A wonderful scene. That’s when you’re really asking yourself who the real monsters are. It’s a perspective thing. In this movie i think everyone is a monster. Humans as well as creatures. Both species are just trying to find their way through life and all its twists and turns. Trying to use whatever is there to master that life and its paths.
Big respect for director Gareth Edwards. He not just did this movie but also did the VFX himself. That’s what i call dedictation! And the result is amazing. Congrats Gareth! Very impressive.
If you’re out for an action movie then this is not what you get. There are a few scary moments but not enough to really make it a horror movie either. Instead you get something for the heart and some amazing images from the really nice camera work.
I’ll give this one 7.8/10
