Monsters (2010)

[baumer]

You know it

[CJohn]

The reason why I am so excited for Godzilla. This is a great movie with a fantastic atmosphere and very well directed.

[Goffe]

I found this on IMDB, spot on...

"Monsters drags on limply though a self indulgent journey littered with political statements that are never fully explored and it's telling that the writer / director, Gareth Edwards, admits in a bonus Q&A that he didn't even know he was making those statements (some ad-libbed by the actors) until the film was reviewed. His main intent was to show the futility of war (because not enough films have explored this yet I guess) but this theme is lost in the confusion of what this film is really all about. Given that the film's tag line is - "After six years they're no longer aliens they're residents - Now it's our turn to adapt" - it's also rather evident that the marketing department gets what the film is trying to say even if the writer / director doesn't.

I know I'm in the minority here but personally found Monsters so uneventful it was pretty much unwatchable... Maybe it's me, maybe I'm just bored with the same old themes being regurgitated over and over again but if you must make political or personal statements in your films at least try to make it entertaining and engaging as well. This is where a film like District 9, exploring similar themes, succeeded so much better than Monsters." user: pjvanes69

 

Pretty terrible movie, the complaints above + awful acting (really awful!), terrible dialogue and shaky cam all over the movie ( ) make Monsters unwatchable  D 2/10

Edited July 29, 2013 by Goffe

[fishstick]

Bad, bad movie. Annoying characters, embarrassing acting on the level of Sharknado. Shit script.

[ChD]

Downright ridiculous special effects. Shabby acting. Weak script.

 

Everything Godzilla won't have.

[DoctorWho]

Well, the special effects were made with a personal computer by the director, and they are better than some recent movies. I liked this, and I give it a 7/10. I hope that Sam did not die....

[Vanilla]

What y'all talking about? This is a nice little film.

[Jessie]

Edwards does well with the budget he has here (500k) and nails the tone, what let's the film down is its script, I never really minded the character but I understand the complaints however the film was a bit of a drag imo. Still, I think Edwards has shown real talent here which is why I've been backing Godzilla from the beginning.Overall a B

Edited February 23, 2014 by Jessie

[Dementeleus]

^^ The budget was 30x or so less than that. Dude made the movie for like 15 grand.

[BadAtGender]

It's impressive enough when you consider what he was working with, but it would have been nice if he had tightened up the story somewhat so it didn't feel so empty.

[Jack Nevada]

Beautiful. It's essentially a human drama that just happens to have giant squid monsters in it. 

Edited May 18, 2014 by Jack The Edgemaster Nevada

[BoxOfficeZ]

Its a great little film. Illegal immigration is an extremely obvious theme of the movie. You have the giant wall that surrounds the USA, this demonstrates the "fortress" mentality of the US. Other stuff like an abandoned checkpoint between the walls that shows the uselessness of the system, because there will always be a way through, no matter what you do to block others, regardless of if they're aliens or human beings.

 

Who are the monsters in Monsters? The US military is one example. Throughout the whole movie, you see how they turn the entire area into a quarantined zone and fight against the monsters, using jets, tanks and ground infantry. You see burned out buildings, hotels, and livelihoods of many people destroyed because of this. The monsters themselves fight back savagely when attacked, which just causes more grief for the locals, whom have to adapt to this never ending war. Other "monsters" would be the men who profit from the situation, like the guy selling ferry tickets to the US at exorbitant prices. 

 

The end of the movie demonstrates that the aliens, who are seen as monsters by the humans, in reality, they’re just animals. Looking for other mates, food, and would defend themselves like any other animal. 

 

There's also a few references to Apocalypse Now, and Heart of Darkness as the two main characters go through a soul searching journey.

 

The two leads are quite bland actually. But they did the job.

 

Also strange there is a Mayan pyramid that happens to be near the US border.

 

Movie does drag a bit at some places, but I very much admire guerrilla shooting style. The effects for the monster at the end looked great considering it was done on a single PC.

 

B+

Edited May 18, 2014 by BoxOfficeZ