An accurate depiction of an audience member sitting through this film.VOLTAGE PICTURES

There are moments in Colossal, and one scene in particular, which render one giddy with marvel at the extraordinary achievements which might be wrought by humans with imagination and a movie camera (as well as, perhaps, a few million dollars). Alas, these moments come sandwiched within a ponderous, hackneyed and mundane melodrama populated by creatures just as hideous as the enormous lizard-monster which emerges and terrorises Seoul at points during the film.

“For three minutes the film is an experience of exceptional power, but for much of the remainder it is decidedly mediocre.”

This, in fact, is doubtless the entire point of the picture. Rather than mining the potentially bounteous seam of comedy and tragedy afforded by its central conceit, the film elects effectively to brush the formidable idea at its core under the carpet for extended stretches, and heavy-handedly signposts it as a ‘metaphor’. Thus we are treated to limpid and profoundly unaffecting scenes of Jason Sudeikis being rather mean to a self-pitying alcoholic who has repeatedly refused even to admit that she suffers from a drinking problem.

The finale, however, abandons any attempt at serious drama, and takes a turn into young-adult fantasy fiction. Its final note, although boldly struck, emphatically failed to resound, as it had long been apparent that the film was intent on both having its cake and eating it, leaving its viewers hungry for more of the sublime delights contained within its middle section.

There are sporadic jokes of a perfectly adequate quality, and one was also left yearning for more of the wryness present in the superior exchanges of dialogue. The footage of the monster engaging in its destruction is competently presented, its heft on one occasion sufficient to draw a gasp.

Anne Hathaway, Sudeikis, Dan Stevens and Tim Blake Nelson are entirely satisfactory, yet all fail ultimately to inspire empathy in their characters at the various moments of attempted emotional climax. For three minutes the film is an experience of exceptional power, but for much of the remainder it is decidedly mediocre