The Shape of Water (2017)

The critic praises how del Toro and Sally Hawkins make an improbable mix of genres work triumphantly. Hawkins' mute performance is singled out as making the central romance utterly believable.

Del Toro crafts a fairy tale for grown-ups and his most perfect confection to date, a transcendent love story and timeless hymn to tolerance that synthesises classic monster movie influences with cinephile magic. It champions the 'other' through an extraordinary Sally Hawkins performance and peerless tonal mastery.

The critic calls it pure movie magic and a must-see, highlighting the blend of creature features, fairy tales and romance. Hawkins' performance is praised for selling the romance and desire.

The film is a pretzel-twist of pure strangeness that is both a B-movie blood-curdler and a boundlessly beautiful melodrama. Sally Hawkins delivers the performance of a lifetime in the role of Elisa.

The critic finds it magical and equal to Pan's Labyrinth, noting del Toro balances dream, nightmare and realism while making an improbable romance feel reasonable. Hawkins' performance is singled out as superlative.

The film is a wonder to behold, a magical, thrilling and romantic sensual fairy tale that plays by all the rules and none of them. Del Toro elevates genre filmmaking to unexpected heights with his transcendent imagination, echoing Beauty and the Beast.

The critic describes it as a full-blooded fable of outsider love that is timely and timeless. Hawkins is singled out for communicating non-verbal feeling with unforced charm.

The critic finds the film a tremendous sensory experience that is visually ravishing but somewhat precious in its swooniness. Sally Hawkins gives a career-best performance as the mute woman who falls for the amphibious creature.

The critic criticizes the film for lacking the unruly streak of del Toro's other works, being overly sentimental and impersonal, fusing tropes without purpose.

The critic praises del Toro's expansive hybrid of influences in this shimmering fairy-tale romance about a mute janitor who falls for an amphibious creature. It singles out the film's un-sententious vision of marginalized characters uniting for tolerance in 1962.

Guillermo del Toro delivers a big romantic imaginative coup with a sly political undercurrent, blending fairytale imagery, B-movie creature fun, Hollywood romance and noir elements into an exhilarating multi-layered entertainment. The film excels through its all-round craft, fine cast led by Sally Hawkins, and its uplifting anti-fascist spirit.

The critic praises del Toro's enchanting fairy tale blending romance, fantasy, and political overtones, highlighting Sally Hawkins' exquisite performance and the film's visual and emotional ravishing quality.

The film is a code-scrambled fairy tale and genetically modified monster movie that is altogether wonderful. Del Toro fuses genre ardor with a startlingly sincere romantic sensibility in this interspecies romance set in a 1960s government lab.

Del Toro is on peak form with this tender, ravishingly imagined romantic fantasy about a mute cleaning lady and an amphibian creature. It is an extravagantly romantic, pure-hearted adult fairytale that is his most rewarding film since Pan’s Labyrinth.

The critic calls it del Toro's best film since Pan's Labyrinth, a superb horror romance with tenderness and warmth that celebrates otherness and forbidden love. It singles out the sumptuous period detail and the way it flips mid-20th-century genre norms on their head.

The critic hails it as possibly del Toro's masterpiece, a poetic love story and stunning romantic fable with dreamy grace and gorgeous moments. The sincere treatment of the unlikely romance, memorable characters and del Toro's filmmaking knowledge are singled out for praise.

The critic calls it a lovely fairy tale and del Toro's best film since Pan's Labyrinth, brimming with romance, adventure and idiosyncratic care in every frame. The exceptional cast, topical political elements and sincere interspecies love story are singled out for praise.

The critic praises the film as a delicate and timely romance and del Toro's Beauty and the Beast, highlighting its sumptuous fairytale elements, visual communication, production design, and themes of acceptance for marginalized characters in a volatile time period.

The critic finds del Toro has crafted a beautiful romantic film that is also a paean to cinema, layering sci-fi, Cold War and civil rights elements successfully. The strong cast, especially Sally Hawkins, and nods to other films are singled out for praise.

The critic finds it an enjoyable fairy tale with a pure interspecies romance and love of movie magic but notes its limits, as del Toro fails to fully exploit the radical weirdness or darker elements of the story.

The critic calls it a magical masterpiece and romantic fever dream, the most emotional and humane film from del Toro, praising the sweeping romantic magic, visual splendor, and flawless silent performance by Sally Hawkins.

The critic praises del Toro's genre-bending love story as a gorgeous and grotesque romance that feels personal and heartfelt, highlighting the performances of Sally Hawkins and Doug Jones as particularly swoon-worthy and emotionally powerful.