I have a smart TV that, when I add stuff to some of my Watchlists, adds it to my home page as well. Most of that stuff comes from Apple TV+, and I get that with a package deal that includes Showtime and Paramount+. Suffice to say, adding a few movies there put a lot of movies on my homepage. But there was one that looked rather fun that I could watch right away, something I had wanted to see last year and never got around to. That was the movie Love and Monsters. It looked like a fun sort of movie about a young man doing something (probably) stupid for love.
I had a free afternoon, and like I said, I wanted to see this one and it looked like fun.
In a brief prologue, protagonist Joel (Dylan O’Brien) explains that when an asteroid was headed towards Earth in what would have been an extinction-level event, the world shot the space rock to bits with a rocket barrage. Unfortunately, the rockets rained chemicals all over the world, chemicals which mutated the world’s cold-blooded animals. All reptiles, insects, fish, amphibians, and the like grew larger and in many cases carnivorous. 95% of the human population died, and the survivors like Joel live in hidden colonies, many of them underground. Joel’s parents died attempting to escape their small California hometown, but he has some hope for himself: his girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick) is still alive in another colony many miles away. Joel, feeling lonely for a woman he hasn’t seen since he was 16 or so seven years earlier, decides to head out above ground and find her.
There’s one small problem there: Joel freezes up whenever something dangerous comes along. The rest of his colony routinely tell him to stay behind when they go hunting or there’s a breech by something big and hungry. He’s the worst possible candidate to walk above ground, but he can’t be deterred. He does luck out early when he finds a friendly dog named Boy, and then two survivalists in the form of Clyde (Michael Rooker) and the young Minnow (Arianna Greenblatt). Joel better learn some lessons fast, or he won’t be alive much longer up there.
This is a very likable movie. Joel is a winsome protagonist and narrator, a young man who is better than he thinks he is at surviving, and he’s a quick study. Yeah, there’s some telegraphing with what could be called Chekov’s hand grenade, but I didn’t much mind. Henwick does seem like the kind of woman that would make risking his life worth it, and even if Rooker is somewhat typecast as some kind of survivalist, this may be the warmest character I have ever seen him play. He’s actually supportive for once. Plus, Joel does learn as he goes along, and every lesson he picks up comes in handy later, so there are no scenes that were something of a waste of time.
Factor in as well the special effects and design of this world, and this one is a real treat. Cliffsides covered in what looks like a termite hive and five-eyed frogs that emerge from koi ponds are just some of the cool visuals, and while not every creature Joel encounters is dangerous, they’re also all rather impressive to look at. True, the story reminded me of a more sentimental version of Zombieland except this time most people seem inclined to help each other more than anything else, but I didn’t much mind. Joel was learning to live and survive in a way that was fun for me. That at least makes for a fun movie, and while I don’t think a sequel for this one would be a good idea, I did enjoy the hell out of this one.
Grade: B+
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