Love and Monsters Movie Review

Love and Monsters (2020)

Rent Love and Monsters on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Brian Duffield and Matthew Robinson (screenplay by)
Directed by: Michael Matthews
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
Seven years after he survived the monster apocalypse, lovably hapless Joel leaves his cozy underground bunker behind on a quest to reunite with his ex.

Verdict
A really likable apocalypse movie. Joel is on a mission that seems destined to end in failure, but that adventure and what he learns about survival and himself is what really makes this endearing. Survival is about luck, and Joel has a lot of that. This movie understands the genre, embracing and subverting the typical tropes as needed.
Watch It.

Review
Earth bands together to shoot a giant asteroid out of the sky. It's an idea that's been done before, but in this case chemicals from the rockets rain on earth causing bugs to mutate into giant monsters. Conveniently for the plot of the movie the chemicals didn't effect humans.

Dylan O'Brien plays Joel.

Joel managed to get into a bunker, but he's the only one not paired up. He's also relegated to menial tasks as he completely freezes when confronted by a monster. He finds his girlfriend Aimee and decides to cross the surface to her. The trek seems a bit silly, especially with Joel's lack of survival skills, but he's going to die one way or another. He's restless and lonely stuck in a bunker. Those feelings especially resonate after the 2020 pandemic where the country isolated in their homes.

It seems like he has no hope to survive. Even capable warriors have died. Joel's plan is to run and hide. He's helped out by a dog and pure luck.

The CGI isn't perfect, but it's effective. The landscape shots with giant bug corpses and skeletons create a really great atmosphere.

The whole journey, I wondered what would happen when Joel gets to Aimee's bunker. It's been a long time since they have seen each other and with Joel's trajectory my concern was that Aimee would have moved on.

Many convenient circumstances aid Joel in his journey, but survival really is more luck than anything else. I like how the lessons Joel learned during his trek come back to help him. Joel embarks on a daunting journey for a girl, but that trip inadvertently makes him a better person and survivor. Joel realizes how important community is, both the one he left behind and those that were vital to his survival along the way. He was only able to complete the journey due to help.