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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Old 05-31-19, 12:02 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

i have seen some good ones and some with ridiculous requests.

i dont know. Can someone name a godzilla movie that had a phenomenal story?
Old 05-31-19, 12:14 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Saw it last night and it was great. Massive monster battles and dumb humans using absurd technology to try to control nature and generally making a mess of it. Nothing really felt bad, we got good long fight scenes and the world building made some really interesting choices. Serizawa’s scene (that one) was beautiful.

Would like Ike to see more Mothra but maybe they’re saving that for another movie.
Old 05-31-19, 04:45 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

I have so many thoughts are watching this but here are a few things that irked me:

- The editing was awful. Could they have lingered on a shot for more than 5 seconds? Christ.
- Dougherty's heart was in the right place but he cannot direct big hype moments very well. Events like G's rebirth - TWICE! - were poorly handled and lost some of the intended impact.
- Mothra was beautiful! Which makes her lack of screen time even more disappointing. Her moment protecting Godzilla was by far my favorite in the film.
- Stop. Cutting. Away. From. Every. Fucking. Fight. Scene. Seriously, we have Mothra throwing down with Rodan but we cut back to whatever dumb crap Kyle and Vera are doing? C'mon!
- The sound mix for the score sucked, plain and simple. Bear's score is a killer from start to finish and the film buried it.

I saw it twice opening day and felt the same after both showings. I LOVE G; he's my man. But for what should have been a monster free-for-all we spent way too much time with dumb characters who had questionable, at best, motivations.
Old 05-31-19, 06:58 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by islandclaws
- Dougherty's heart was in the right place but he cannot direct big hype moments very well. Events like G's rebirth - TWICE! - were poorly handled and lost some of the intended impact.
These scenes worked a lot better for me than they did for you, but I agree with this. There were a couple of times when I felt like the movie was going for awe that landed with more of a thud than I would have liked. I think the thing this movie wasn't really able to capture was the majesty of Godzilla. They came close in a few spots, but as you mention his rebirth scenes didn't hit me the way I would have liked them too, even if I can say I enjoyed them. If anything, I think they did a better job with the majesty of King Ghidorah. Him standing atop the mountain in Mexica was pretty boss.

- Stop. Cutting. Away. From. Every. Fucking. Fight. Scene. Seriously, we have Mothra throwing down with Rodan but we cut back to whatever dumb crap Kyle and Vera are doing? C'mon!
I really felt this at the end when Godzilla and KG were fighting. As soon as they lock up, we go to the parents looking for the kid. The kid who I don't care about with the parents I don't care about. I get that they can't hold on the monsters the whole time (I guess), but that is what I would have preferred. I definitely felt like Mothra/Rodan was a bit underserved. It didn't stick with me upon my first viewing, but I'm curious to see how it lands for me during my second one.


And just to counter-balance the nitpicking, big shoutout to this movie for having Godzilla having King Ghidorah's head in his mouth. That was a pretty sweet fake out and moment. That is the kinda awesome dumb shit I love.
Old 05-31-19, 07:06 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Orbi-Wan Techno
There a bit in the first part of the credits that goes by quickly with a headline that said something like "Will Kong Challenge Godzilla For King".
Saw that but wasn't satisfied. It's clear from the Kong film that he's a good guy, so it would have been fun seeing him in action disobeying Gidorah. At the same time, Watanabe's character said that Godzilla was an ally.. for now, which I believe it implies that Godzilla will be the villain in the next film. I guess that the return of Gidorah in whatever form they want to bring him will put together Kong, Godzilla and Mothra on the same side with them fighting all the other monsters.
Old 05-31-19, 07:41 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

I felt like Kong could have fit in this film (like Wonder Woman at the end of Batman V Superman), but I totally get why they're saving him for a movie of his own with Godzilla proper. Where they can then team up against MechaGhidorah and Space Godzilla or something equally ridiculous.

