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Love and Monsters Movie Review

Love and Monsters is a 2020 action adventure film directed by Michael Matthews and starring Dylan O’Brien. It’s such a fun flick.

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“I survived thanks to the kindness of strangers and one great dog“

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Undoubtedly, its plot is very silly. An asteroid struck and the Earth is now populated with monsters somehow. The science is naturally brushed aside here because it was ludicrous. But that doesn’t matter because the movie is exceedingly entertaining and endearing. It is an action adventure that is so old-fashioned as they don’t make ‘em like this anymore. I also loved its fantasy elements with all of the creatures being well utilized and so memorable in their designs.

I liked the first act, but the third one was disappointing. This was where another colony was introduced and everything that happened with them was typical and uninteresting. Overall, the movie was clearly inspired by the likes of ‘The Maze Runner’ and all the other young adult fiction, especially the post-apocalyptic ones. Above all else, the ‘Zombieland’ parallels are obvious at times, particularly in the survival explanations.

But no matter how derivative, the movie is incredibly entertaining, and in the second act it is truly terrific. This is where the movie reached its most spirited, most endearing and inspired streak and I wish the rest of it was as strong. The characters are also quite good, though I really wished to have seen more of Ariana Greenblatt and Michael Rooker. They were both so wonderful that the film separated them ridiculously quickly.

Dylan O’Brien is excellent. He continues to be such a good blockbuster actor, even underrated if I may say so. His Joel here is very clumsy, scared and whiny, but not too whiny, and his willingness to learn and toughen up was commendable. He is a very relatable, very well developed character and the highlight here along with his dog. Yes, Boy is truly amazing. Just like Dorothy’s Toto, he is not only a true friend and their friendship is so beautiful, but he is also quite badass as both saved each other a couple of times here and it was a blast to watch.

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Love and Monsters looks very good in terms of VFX. The monsters are very well realized, colorful and featuring all forms from amphibian to insectoid to worm etc. The action is hugely entertaining and the movie is well paced and mostly well written. It also has a lot of heart.