'Colossal' Delivers a Crowd-Pleasing Kaiju ... With a Twist
It'll be worth the wait.

Opening this weekend in New York and Los Angeles, Colossal is the latest film from genre-bending director Nacho Vigalondo. This monster-movie-turned-rom-com takes the kaiju eiga concept of a giant monster destroying a South Korean city and adds a huge twist, which we won’t spoil here since you probably haven’t seen it yet (and if you haven’t watched trailers for Colossal yet, it’s probably best to avoid them as well if you want to preserve the twist). The new film is a modest success at the box office and a huge hit among fans … at least those who can see it.
With a relatively narrow release on its opening weekend — just a handful of theaters — Colossal is getting lots of positive reviews and generating even more buzz on the internet.
While the concept of Colossal may seem like a joke at first, Vigalondo assured Inverse that he’s a lover of the genre and does not intend to create some kind of parody film.
“I understand people get that impression before they see the film, but I don’t want the movie to feel like we’re mocking kaiju eiga films,” he said.
The resulting movie is a classic monster-smashing-cities thrill ride with an equally well-rounded human element. Critics are generally pleased, too, resulting in 72 percent positive critical reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here’s what the lucky few are saying so far:
Just got out of a screening of @SheIsCOLOSSAL. Wonderfully inventive. If you dig subversive filmmaking, monsters and Anne Hathaway–go see it pic.twitter.com/P9WpDmiBF2
— Will Federman (@wfederman) April 8, 2017
pssst...Colossal was very good!
— Vivian Lee (@vivianwmlee) April 8, 2017
#Colossal was fantastic, but took a way darker turn than I was expecting.
— Matt Coley (@mattjcoley) April 8, 2017
Colossal is great. @vigalondo somehow tackled addiction, toxic masculinity and disaster apathy in a very funny, tragic, beautiful film.
— Brock Williams (@_brockwilliams) April 8, 2017
Ok but like Colossal was such a refreshing take on small town citizens making a big difference in the world.
— Farshogar Vazifdar (@farsho_gar) April 8, 2017
COLOSSAL (@vigalondo, '17): Great film that doesn't fall short with empty promises from its premise. Hathaway again proves she is the best.
— hunter lurie (@hunterlurie) April 8, 2017
@rilaws just saw Colossal on the basis of your review. It was so enjoyable and the ending felt really fucking cathartic. Thanks!!
— Julia (@jjjetplane16) April 8, 2017
COLOSSAL is a really wonderful monster movie. COLOSSAL is a really wonderful human movie. hey, go see it.
— Sam Zimmerman (@samdzimmerman) April 7, 2017
It goes without saying that if you’re in New York or Los Angeles, you should see this unique genre film this weekend. But the reality is that most of us are not in those cities, so a huge number of fans — or more specifically, potential fans — are frustrated that the film is only showing in select theaters during its opening weekend. Hopefully, the initial buzz will translate to a wider release in the coming month.
P.S. COLOSSAL is good and you should see it when it becomes available to you. Watch for it!
— Eric D. Snider (@EricDSnider) April 8, 2017
@DoNatoBomb @FakeRobHunter Colossal only opens in certain areas :( It's not coming to Colorado till the 20th
— Claire Hellar (@CoffeeandIrony) April 8, 2017
I really want to see Colossal but it's not in Winnipeg yet, help
— The 🅱ye 🅱ye 🅱an (@YmbryneSW) April 8, 2017
I would support Colossal if it were actually out in my neck of the woods. https://t.co/Hi7DJXC3lQ
— ZAK (@Zakiyyah6) April 8, 2017