It had some amazing cinematography. It is a visual joy to experience.
The story was meh. The actors all did fine jobs with the very shallow characters they had to work with. My eyes about rolled out of my head when the great Nick Searcy (I dug him in Justified), who plays a five star general, asked "Do you see these stars on my shoulders? Count them out with me. I'm a five star general. I can do whatever I want."
Micheal Shannon was the stereotypical overcompensating g-man.
Richard Jenkins was the stereotypical gay artist that needed to be reminded how being treated poorly for how you were born felt in order to change his mind and do the right thing.
Sally Hawkins was the stereotypical mute that masturbates fervently every morning.
Ok, maybe that one isn't a stereotype. Yet.
Doug Jones was Doug Jones. I paid zero attention to this film beforehand, so I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be based on Abe Sapien or not. Everything I read stated that it wasn't. That Del Toro wanted Jones to play this creature very differently than he played Abe. Yet there were a bunch of Abe Sapien winks at the audience, and if Jones was acting differently as this creature than that one, I surely couldn't tell.
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