Love and Monsters - A Nicely Done Post Apocalyptic Adventure Comedy Movie

I cannot remember where I saw the news about this movie before, just that it was one that I hope would be available in Indonesia soon due to its quite high critical and audience ratings. And so I was very excited when I found out it was going to be released through Netflix. Last night I immediately watch this movie as soon as I have the chance. Well now let's dive into it. 

Brief Story Line

After an incident that wiped most of the human population while at the same time creating monsters on earth, the remaining survivors were hiding in various bunkers and created small colony. Joel Dawson (Dylan O'Brien - Bumblebee, Teen Wolf TV series etc) who has been living with one colony for 7 years was separated from his girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick - Underwater, Game of Thrones TV series etc) and decided to go on a journey to find her, despite his lack of survival skills.

During his journey, Joel befriended a dog called Boy and had to fight lots of monsters to survive. He also would meet other survivors like Clyde (Michael Rooker - Fantasy Island, The Walking Dead TV series etc) with an 8 year old girl named Minnow (Ariana Greenbalt) who were looking for a safe place.

And how would the story conclude? You can find it in this fun and entertaining movie.

End of Brief Story Line

And yes, this movie was exactly what I hoped for. It was fun, exciting, entertaining and got some good fights against big monsters. I really enjoyed watching this movie from start to finish as there was never a dull moment. The narration done by the lead character Joel was filled with witty remarks that made me smiled or chuckled every now and then, plus he seemed to always be in awkward position which was pretty hilarious.

I have seen few movies & series which has a rather similar premise of a young man/teenager who became quite the hero in a post apocalyptic world (Zombieland, Daybreak TV series were among the ones that popped into my head). And this one, despite felt familiar, I still like the story. It was actually a really simple one, but the story telling was pretty good. Even if I could have already guessed the ending, the journey itself was worth the time. I mean what's not to like? You got a lovable underdog character who just want to meet his girlfriend and went on a dangerous & emotional journey that would make a mature man out of him. Btw, there was one moment involving Mav1s that I really loved. 

Dylan O'brien was really amazing and perfect for this role, while Jessica Henwick seemed suitable as the girl of his dream. Michael Rooker was playing his usual character and Ariana Greenbalt was pretty standard as a child actress. There were other supporting characters too, but the one that had a bigger role was Dan Ewing (Home and Away TV series etc) as Cap. The director Michael Matthews did great job in making this movie and I think the writers Brian Duffield (whose credits included that fun The Babysitter etc) and Matthew Robinson (Dora and the Lost City of Gold etc) were equally wonderful as they were able to write good story with humorous dialogues.

Oh the special effects of this movie was surprisingly good. The CGI did not look cheap at all despite having a relatively modest budget. It was even nominated for Best Visual Effects in 2021 Academy Awards. Overall with good special effects, story & music plus lots of fun, sometimes suspenseful & even a bit emotional, this was definitely one of my favorite post-apocalyptic comedy movie. If you like this kind of genre, then you wouldn't want to miss this one.

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars