Love and Monsters

I know what you’re thinking. You saw this poster and said: “oh, another post-apocalyptic story”. Well, technically, it’s true. Love and Monsters is set in an apocalyptic world where humans are on the brink of extinction. But there’s more to it. This is actually a very solid coming-of-age story about Joel (Dylan O’Brien), a simple guy who decides to make a dangerous journey on the world’s surface in order to reunite with his girlfriend, Aimee, who lives just 80 miles away from him.

Overall, the movie is great. It has a very charismatic main character, a simple but solid story and particularly good action sequences. Plus, the film has a lot of heart, which makes separate it from other apocalyptic stories easier.

Dylan O’Brien is great as always. He is a very strong lead, and he practically carries the entire movie by himself, with the help of his adorable dog Boy. O’Brien’s Joel is very much a regular guy. He’s not very strong or skilled (something his friends remind him constantly). However, he doesn’t give up easily, which makes him someone we can root for.

Unlike Zombieland, which is a very similar film, Love and Monsters doesn’t have a very strong line up of secondary characters. Here we have Aimee (Jessica Henwick), Clyde (Michael Rooker), Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt), and a bunch of other characters without much screen time. Their roles aren’t bad or bland, they just don’t have much to do besides helping Joel achieve his goal. But all of them do a great job with what they have.

The monsters are also a huge part in this film, and even though this movie is not a big blockbuster like Avengers Endgame, the VFXs are very impressive. All the monsters that we see are unique and they all have different abilities. It’s very interesting and rewarding to see Joel facing different types of creatures and overcoming his fears.

Finally, I really think this new universe has a lot of potential (maybe we could see Love and Monsters Vol.2?) This world is huge, and I really want to know what happens with Joel and his friends after the events of this film. But even if we don’t get any kind of continuation, Love and Monsters is incredible. Sure, it’s not a masterpiece, but I don’t think it has to be one in order for us to enjoy it. It’s funny, entertaining and a bit emotional, so I’m confident a lot of people will love it. Plus, if you like Dylan O’Brien, this is a must see.