Somehow flawed, somehow touching

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2018)

Guillermo del Toro has built a formidable reputation as a director over the years, however I have some reservations about this film; First- When I saw the trailer for this film, I was reminded of the childhood classic " The Creature from the Black Lagoon " and " Children of a Lesser God " meets a gloomy little mermaid kind of familiarity sort of impression. Second- some of the actors have no character development so the viewer is left with the predictable protagonists outsmart the antagonists kind of pace. Of Olivia Spencer and Richard Jenkins , I can only say that these two are engaging actors albeit underrated most of the times. They are the most relatable actors in this film entirety as well. For some reason Sally Hawkins as the deaf mute can not elicit empathy from my general viewer's senses. This is because she lacks in her performance here the raw expressiveness that goes through an actor's eyes in a role like hers so that the lack of dialogue is not translated into intangible chemistry with the creature as was intended to be.
It's either you kinda hate this film or you kinda like it. But it's not the unforgettable type and will not make one stop eating fish immediately.