Kong: Skull Island - Part 3

[Wildcard]

As much as I like Johnson, Hiddleston was definitely infinitely better. And Brie Larson had far more to work with than Elizabeth Olsen.

 

[MadVillainy]

Eh. Thought Tom Hiddleston was miles better than Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

That's not saying much tho...

 

[Wildcard]

That's not saying much tho...

Hiddelston's character actually emoted and came across as being more genuine in addition to having a couple of funny moments. Johnson's character always seem wound up and whenever he smiles, it feels forced. He's a character that's taking himself way too serious. So I think it says a lot.

If SI did one good thing (imo) for the MonsterVerse, it was showing how to have more fun characters and to not be quite as grim as Godzilla was.

 

[Drizzle]

If SI did one good thing (imo) for the MonsterVerse, it was showing how to have more fun characters and to not be quite as grim as Godzilla was.

I think a lot of that has to do with Gareth Edwards's directing as well. Rogue One isn't exactly filled with fun characters either.

 

[MadVillainy]

You're still not saying much.

Saying SI had more fun than Godzilla isn't saying much because that movie didn't have "fun" in the same way
Saying Hiddleston is better than Taylor Johnson isn't saying much because ATJ barely emoted.

Just because you're better than something doesn't necessarily makes you good.

SI characters werent terrible, but they werent that itneresting to me either

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Right. It was basically a moment where a classic trope was taken and turned on its head. We always say "why didn't the monster see that one coming?" This time it did. Add to the fact that another of them basically fell for something similar in the Skull Pit, so having the Big One counteract was necessary to show the difference.

Definitely, it was a clever moment that shows these are more than mere monsters, they are smart monsters and so more of a challenge for King and whoever else.

 

[Wildcard]

I think a lot of that has to do with Gareth Edwards's directing as well. Rogue One isn't exactly filled with fun characters either.

Probably so. I get that they aren't meant to be fun or necessarily comedic but they still shouldn't come across as being so stiff/bored/lifeless as Johnson unfortunately did in Godzilla. Comparing it to his performances in AoU & the Kick-Ass movies where he was far more energized, I just wish he had gotten to express more than being overly serious all the time.

Definitely, it was a clever moment that shows these are more than mere monsters, they are smart monsters and so more of a challenge for King and whoever else.

It's on par with the MUTOs constantly being a step ahead of the military in Godzilla. It serves them better to have them show that intelligence. Mindless monsters can only go so far.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Probably so. I get that they aren't meant to be fun or necessarily comedic but they still shouldn't come across as being so stiff/bored/lifeless as Johnson unfortunately did in Godzilla. Comparing it to his performances in AoU & the Kick-Ass movies where he was far more energized, I just wish he had gotten to express more than being overly serious all the time.



It's on par with the MUTOs constantly being a step ahead of the military in Godzilla. It serves them better to have them show that intelligence. Mindless monsters can only go so far.

 

[redhawk23]

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-...ull-island-done-differently-think-149202.html

Here's a pretty great effects breakdown. Also has some hires stills that I hadn't seen online before.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I thought pretty much all of the actors in Kong turned in a better performance than Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I don't even think he's a bad actor, he just looked so bored during Godzilla.

I feel like all of the actors in Godzilla were completely wasted.

Multiple Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award nominee Bryan Cranston? Kill him in the first half hour!

(Eventual) Golden Globe nominee Aaron Taylor-Johnson? Just have him run around scared and do stupid things like tell his wife and child to stay in the city where the giant monsters are headed!

Independent Spirit Award nominee Elisabeth Olson? Just have her sit by the phone!

Academy Award nominee David Strathairn? Make him the most generic, boring military character ever written!

Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe? Just have him stand around looking sad and confused for 100% of the movie!

Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche? Give her a good death!

Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins? Ummm, wait, she was in this movie?


Seriously, Godzilla was an exercise in how to completely WASTE a cast of exceptional actors. The characters in Roland Emmerich's Godzilla were better than these losers.

 

[JtheDreamer]

I feel like all of the actors in Godzilla were completely wasted.

Multiple Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award nominee Bryan Cranston? Kill him in the first half hour!

Quite the brainchild right?

The movie fell off a cliff after he died.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, it did. None of the other characters (seriously NONE of them) were any good.

