Entertainment
10 Years Later, This Giant Monster Movie Is the Best Sci-Fi Kaiju Movie Since ‘Godzilla’
When the word “Kaiju” enters a conversation, most people tend to think of Godzilla. The King of the Monsters’ debut in 1954 was both iconic and chilling, especially since he was meant to serve as an allegory for the horrors that nuclear warfare could bring upon the Earth. While there have been some valiant attempts, very few monster movies come close to capturing the blend of allegory and spectacle of Godzilla. That all changed in 2016 when Nacho Vigalondo delivered one of the strangest yet unique monster movies with Colossal.
Colossal follows the life of Gloria (Anne Hathaway), a writer struggling with her alcoholic tendencies and the end of her relationship. At her rope’s end, she travels back to her hometown of Mainhead, New Hampshire, where she takes up a job at a bar run by her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). Around the same time, a massive reptilian monster starts ripping through Seoul, South Korea. It’s revealed that the monster is connected to Gloria’s actions; if she dances, it dances, and if she walks, it walks — though it ends up causing more destruction in the process. What really makes Colossal a standout is how it uses the monster as a metaphor for alcoholism and its destructive effects.
Colossal was a turning point in Anne Hathaway’s career. While she’d previously played a literal princess in The Princess Diaries, a struggling journalist in The Devil Wears Prada, and impressed fans with her turn as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, Colossal lets her tap into her inner messiness to play Gloria. Gloria’s alcohol issues, much like the monster stomping through Seoul, make a mess of her life. She loses her job, her boyfriend, and is directly responsible for causing untold damage halfway around the world. Part of the draw of Colossal is watching Hathaway play a character who’s the complete opposite of her usual roles, and nailing it in the process.
If Hathaway’s performance in Colossal is a surprise, then no one was prepared for the extremely dark turn Sudeikis takes as Oscar. Midway through Colossal, it’s revealed that Oscar can control his own massive avatar, a giant robot. It’s also revealed that he is a monster himself: he bullies one of his friends, Joel (Austin Stowell), for showing romantic interest in Gloria, and starts verbally belittling her as she begins to gain control over her monster. It’s a pattern that fits an abusive relationship to a T, and it’s utterly shocking to see the man who would later play the incredibly kind Ted Lasso play such a despicable human being. Yet it also shows that Sudeikis has incredible range as an actor.
The Godzilla Film That Made Giant Monster Movies Cool in America Again Has a New Streaming Home
The movie stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston.
An Indie Studio Owes Its Success to ‘Colossal’
Though Colossal turned out to be a surprise hit when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2016, it faced opposition from Toho, the studio behind the Godzilla films. Toho sued Colossal‘s distributor, Voltage Pictures, in 2015, alleging that publicity materials included images from Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla and that Voltage was attempting to make an unauthorized Godzilla knockoff. Nacho Vigalondo didn’t help matters, as one of his quotes describing Colossal was used as fuel for Toho’s legal fire:
“It’s going to be the cheapest Godzilla movie ever, I promise. It’s going to be a serious Godzilla movie, but I’ve got an idea that’s going to make it so cheap that you will feel betrayed.”
Toho and Voltage eventually settled out of court, which turned out to be a boon to the indie world. Following its TIFF premiere, Colossal was scooped up by NEON, which has become one of the world’s biggest independent film distributors. NEON’s list of films includes Academy Award winners like Parasite and Anora, as well as sleeper hits like Hulu’s Palm Springs. None of it would be possible without Colossal, which shows that Godzilla isn’t the only giant monster that can rule the movie screen.
- Release Date
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April 6, 2017
- Runtime
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109 minutes
- Director
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Nacho Vigalondo
- Producers
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Dominic Rustam, Nahikari Ipiña, Nicolas Chartier, Russell Levine, Zev Foreman