Well, That Was Disappointing..."Shin Godzilla"

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Not Rated

Starring Godzilla, Thousands of Screaming Japanese People

Directed by Hideaki Anno & Sean Whitley

The Story:

Some great disturbance under the ocean floor unleashes a worm unlike the world has ever seen. At least it seems like a worm. Eventually it makes landfall, and in short order begins to evolve, stand tall, and begin to destroy Japan!  How will the Japanese government stop...

Godzilla!

Hey look kids, it's a film about Emergency Management planning!

Sound fun?

Well, it's not. 

It's basically 2 hours of governments attempting to figure out how to stop Godzilla, and which arm of the government should take the lead on it. 

Yeah, not very exciting. 

Then you've got Godzilla, who looks really ridiculous at first, until he finally evolves into something that mostly resembles the Godzilla we've come to love over the last 50+ years from Toho. 

But, it still doesn't really feel right. The face is off, enough... perhaps too big of a mouth opening.

And then I kept laughing at the ridiculous length of the tail as it flailed around in the movie.

However, keep a close eye on it, as it apparently holds the key to the sequel...

that I will probably watch, but don't look forward to seeing. 

:)

Unlike Kong: Skull Island, this one was very much a disappointment for me. 

While they've allowed different takes with each movie, it doesn't seem like they can decide what direction they're going with for Godzilla at this point. 

Instead, they freeze him like a statue and wait for the next film to probably start all over again. 

Godzilla is getting more origin stories than Spider-Man at this point! 

I'm hearing rumblings of another cinematic meet-up with Kong in the future. 

We'll see how that goes...

Final Grade:  D

Hail To The King..."Kong: Skull Island"

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz,

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

The Story:

With the Vietnam War ending, a team of scientists are using a military escort to a previously uncharted territory in the South Pacific before the Russians discover them on satellite. They will encounter things the likes of which no one has ever seen before...and lived to tell about it.

Loki (Hiddleston), Captain Marvel (Larson) and Nick Fury (Jackson) head to a deserted island...

Whoops, wrong cinematic universe.

Say what you will about reboots, cinematic universes and whatnot...

When they work, they are amazing, and when they don't, they are often colossal failures.

For me, the relaunch of (King) Kong may very well be my favorite iteration of the giant ape to appear on screen.

I know, blasphemy for the 30s original, but this is simply a technically superior storyline.

Or at least one with a much more satisfying ending.

I hate to give too much away for those that haven't seen it, but I never particularly cared for the whole "beauty and the beast" notion that has been a constant in the films.

Nor have I ever enjoyed the cage him up and take him to New York plot device.

Skull Island erases both of those shortfalls and gives as as plausible of a storyline for Kong, how he exists, why he exists and why he's never been found before.

That a sequel will invariably come from this is a good thing.

I just hope they realize they've set the bar fairly high for themselves, and unlike another giant monster franchise, I hope they can continue putting out a quality product.

Vogt-Roberts nailed it as only his 2nd feature (the excellent Kings of Summer - still streaming for those with Prime) and first blockbuster/franchise tent-pole right out of the gate. Hope he's brought back along with whatever cast may have survived their first encounter with Kong.

Count me as a huge fan of this one.

Final Grade: B+