Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

[OrbOfConfusion]

Getting my ticket for a Friday showing soon. No nearby IMAX screenings, unfortunately, which was how I saw Godzilla vs Kong, but I'll live.

 

[kguillou]

The social media reactions are basically saying: story bad, action good. So basically go in with your brain turned all the way off and you'll have a good time.

 

[The Big G]

Review embargo should be up in the next 90 min or so.

I'm expecting a 71% Critics Score and a 89% audience score

 

[-Arya-]

The story for all of these movie have been bad and it’s why I’ve always waited till they hit streaming so I can fast forward to the action scenes.

 

[Sithborg]

Seeing it on Thursday, just expecting some good Kaiju knock out drag out battle. I don't think they should do a 3rd team up without having them do their own movies in between. Kong and Godzilla will never have an actual winner when they fight in these. You just can't risk bruising a brand.

What is "bruising a brand" of a 70 year old franchise, that is the king of what is essentially a b-movie genre? Can interest wane, sure. But if the franchise was that vulnerable to bad movies, well, we would not have made it 70 years.

The social media reactions are basically saying: story bad, action good. So basically go in with your brain turned all the way off and you'll have a good time.

So, a Godzilla movie. Excellent.

 

[The Big G]

Cool to see that Dan Stevens is in this. Been a big fan of his since the Guest.

From Downtown to Hollow Earth

Hmmm...Downtown Kaiju....

 

[Pennywise]

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

I just got a Saturday showtime with the moving seats. Those action scenes are gonna be bonkers.

 

[Gothamsknight]

Oh hell yeah

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Are there any plans to bring that Monarch show to 4k/blu ray at all? Would like to add it to my collection.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I thought someone said review embargo was lifting today and no reviews as of yet. So, does that mean it's lifting Thursday then?

If so, I am predicting something hovering 50%, maybe a bit lower.

 

[The Big G]

I thought someone said review embargo was lifting today and no reviews as of yet. So, does that mean it's lifting Thursday then?

If so, I am predicting something hovering 50%, maybe a bit lower.

I thought it was supposed to be today, but it seems likes it going
tomorrow

 

[The Big G]

Spoiler

 

[Arachnerd]

She is beauty, she is grace.

 

[Sithborg]

I think mid to low 60s seems likely.

But whatever, bring on that hawt monke on monke action.

 

[Arachnerd]

Excuse me, but I'm personally excited for the long-awaited Godzilla and Kong porking scene.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Yeah, this ain't lifting today it seems. Still no reviews as of yet. Looking like a embargo lifts on day of release scenario

 

[AverageMan]

Yeah, this ain't lifting today it seems. Still no reviews as of yet. Looking like a embargo lifts on day of release scenario

Never a good sign, but I'm seeing it regardless.

 

[The Big G]

Excuse me, but I'm personally excited for the long-awaited Godzilla and Kong porking scene.

Godzilla would never cheat on Mothra!

Yeah, this ain't lifting today it seems. Still no reviews as of yet. Looking like a embargo lifts on day of release scenario

I saw something about 3 PM today. SO maybe in the next couple of hours

 

[Arachnerd]

Godzilla would never cheat on Mothra!

He and Mothra went their separate ways after the divorce. Get up to par, man!

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

I heard the review embargo lifts Thursday. Social media embargo is probably what lifted Tuesday.

 

[antsman41]

We're doing IMAX tomorrow night.

Don't care more than dumb joy with these... none will top Skull Island level of overall greatness.

Kong | Skull Island [5/5]
Godzilla Vs. Kong [4.5/5]
Godzilla [4/5]
Godzilla | King Of The Monsters [3.5/5]

 

[The Big G]

IF i were to breakdown the Monsterverse Films it would go like this:

1. Godzilla KOTM 4.5/5 : A love letter to Toho in its purest forms. Humans aren't bad as people claim they are, though the script did need at least one more draft/revision. Even though it suffers a tad from the over use of weather effects, the visuals, the music and the Kaiju themselves are fantastic. Best King Ghidorah to date. No Notes. And Bear McCreary's score is an immaculate love letter to Ifukube.

2. Kong Skull Island 4/5: Arguably the best ensemble cast of the franchise, but most defiantly the most disappointing. Hiddleston and Larson are UTTERLY wasted in this film; and that's despite how good John c Riley was as Marlow and how textbook Ahab Sam L Jackson was. I am a sucker for a good period piece and having it take place at the end of Vietnam with the Apocalypse Now vibe was great.

3. Godzilla 4/5: A very solid movie from start to finish; though it suffers from a meh 3rd Act, and the lighting in the finale act is wee bit too dark. Though its biggest sins were offing Bryan Cranston and the cutaway from the Hawaii Airport fight. Once you let the Tiger out of its cage...you can't put it back in. Gareth was trying too be a bit too cute with that scene IMO.

4. Godzilla vs Kong: 2.5/5 All Style NO substance. The fights were great, which is good but they can only take the film so far. Both Human Teams were Ok at best. The stand out being Jia (glad she's coming back for GxK) while the rest were pretty meh. Maddison was devolved, Julian Dennison was just there, Brian Tyree Henry was ok. But Simmons was meh, Ren Serizawa could have been an utterly amazing antagonist but he was wasted and discarded.

From what I know of GxK its looking to get AT least a 3.5/5 from me.

 

[Link]

I asked for a good combination of dumb and fun, and that's exactly what I got. No kidding though, it is dumb, profoundly so. A core concept in this franchise seems to be that each installment has to be sillier than its predecessor, and we're now lightyears away from 2014's rather grimdark Godzilla. This is two hours of monster action figures crashing into each other, with silly personalities, cartoonish designs, and nothing worth mentioning in the story department. Don't expect logic or much from any of the human characters. There's an attempt at a retrofuturistic 80s aesthetic in visuals and sound, but it comes and goes so much that it didn't really land for me. But the movie is fun to watch. The kaiju fights range from very cool to hilarious, with mostly excellent special effects. A big chunk of the film is spent in the Hollow Earth which does bring an issue of scale. When there's nothing human-sized to compare these creatures to, they don't come across as quite so large, especially with how quick and weightless their movement is for the most part. The third act is a good, ridiculous time, and everything set up comes together in the best way possible for what this film is, I found it very satisfying. All in all, I think this might be my least favorite out of the MonsterVerse films, but it's also one of the most entertaining installments and I was laughing quite a bit, even if I was laughing at the movie as much as I was laughing with it. I like all of these films, but I do miss the suspense of the 2014 Godzilla and the majesty of the kaiju in King of the Monsters. Those elements are however present in Godzilla Minus One (and in the streaming series, on a smaller scale), so it's not like there's a lack of versatile content starring the Big G. Not bad, but I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up being more divisive than Godzilla vs. Kong.

 

[Spider-Fan]

If I were ranking them so far for me:

Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Godzilla vs Kong
Godzilla
Kong: Skull Island

Kong being last may be a hot take of sorts, but I loved the opening but the other characters bored me for the most part. Except John Goodman. KOTM is just pure fun for me. Yeah the human stuff is dumb, but I also find it amusingly dumb.