COLOSSAL Trailer

If you ever thought Anne Hathaway would make a good monster, then you’re about to have your oddball idea tested. Okay, she’s not actually a monster, just in control of a monster in the upcoming film Colossal.

That bizarre premise, and I mean deeply bizarre premise, should be enough to hook in viewers, but if you’re still uninterested, might I suggest contemplating the trailer’s unanswered questions: Does she control all of the monster’s movements? Is its manifestation related to her alcohol binge? Why is her massive puppet so far away? And why would she dance like that?

In terms of offering something unusual, Colossal succeeds with flying colors. That also makes the film a big question mark, as this could easily go off the rails or maintain its charming absurdism. Hathaway has proved willing to do good and bad movies, and she took a major risk attaching herself to this project. Without her, its hard to imagine the film getting made, particularly with the budget to support the CGI destruction of Seoul.

The bits of the kaiju we see in the trailer makes him (her?) out to be monstrous and vaguely cute, fitting with the trailer’s jovial darkness. I mean, the monster comes in like a wrecking ball and Hathaway’s character seems to be messing up her own life, but these parallels are played mostly for laughs. The ramifications of the monster’s destruction and Hathaway’s flailing life will need to be seriously addressed by the film, and its likely that the transition from silly to serious will determine the film’s overall success. As appealing as a puppet monster is, you need more than a killer premise to make a good film.

Colossal is directed by Nacho Vigalondo and stars Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, and Dan Stevens. It will be released in the U.S. on April 7th, 2017. For international release dates, click here.

Do you think Colossal will capitalize on its strange premise? Let us know in the comments!