Love and Monsters

Love and Monsters
Starring Dylan O'Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Ariana Greenblatt
Directed by Michael Matthews

The post-apocalyptic cinematic world has been littered with the generic tropes: zombies, mutated humans, aliens, asteroids, man-made poisons, nuclear holocaust, and so on.  What sets "Love and Monsters" apart is that in this case, the apocalypse comes from a very unique source even if it begins typically: an asteroid heading to earth is blown up by missiles, whose residue turns insects into building-sized killers.  Not only does this make it unique, but the actual story itself is rather endearing and sweet, not something you'd typically find at the end of the world.

Seven years after the governments of earth accidentally littered down radiation from missiles to take out an asteroid turned insects into humongous killing machines, those who were left behind found shelter in underground bunkers.  Joel (Dylan O'Brien) is in one such bunker, and is absolutely alone - everyone else has hooked up, and he's the only single one left.  Not only that, but the others treat him as a child because he freezes when danger comes, and the only thing he does is make a mean minestrone.  He recently discovered that his pre-apocalypse girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick) is alive and living in another bunker 80 miles away, and decides to go on a perilous quest to be with her, despite the misgivings of his fellow bunkmates.

Despite not being at all prepared for the horrors that await him on the surface, Joel begins his journey by almost being eaten by a giant frog before he's rescued by a stray dog named Boy, who joins Joel on his journey.  He then meets survivalists Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt) and Clyde (Michael Rooker), who teach Joel the basics of survival and how to defend himself instead of constantly running and hiding.  Equipped with this knowledge and his loyal companion at his side, Joel grows more confident that he can make it to Aimee and not be devoured by gigantic insects.

"Love and Monsters" really lives up to its title, as that's pretty much what the film is: love and monsters.  Joel's love for Aimee leads him to venture into the dangerous unknown completely unprepared and ill-equipped, but he doesn't let those small hurdles prevent him from achieving his quest.  The monsters exist in the world in vastly huge CGI concoctions that are surprisingly menacing and frightening, or maybe that's just because I think insects are gross.  Either way, the film really lives up to its title.

Apart from that, the movie is a very fun, family-friendly adventure with good-natured quips and hilarious running gags (every time Joel meets someone, they ask him if he got kicked out of his bunker for stealing food) that maintains a rapid pace and doesn't really slow down.  Generally there's moments in a movie where I find myself looking through my phone out of boredom, but I was totally glued to the screen from start to finish, and while it wasn't anything spectacular, it was a good time.

This comes due to the fact that Dylan O'Brien is great at self-defecating humor, who has this sort of confidence that's unwarranted as he can't take care of himself, but also a self-awareness that he understands that he's in over his head.  He's a great hero in that he's not a hero at all at the start, but has to learn to be one as he goes along by learning from mistakes and following the tut-ledge of more experienced survivors.  There's never a moment where he's not likable or lovable, and maintains a character we root for from beginning to end.  Likewise the performances from young Ariana Greenblatt as Minnow and Michael Rooker as Clyde really add a sense of family to the film, two survivors who help Joel on his journey, even though they're not heading in the same destination.  You actually feel sad when the two split, and hope that Joel will abandon his quest and go with them, but he doesn't.

The film is filled with intense action and hilarious comedy, but there's also a deeply emotional core at the heart of it, and there was a few times I felt myself tearing up.  Again, it's not a spectacular movie, but it manages to blend every type of emotional feeling together in a perfect concoction that isn't extremely memorable, but one you wouldn't mind taking a second helping of.

Lead by a strong performance by Dylan O'Brien, "Love and Monsters" becomes something a little more special than your typical forgettable apocalyptic movie, and while it's still forgettable, there's nothing really inherently bad about it either.

The Score: A-