Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Casey Duggan
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
The Movie Diorama
This may just be the first review where I honestly have no idea what to rate the film. A science fiction horror film this is not, the marketing for this extremely low budget directorial debut was incredibly incorrect. So I can empathise with the below average audience scores. But this isn't a bad film, in fact it's pretty special. Just...not the film any of us would've expected. A photojournalist is tasked with escorting his employer's daughter back to US soil where they must venture through the extraterrestrial quarantine zone. A rather unique perspective on human life conforming to the presence of alien life. Humanity are no longer fleeing shouting "Run! it's Godzilla!", life simply continues on. Being shot on location, in sometimes illegal situations, Edwards managed to encapsulate Central America and seamlessly shape it into a microcosm. Much like the roaming aliens, the continent is portrayed to be troublesome yet filled with natural and anthropoid beauty. A contradictory statement where danger and allurement coexist together. The inclusion of the romance between the two central characters only elevates this theme on a more obvious level. Edwards' direction and cinematography was taut and gorgeous, considering the tiny budget he did an outstanding job. Alas, his style can't quite overcome the tedious screenplay that he also wrote. Andrew and Sam, two understated performances from McNairy and Able, establish a romance that just didn't feel right. Substantially forced upon them so that the theme of love can be illustrated to us. I wasn't invested, I wasn't engaged and I certainly wasn't enthralled. Keeping the B-movie aliens sidelined and mostly out of view was sensible, but not enough tension existed in the story. Then the conclusion occurs and, after clicking my fingers, it ends. Just like that. It's a very confused debut from Edwards, not monstrous, just confused. However, he did an outstanding job given the minuscule budget which cemented him as a director to watch out for in the future.
jacobjohntaylor1
This it romance movie. Most of the most they make you pay attention to a romance going on with a man and a women. Well the arm is fighting giant monsters. The monsters should been the mean them instead of a having bunch of scenes all about this boring couple falling in love. The story line is awful. I would not give it a 6.4. It is a 4. 6.4 is just overrating. The sequel monster dark continent is better. But really not a very good movie. But better then this. Do not waste your time. And do not waste your money. Do not see this awful movie. See The war of the worlds. See Godzilla See Pasifice Rim. Do not see this movies. Atlantic Rim is a lot better then this.
despoticfacts
My last two watched movies were really disappointing and I started blaming my self for choices, but this great movie compensated me, a simple brilliant touching movie with a fantastic music and great ending, I repeat it is a simple movie saying a lot of things and it is not an action movie, do not fall into the trap and wait for action cause you will not find it and then you will not love it, if you liked cloverfield, wild, into the wild and the road, certainly you will love monsters, prepare your self for a drama, adventure movie and watch cause it worth
thelastblogontheleft
Despite its name, this is very much not just a simple monster movie — it transcends the monster genre, even the horror genre, to something much deeper, and makes you question the very name being used to describe the beings you see on screen.Andrew Kaulder (played by Scoot McNairy) is on-assignment as a photojournalist documenting the ongoing battle between human and alien in northern Mexico. Six years prior, a NASA space probe crash landed there and spread some sort of inhuman life form, leading to an invasion and subsequent quarantine (and a huge wall being built between the United States and Mexico). When Kaulder is asked to escort his boss's daughter, Sam Wynden (played by Whitney Able, his real-life girlfriend), he is resistant at first, but they form a deep bond as they navigate the terrain and gain a unique understanding and perspective on the very creatures they are running from.This movie was made on a budget of a mere $500,000 and director and writer, Gareth Edwards (who you may be hearing a lot about since he just directed the new Star Wars film, Rogue One), sure as hell knew how to stretch that budget to its limit. He cut many costs by doing a huge chunk of the work himself (he served as the cinematographer, production designer, and visual effects artist as well, creating all 250 visual effects shots on a laptop in his bedroom over the span of 5 months). The only two hired actors were the lead characters — everyone else was found on-location and improvised their lines. They were able to travel around the 5 countries they filmed in with just a van to carry the only 7 people in their production crew.But, again, he knew how to make everything work for him. It's part horror as they run from this unknown menace, part post-apocalyptic as they walk past quarantine signs and see graffiti and cartoons depicting the sea creature-like beings, part travel documentary as they glide down a river with armed guards, part romance as they form this intimate bond. It was a wise choice, I think, to have the story take place years after most movies would have chosen… he opted more for the aftermath rather than the action that may have initially taken place as the creatures took root on earth. It's fascinating to see how people have adjusted, how unphased some of the locals are, how our countries interact with each other, and how we, as humans, spend more time attacking and defending than we do understanding and learning, very much mirroring our real life relationships, both politically and socially.It's a slow burn, for sure, and we technically see the heartbreaking end as the first scene, before we witness their adventure.I, of course, appreciated the photography aspect of the whole ordeal. Kaulder is a photojournalist as heart and aims to capture things in as gritty and genuine a way as possible, but I was glad to see his humanity shine through when he's unable to, despite what he thought, photograph a dead child.When they finally see two of the creatures up close and observe their tender interaction, you are made to feel just as much awe as you imagine they did — you're watching these two otherwordly beings just float and glow and make these mournful whale calls and you're filled with curiosity and a bit of sadness as you realize how misunderstood their actions are and how they will likely ultimately be destroyed by kneejerk fear and violence.Really an amazing movie, definitely worth a watch!
