Girls, I am telling you, Baby Gojira was so excited, sitting on my lap, his head popped out, while sitting inside my Diane Von Furstenberg reticule. His eyes were glued to the screen, and I am glad we took him. This film has plenty of excitement, but a number of misleads that make it less than what it ought to have been.
Start with the poster. It suggests that Godzilla (or Gojira, as he will referred to, from now on!) has a kinship with the Millie Bobby Brown character of Madison Russell. Alas, that is never developed, despite many of the audience having a kinship with Gojira, as more than us just cheered him on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When one goes to a movie like this, who cares about any of the human? I hated Kyle Chandler's character, and Vera Farmiga's monologues belong in an acting class. Millie Bobby Brown's Madison is the only human character with potential, but it is never developed.
As for Gojira, he gets his share of close-ups, a stunning shot of him rising out of the sea, fight scenes that show him to be toughest, and a final shot establishing him as the king of all! Despite this, though, he is not given enough screen time.
Not only is the movie overcrowded with humans, it is also overcrowded with monsters, and the director, Michael Doughtery, who scored big with two horror films--the 2007 Halloween anthology "Trick 'r Treat," and the 2015 Christmas horror film "Krampus"--can't keep his creature cast in focus or within visibility. There are so much light, sound, and fire explosions I feared my beloved David, who is prone to motion sickness, would be subjected to an attack, and even I was feeling a bit woozy. Through the haze of fire and smoke, when Rodan or Mothra appears, it is often difficult to tell one from the other. And what is this about Mothra and Gojira having some sort of symbiotic relationship? They never got along before, so what are the writers doing? And Rodan, early on, gives a performance strong enough to land him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but then ends up bowing down to King Ghidorah, who is nothing more than a three-headed winged dragon, with no personality? What is that all about? And then Rodan is defeated?
Even King Kong is seen briefly, which, if the writers were staying true to film mythology, should not even be here. Remember, the REAL Kong, back in 1933, was killed, falling off the Empire State Building, in a scene I can no longer bear to watch. Then, in 1934, in "Son Of Kong," Skull Island was destroyed, when it sank beneath the waves, like Atlantis, due to some volcanic eruption. Who could forget the should of Kiko's (Kong's son) white hand, rising out of the water, as he drowns, to place the last surviving visitor in the safety of the boat? Heart rending, then, unbearable today.
So , Kong should have nothing to do with this, yet Skull Island is briefly mentioned, and Kong is seen so briefly, if one blinks, he will be missed.
The film should have been content with just Gojira and Ghidorah. When these two go at it, it is monster war at its best! As it is, Ghidorah gets too much screen time; if just fighting Gojira, our star would have been given more screen time, which he deserves. It is Gojira, one comes to see, after all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And those of us, like myself, who have a special kinship with him, know Gojira is out there and watching, to protect the world. I am sure he is happy being King Of The Box Office this weekend. And Baby Gojira lives with us, and listen to Sister Camille, every Sunday morning, on the radio.
I know Gojira wants to work with Meryl Streep. Now, that would be something.
Gojira is King! But the writers don't get HE is whom the audience comes to see!
Of more humans, and monsters, no one even cares!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yea, Gojira!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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