Entertaining throughout, but also forgettable.

Rating: 6/10 (2 February 2018)

The Shape of Water excels in several different departments. Its really well helmed in terms of directing and shot composition. The lighting and set designs were exquisite. The main performance by Sally Hawkins and main supporting performance by Richard Jenkins were amazing (Michael Shannon also delivers a delicious but fairly one note role as well) However the movie just feels forgettable, nothing about the story or the way its told is that great. Its hard to put in words exactly why but just from a subjective point of view the story was lacking a bit.
I didn't really care that much about the characters. The romance felt forced and rushed to me. The main character basically falls in love with the amphibian just after a couple of meetings with him. The character does explain to here dad at one point why she is in love with him (in an attempt to get him to help her free it) but based on the scenes we have actually seen with the two of them it didn't feel justified.
There are some plot holes that are forgivable but a little distracting, and also some out of character moments. But those are just nit picks. A bigger problem would be the anti climatic ending but I won't get into spoilers but lets just say it was unsatisfying.
Overall this is a decent film for sure, one that is overall entertaining and is never boring, but don't expect it to knock your socks off or anything (unlike the directors last fantasy film Pans Labyrinth which I truly regard as one of the greatest films ever made).