Yes No Maybe So: "Godzilla v Kong"
Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 2:32PM
Tony here. I’m a forever defendor of Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla picture. It’s an atmospheric, artful take on a big, blustery blockbuster featuring giant monsters. The acting is better than it has any right to be and there are images and wholesale sequences which evoke the best of Spielberg; Edwards sought to restore mystery and majesty to the genre. After Edwards’ film ONLY made $530 million worldwide, Warner Bros would return to the brainless goofiness of old (think the 1997 Godzilla) with Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, seeking out higher dollars by doubling down on dumbing it down.
Despite interesting directors at the helm, they’re both mildly entertaining if overwrought examples of studio factory filmmaking, and Godzilla v Kong looks to continue this trend based on its trailer, a piece of unintentional hilarity...
YES
- Watching a giant lizard and a giant ape do battle on the streets of Earth will always be aesthetically pleasing on a primal level. There are some captivating images of destruction here, culminating in a visually stimulating mano-o-mano with laser breath.
- Alexander Skarsgard, Kyle Chandler, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Demian Bichir, and Millie Bobby Brown? Through this entire “cinematic universe” the cast has never not been filled with great actors and notable character actors, even if they’re mostly wasted.
NO
- The worst needle drop since Evanescence in the trailer for 2003’s Daredevil. Nu-Metal went the way of the dinosaurs. Wait a minute, maybe that’s the point? Some sort of demented deep cut by way of subliminal marketing? Not likely. More than likely simply the result of bad taste.
- Another narrative about Kong bonding with a girl. It worked nearly a century ago and it worked when Peter Jackson did it again in 2005. I don’t think it’s going to work this time, particularly with a young child who doesn’t say much versus luminous starlet Ann Darrow in the original story.
MAYBE SO
- “It’s Godzilla, ”Godzilla's out there and he's hurting people and we don't know why!” Is this the worst dialogue ever or the best dialogue ever for a movie about gargantuan titans slugging each other through buildings? The po-faced seriousness here clashes with the utterly ridiculous nature of what they’re saying. And yet, maybe Adam Wingard will get the balance right unlike the last two filmmakers who aimed for something approaching high camp.
Where are you on this one? It opens in both theaters and on HBOMax on March 31st
Reader Comments (16)
A CGI mess just like the others.
I would have paid to see this in IMAX
When Rebecca Hall says gravely, “It’s Godzilla,” I burst out laughing. It was like an SNL sketch. That said, it takes real talent to say a line like that seriously.
I always think I'm going to like these, but then I don't. Jackson's KING KONG was great, no matter what the revisionists want to argue, but after that...
I hate nu-metal. It was shit then and it is shit now. Korn was the best band of that genre but once they worked with the Matrix, they were never the same. Do not call Deftones nu-metal because they're on a completely different world than every one else was and they've made better albums and remain consistent since.
The idea of a King Kong vs. Godzilla movie has to be seen on the big screen. I can't imagine the idea of watching it on a big TV or a laptop. A hoss fight this big needs to be seen in the theaters but I don't know if it's worth risking our lives for that.
@thevoid99 The difference between old pop cinema and the new stuff is that we DID watch things like KING KONG (1933) and KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1963) on our TVs and we enjoyed them. There was some sort of spirit and soul to those films, different as they may be (and of course the latter wasn't nearly as good as the former). These new giant monster movies seem so soulless (either willed gravitas or willed cheekiness) that without the IMAX factor they're almost totally without interest.
It’s Godzilla, so count me in!
I also loved the 2014 GODZILLA. I was surprised by how *sad* it was.
"Godzilla" ***
"Kong: Skull Island" ****
"Godzilla: King of Monsters" **
"Godzilla vs Kong" trailer: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY
That comment is not me. Although they aren't NIN, i enjoy a good portion of nu metal. Fucking leave me alone.
I can no longer get excited about these movies. They should be really fun monster mashes and they just never ever are, with bad storylines and an over-serious approach that renders them silly. And that goes for the Peter Jackson Kong remake as well. So over-stuffed with nonsensical FX sequences that it became silly and tiresome.
It’s Godzilla, so count me in!
Godzilla vs Kong is a biased movie where clearly the writers of that movie are totally riding Godzilla's tail and didn't do their homework about Kong or watch the 1962 film. They made Kong look very weak in order to make their lizard look powerful. SMDH. The REAL Kong AND Godzilla fans know who the real king of the monsters is, KONG!! Disagree? Do your homework and when you do, USE UNBIASED EYES!!!!
Trecia, you are spot on !!
A HUGE blunder was taking away King Kong's power up from electricity and lightning! When KONG's Electric shock grip was put on Godzilla.. It knew about it! Changed everything.
I saw some youtube video month's ago saying that the producers took away Kong's ability and replaced it with an ax because it wasn't realistic.. I'm like REALISTIC?!?? Then what is GODZILLA? You got 100 foot fire/radiation breathing lizard ... That's realistic I suppose..They totally made Kong look weak! From the start they made KING KONG look weak.. They had him chained up and drugged..How they pull that off?Last time I checked, you needed the natives chant and song to calm Kong down and put him to sleep..They had Godzila beating Kong on water and on land.. 0 points for KONG having brains I suppose!(now that's unrealistic!) Totally went away from the original movie.Definite thumbs down sorry to say..
@ claud,
thank you so much for explaining that, i was looking for this comment. ‘Y does this look like an oversized circus monkey and not an actual titan that can defend itself’ is wat i was asking myself for the most part of kongs fight scenes. Kong just always took L’s this entire flick, between the fights and his weapon (a rechargeable axe that needs power from the center of the earth, smh) i was more annoyed at the fact he had to go to hollow earth to retrieve the thing just to gang bang on mechazilla. Plot wise, it seems offsetting that he HAS to go to hollow earth to stand a chance against godzilla. Im like, ‘y is godzilla so op?’,....... makes sense now that u made that point. THE PRODUCERS ARE GODZILLA FANBOYS, n this movie was a shrine to jerk off for the radioactively inclined lizard and his mecha counterpart. Seriously though, y didnt they adapt a better story for kong?!? Vizuals were great n thats about it
I agree... The kicker is Godzilla was able to blow a hole to the center of the earth with his fire? totally ridiculous..When Kong got the ax..Godzilla's hole appears out of nowhere! and you see Godzilla peeking down the hole... Checking out his new weapon? ? gosh! Terrible flick... Only thing that could possibly make sense for this horrible story line is a sequel...Godzilla vs Kong 2... where Kong redeems himself..I still say stick to the original plot! Can't go wrong. They don't make movies with good science fiction plots anymore... Today they always try to make up for the terrible movie plots with special effects.. Geesh..