Some People Are Missing the Boat

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2018)

When it comes to Del Toro, we know we are going to get a dose of weird. We will also get some fine filmmaking. The cinematography, the presentation of danger is heavy. This is another one of those cold war stories where a nautical creature is captured and kept in a tank. He has human like features. For some reason, it is decided by the evil military complex that this fellow be destroyed. The Russians fear that somehow survival of the creature puts them in danger, so they want him done in as well. Meanwhile, a young woman who is an orphan and a mute, seems to have an unexplainable attraction to this being. She manages to set up an escape and brings him to her apartment above a movie theater. There is a federal agent who is blamed for the escape. He is the real monster in the film. What transpires over the second half is very strange. There is a wait time to get our creature into friendly waters. I won't add any spoilers here. I think people who are criticizing this film, weren't listening to several key hints. I thought it was a delight. The only real criticism for me is the over the top ugly violence perpetrated by the Americans and the Russians.