Cronos movie review

Here's what you need to know; elderly antique dealer Jesus Gris makes a mysterious discovery among his antiques, a strange little device called Cronos, little does he know that it will gift him the power to live forever, but at a terrible cost. Now the old Jesus Gris is dying, and a monster is taking his place.
This review was supposed to come out on Monday, coming up to the release of Crimson Peak, I will be watching and reviewing all of the films directed by Guillermo del Toro, with the exception of Blade 2, starting of course with his first film, Cronos, released in 1993

So now lets begin with what I like, starting with the prologue, which shows the history of the Cronos device, the prologue does a reasonably good job of showing how the device came into existence without going too much into what it does. Now lets mention the characters, starting with Gris. Gris is no hero, nor is he a villain, something this film does a good job of doing is showing Gris as just a guy, Gris is a likable guy too, he manages to stave off committing atrocity for a good while, and he is also a man who deeply loves his family, particularly his granddaughter, who serves as a rock for Gris as his situation worsens. The somewhat ironically named Angel, played by Ron Pearlman, is effectively the film's main baddie, if that title doesn't go to his uncle, Angel is a very good baddie, he is arrogant, selfish, and very vein, his allegiance to his dying uncle is strictly down to money, and he starts off in the film asking Gris about plastic surgery. Angel is also kind of comic relief in the film, it's just hard to find his vanity and when he screams with annoyance, then shifts instantly to calm and civil not amusing. His uncle the other hand, no humour there, just creepy, while he's less intimidating than the brutish Angel, he just gives off a vibe of ill intention, and his unrelenting desire to obtain the Cronos device is one of  Gris' biggest obstacles in the film. Another major obstacle Gris faces is himself, as he becomes addicted to the effects of the Cronos device, and begins to feel it's unpleasant side effects, there are a couple of really unpleasant scenes, one in particular near the end that is also pretty damn intense, as he contemplates surrendering to his temptation. The film does however have a few less interesting characters, while she is very important to him, Gris' granddaughter is not a very memorable character in my opinion, neither is Gris' wife. There's one guy I remember, though I don't remember his name, I do however remember him being a bit weird, but not in a fun way, more in a slowly back away way, not that I didn't think he was kind of funny in his absurdity, you'll know who I mean when you see him.

Now, this is a del Toro film, and I must tell you, this film has some style, there are some scenes where the style is just amazing, there is one near the end that I obviously won't spoil, but I'll just say I adore this scene, everything, the colours, the lighting, the sound, I think it's outstanding, it's also one of those more vile scenes where Gris struggles with his temptation, which makes it a pretty rough watch if you have a weak stomach. Speaking of weak stomachs, while this film isn't particularly gory, there is a lot of blood, and it's not just blood, it's thick, dark blood, I actually studied this film in sixth form, and I could waffle about style, symbolism, romanticisation, blah blah blah for hours, but I won't, to keep it short, just know that Cronos has some down right beautiful and down right vile scenes, particularly the bathroom scene, but no spoilers here, don't worry. If I must really come up with a real negative I can only really think the film doesn't exactly end with a bang, and the final 'showdown' between Gris and Angel isn't much of a showdown. But that's missing the point, as I said at the beginning, Gris isn't a hero, he's just a guy, and this isn't an action story, this is a personal story about a normal old guy who becomes addicted and starts losing grip of himself, in that regard, the ending of the film is actually pretty powerful. One more good thing though, the Cronos device itself, it is beautiful to look at, until it's wound up that is, spoiler inbound, unless you want to know what Cronos is before watching the film, just go to the conclusion. Cronos effectively turns it's user into a vampire, once they use the device, they become addicted to it, sunlight burns them, their skin goes white, and they develop an unrelenting thirst for blood, I love different takes on classic monsters, and del Toro made it fascinating in Cronos, I really like the idea of the Cronos in this film, even if I wouldn't want it anywhere near me ever.

Cronos is a very enjoyable film, though some of it's supporting characters are a bit forgettable, and the film's climax isn't very climactic, this is a film about Jesus Gris, so criticising it for these things isn't really fair, the film is beautiful to look at at times, but there are also numerous times where you'll want to look away, and a film that can do both is probably going to be a good film. It's not Guillermo del Toro's best, but first attempts never are, and even then, this film is definitely worth checking out.