Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Dougherty must be the only person on the planet who is approached by the people form Warner Brothers with a huge budget and an unmissable offer “to play games with Godzilla and all his fellow cult monsters in the backyard during their awakening and the end of the world", so he can't think “hmm, it could be from the perspective of people, as Edwards tried but failed to do, or bitter satire in the style of (Shin´s) Japanese Godzilla or a catastrophic B-movie full of ultimate monsters and titanic battles referencing the classics". No, what comes to his mind is “cool, I'll finally be able to shoot an interior conversational movie from the Avengers Helicarrier and satisfy all the scientists who have to say the weird nonsense with a straight face in similar movies, and I'll do it by not making them say that in a few sentences, but it will last tens of minutes and even the nonsense they talk about will be even more stupid than it normally is and I will intersperse it with dull CGI action, where everyone will constantly keep running out of collapsing buildings, and it will be full of such generic shots of falling skyscrapers that even the animators themselves won´t be able to tell whether this scene of a crumbling big city happened in the last Marvel or DC movie". And he did as he said he would. The childish quasi-scientific piffle and solutions meant to restart the civilization of Mother Nature are an integral part of the genre. But only If they form the background/prologue to the battles of the Titans, not if they are the cornerstone. No one gives a shit about monsters anymore. Except Dougherty. And when they just have mercy on the audience here and there and offer what the viewers are looking for, it lacks ideas, cool moments, dynamics and scale. The exception is a few moments during the decent ending, when the film almost becomes what it wanted to be (and should have been) the whole time. McCreary's music, paying one tribute to another, is the film's biggest asset. And yet it is very specific in every respect. At least he understood “what is going on", even if the director didn't. (28/09/2020)

This monsterverse is a rare example of variable filmmaking techniques that result in considerably different movies. Godzilla, perhaps the most distinctive blockbuster of the decade, cleverly linked the events from the characters’ perspective and the futility of their actions, while Kong: Skull Island delivered straightforward and over-the-top adventure focused on human actions (and how they make everything worse). This sequel starring the fairy lizard is somewhere in between, it takes from the first one the serious attempts at fatalism and the portrayal of the insignificance of the human characters, while form Kong it takes the narrative drive, more space for the monster encounters and a more active human participation with the Titans. I don’t think it will be any surprise to say that the oscillation between two such different concepts results in a pretty impersonal approach that is often somewhat simplified, and that maybe even weakens both the nature of the clashes of the monsters and the fate and motivations of the human heroes. The catalyst of the story is a group of people, but their significance is gradually lost and by the end It’s pushed aside by contrived family ties and the helplessness in the face of the powerful titans. Though the protagonists try to act throughout the story, their actions (which fortunately aren’t stupid or naive but understandably motivated) only serve the purpose of delaying the climax (unlike the first movie, where the characters actually tried to prepare for it). On the other hand, the narration flows by quickly, rhythmically setting monumental action set pieces into a story that systematically shuffles between the subjective observation of the terrors and the havoc caused by the monsters and the admiration for Godzilla, whose iconic image the film develops and escalates. The twists are also linked smoothly and they basically make sense, though they are often simplified by the insanely fast movements through space and, of course, the indecision over which approach should take precedence. The individual scenes and their staging are great, it’s a shame that they were unable to build a more coherent story arc around them. In any case, it’s still an interesting approach to the extensive mythology of that world, to which I will gladly return. 70% (08/06/2019)

They called for action and destruction, but five years later, it is becoming apparent that the controversial first installment was the right way to go. Nothing against the grand opponents of the titular titan, but whoever came up with the idea of ​​a spectacular clash of gigantic monsters as an eco-techno thriller that addresses family traumas that are for the most part unseen should hang their head in shame. Every time it seems to be heading in the right direction, some logical contradiction or extremely cheesy line comes along, or at the very least a deafening moment. However, the royal Godzilla still has its strong moments, thanks to Millie Bobby Brown's incredible acting certainty and Mothra being a creature so perfect I instantly wanted to take it home with me. The screenplay, however, is sometimes seriously insane. When I think of the playful Kong: Skull Island, I can't help but feel sorry that it has been compelled to become part of this strangely sterile universe. 50% (06/07/2019)

An excellent start and a spectacular demonstration of different monsters, buried under a faint yet convoluted plot and underestimation of the viewer’s intelligence. Thanks to Gareth Edwards, with the previous movie Warner Brothers has managed to pull off a respectable relaunch of the Godzilla cult by successfully blending the motifs and the atmosphere of the original Japanese myth with the pomp of Hollywood blockbusters. But instead of meeting the audience’s expectations, they entrusted the next two sequels to creators of mediocre horror movies. Sure, pouring the high budget into first-class CGI should be good enough for the stupid target audience craving cool-looking monsters, but let’s see if this approach changes with the new CEO. (05/07/2019)

This film is in some ways the same for me as the previous one – knowing what to expect from it makes me enjoy it much more. Yes, I'm still sorry that it didn't follow the Gareth Edwards style, but the story itself isn't actually any sillier, it's just presented in a very, shall we say, straightforward way and looked at through a completely different lens. Last time, humans were in the lead while monsters were unleashing havoc that affected people's destinies, and Godzilla was there to help people at the right moment. This time around, the monsters are in charge, wreaking havoc on an even larger scale, with humans on the sidelines and helping the real main characters, Godzilla and Mothra, at the right moment. I was pleased to see that the titan fights are a lot clearer on TV at home than they were in the cinema, so I enjoyed some quite amusing close-ups and imaginative choreography (I absolutely love the moments when the digital monsters move as if they’re wrestlers in rubber suits), I never stopped enjoying Bear McCreary's Ifukube-themed music, and although I may regret it, I have to say I'm looking forward to the Kong fight. (30/05/2019)