 

[Wildcard]

Yep. Save for Cranston's character none of them do anything of note or turn in an even slightly memorable performance. Edwards really is a good director, but he totally dropped the ball in getting some great performances out of the cast.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I didn't think Watanabe or Taylor-Johnson were bad, not good but not bad either. Cranston was easily the standout.

To be fair though i thought the majority of characters in Kong weren't much better.

 

[Fading]

I didn't think Watanabe or Taylor-Johnson were bad, not good but not bad either. Cranston was easily the standout.

To be fair though i thought the majority of characters in Kong weren't much better.

I think Watanabe's problem was the script. He has the acting chops. It's just that he ends up acting like he's in the cult of Godzilla for no reason mid way through. Goodman's character had a similar role as the guy who takes his desire to see, and know about monsters to an elevated level. However Goodman's character was given a good reason. Watanabe's character just went from scientist to, "I believe Godzilla is the answer". It didn't feel organic.

Part of it might be the style of the movies too. Godzilla was more serious, telling a story that gradually built, and involved a lot of real world style destruction. Kong got in your face fast with action, and had plenty of humor.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Kong isn't doing to shabby at the box ofice, so far on roughly a $185 million dollar budget its at a worldwide amount of $393,916,390. I'm glad it didn't "bomb" the way so many on here were predicting it would.

 

[MadVillainy]

The more I think about this the more I like it. Which is the opposite of Godzilla

I still think Hiddleston and Larson were boring, but everyone else was good. Except Goodman who was great until that scene with SLJ and then he fell by the wayside

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Goodman got the crap end of the stick imo. I really love everything he does, and they built up his character pretty well and the way he went out was kind of cheap and had little impact.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I think Watanabe's problem was the script. He has the acting chops. It's just that he ends up acting like he's in the cult of Godzilla for no reason mid way through. Goodman's character had a similar role as the guy who takes his desire to see, and know about monsters to an elevated level. However Goodman's character was given a good reason. Watanabe's character just went from scientist to, "I believe Godzilla is the answer". It didn't feel organic.

Part of it might be the style of the movies too. Godzilla was more serious, telling a story that gradually built, and involved a lot of real world style destruction. Kong got in your face fast with action, and had plenty of humor.

Don't agree about Watanabe, it was established at the start he knew of Godzilla and had been researching him. When they find the egg sack at the start in the collapsed cave which leads to Cranston's wife dying. His assistant asks Watanabe "is it him?" "No, this is something much older."

So in the prologue its established he knows a fair bit on Godzilla. To be fair I had forgotten this part before re-watching it recently.

I agree about Goodman's character though, he was one of the few in Kong i was invested in and wanted to know more about. He was also one of few i was sad to see [BLACKOUT]get killed[/BLACKOUT] as i felt they could have done more with him.

 

[MadVillainy]

Goodman got the crap end of the stick imo. I really love everything he does, and they built up his character pretty well and the way he went out was kind of cheap and had little impact.

Agreed

 

[Wildcard]

They definitely could have done more with him going down the line, but I still wouldn't say Goodman's character necessarily fell by the wayside, per se.

Kong isn't doing to shabby at the box ofice, so far on roughly a $185 million dollar budget its at a worldwide amount of $393,916,390. I'm glad it didn't "bomb" the way so many on here were predicting it would.

Would be sweet if its worldwide gross could eclipse that of Godzilla and the '05 Kong.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Goodman got the crap end of the stick imo. I really love everything he does, and they built up his character pretty well and the way he went out was kind of cheap and had little impact.

Yeah I didn't like [BLACKOUT]the way he went out at all[/BLACKOUT]. After they revealed his back story I would have preferred him [BLACKOUT]dying[/BLACKOUT] in a much more bad ass way.

 

[Wildcard]

Spoiler

Had they not killed Goodman's character it would've been nice to potentially get another film with him. Or maybe even have a reference to something new he was working towards/discovered.

 

[Micromind]

Spoiler

I expected Goodman's character to survive, so I was surprised when he was killed.

John C. Reilly, Sam Jackson and John Goodman gave terrific performances. Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson were OK, I think.

 

[Wildcard]

Reilly had the most to work with. He's the only one with an arc that comes full circle at the end.