Godzilla vs. Kong

[Daniel]

Not a huge spoiler... (length of time for something)

The aircraft carrier fight scene is 18 minutes long!

Sweet.

[Dacey]

In the spirit of the holiday, I hope that some brave theater owner plays this movie instead for unsuspecting audiences today...

[Ben]

So this naturally turns out to do exactly what it says on the tin, I suppose.

It’s big and loud and deserves to be seen on the biggest screen, though that widely seen trailer shot of Kong punching ‘Zilla remains the best shot in the movie and they haven’t exactly saved anything in the promos for any surprises in the movie itself.

Godzilla is largely set up as the baddie, for reasons explained, but it’s all major mumbo jumbo, as you'd expect, but all glossed over and well done so it doesn’t really matter. And of course they team up by the end to battle ********* (who is faithfully well done!), so the poster did fake it with the "one will fall" tagline (kinda...one could argue both fall at somepoint).

I wasn’t always convinced by Kong, though...even over fifteen years later the Jackson version is still King (haha), with this one coming over as if they shot the mocap and then ran it at half speed to get the illusion of weight, although this just makes him look like he’s moving in slow-mo a lot of the time, with the usual CG pitfalls of an eye blink being overplayed as a rubbery squint rather than a quick and natural movement.

I could also have done without the kids and annoying sidekick detectives subplot, although the film isn’t overlong, unlike most these days. Tom Holkenborg's score is as hilarious as the plotting, all bombast and bam-bam-baaaammm! big notes, but suiting it perfectly in an old-school monster movie style. And it’s largely grand and great to look at.

There was, however, no one major shot or "woah!" moment that really wowed me — again that already seen punch is the money shot highlight — and ultimately it doesn’t change my mind about the Monsterverse being something I need to collect (still need to see the last Godzilla film though), but for me this is probably the one entry I would return to again at some point.

If you’re excited to see it, I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.

[EricJ]

So this naturally turns out to do exactly what it says on the tin, I suppose.
And of course they team up by the end to battle ********* (who is faithfully well done!), so the poster did fake it with the "one will fall" tagline (kinda...one could argue both fall at somepoint).

Let's just say, if you were EXPECTING Warner to follow their Bat vs. Supes formula and bring in an equivalent Doomsday as third-party monster so one of the two co-billed leads wouldn't have to beat the other, they will not disappoint you yet.

Shame about Pacific Rim 2, though, otherwise Warner's "crossover universe" plans would have helped ************* make more sense in the story.
So, Another One Bites the Dust...What's left on Warner's Franchise-Universe agenda, after Doctor Sleep, Tom & Jerry and Space Jam 2? Are they still going ahead with Young Willy Wonka, and that third Sherlock Holmes movie?

[Ben]

Yes. And yes.

[Randall]

I waited to see this for a while, as I planned to watch it with a double-vaxxed buddy at home, and things got delayed. We finally were able to get together this weekend, an GvK did not disappoint. It not only delivered massive lizard vs. ape fighting, it also was even more bat$#!t crazy than expected, in the grand Toho tradition. Wow, what a ludicrous movie! All in good fun, though.

Many human characters were extraneous, of course, and the Swiss cheese plot meant that even Pitch Meeting and Honest Trailers together couldn't get in half the examples of WTF moments in their YT videos. But this will be one I'll happily watch again and again for the sheer spectacle of it all.

[Daniel]

Agreed on all counts. Probably my favorite film from the MonsterVerse.

[Ben]

Easily the "best" of the MV properties so far, but still not enough for me to pick up an eventual box set. Maybe if future films remain as fun, but those two first 'Zillas, especially, were preeeety rough going…!

[Randall]

The first two 'zillas in this series were snoozefests for me. Literally. I fell asleep while watching both of them. GvK was crazy, but at least it was fun to watch, and no zanier than some of the Toho films. (Just try to follow the time travel plot of 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah!)

[EricJ]

The Showa era has its own universe of naive childlike silliness, but the Heisei era tries a little too hard to follow the slick lead of then-recent US Hollywood imports:

Their attempt to grab a bit of Terminator "Time-travel paradox" is a bit embarrassing (and is second only to Shin Godzilla as the most insufferably propaganda-nationalistic), but their attempt to channel Twister with a garage group of "Godzilla trackers" in Godzilla 2000 comes off as a fun homage.

[Ben]

I fell asleep in the second new 'Zilla too, as it didn’t even have a good music score to keep me interested!

And I never made it through Godzilla 2000, the last "original" 'Zilla film I attempted to watch…

[AnnaMia]

Freaking cool!
I really enjoyed every bit and could want to re-watch!

[Daniel]

Happy birthday, Godzilla! 67 years of destroying Tokyo and other cities. In honor of his anniversary, Toho released a new Godzilla vs. Hedorah short:



Freakin' amazing! The music, the fact he got his eye melted, the callbacks! There's just something special about seeing practical effects and rubber suits. Gives me the warm fuzzies.

[gaastra]

And rumble is now a direct to video movie. Paramount plus only. So much for that turning into a IP.


https://deadline.com/video/rumble-trail ... iere-date/

[Daniel]

Evidently a sequel is gearing up for production in Australia. Maybe an Alien invasion plot with Gigan? Destoroyah? They can't really rehash the original.