Remember, we haven't seen a mature Kong yet.
Old 06-01-19, 10:26 AM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Caught this yesterday. As far as a regular movie goes, I would give this a 6.5/10 , maybe a 7/10. However, as a Godzilla movie I would go with 8.5/10. I agree with everyone's gripes as to cutting away from the fight scenes when they kicked into high gear. But aside from that , it was everything I wanted in a Big G kaiju fest. Happy to see so many classic monster movie homages and old school scores used.

Liked:

-Mothra's theme
-Shoutout to the twins
-Ghidorah for once not being controlled by anyone but actually being the one doing the controlling
-Godzilla's first encounter with Ghidorah
-The Serizawa and Godzilla moment -this is a nice parallel to the original characters' final moments in the original, except this time he is giving Godzilla life.
-End credits music-Great choice!

Disliked:
-Human story-pretty much always the case with the exception of the 1954 Japanese original
-Frantic editing and choppy camera work
-Rodan being a flunky

That said, I really don't see how in the hell we're supposed to think Kong has a chance in hell against Big G. I know he will be bigger, but what else? This is a guy we just saw obliterate Ghidorah with sheer radiation aura.

I just hope what we get isn't a veiled retelling of the story of Batman vs. Superman with :
Godzilla=Superman
King Kong=Batman
Mothra=Wonder Woman
New Kaiju/Mecha Ghidorah= Doomsday
Old 06-01-19, 11:02 AM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
That said, I really don't see how in the hell we're supposed to think Kong has a chance in hell against Big G. I know he will be bigger, but what else?
With barrels. Lots and lots of barrels



Old 06-01-19, 11:03 AM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

The movie is going to bomb. Sucks, but at least it's better than the 2014 version.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...A#4a2e8f3c5fc9
Old 06-01-19, 12:51 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Why So Blu?
The movie is going to bomb. Sucks, but at least it's better than the 2014 version.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...A#4a2e8f3c5fc9

I was just going to come over to note that Deadline went from reporting a possible over performing 61-65+ million yesterday afternoon down to a slightly under performing 49 million...ouch if it really does not crack $50 million but it still can get there. I enjoyed the film but it is definitely not without some pacing flaws. One thing I do agree with is that several folks in either this or the other Godzilla thread note that there are basically no consequences for the fact that much of the destruction of the planet is caused by the actions of humans, and while I do not proclaim to have a narrative teed up that the filmmaker could have used the "redemption" of the mother and daughter, if you will, just falls flat. Unleash potentially planet destroying monsters on the world and yet all is made right when you decide that teaming up with Mr Eco Terrorist was not a good idea and you decide to use the Orca system to bring big G and the other titans to King Ghidora to take him out. It just feels off that there did not feel like there was any nuance in how the mother and daughter came to their oh shit! moment when they realize what they have done and the need to set things right.

I have to say, for decades the amount of hype and excitement by us nerds when we hear of a Godzilla film coming to theaters always reaches a fever pitch and then when the film comes out the box office is middling at best. We all say we are dying to see a Godzilla/Monster film on the big screen but we certainly do not put our assess into seats in numbers that are commensurate with the hype surrounding the film (going by how excited folks were about this film, each trailer got folks walking around with the high hard one, you would not expect this film to struggle to crack 50 million). Oh well, I am not in a position to solve this mystery today.

Can you blame some of the depressed box office on Aladdin, perhaps, because if Aladdin really was the train wreck everyone and their mothers seemed to think it was going to be instead of the supremely entertaining film we actually got to enjoy it would have crashed and burned this weekend instead of hanging tough against what was supposed to be a tent pole like film like Godzilla.

Old 06-01-19, 12:53 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Dark Phoenix is out next week, so that will also cut into Godzilla's box-office, as well.
Old 06-01-19, 02:57 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Frankly this will make a lot more money overseas. China opening day was bigger than the US one.’
Old 06-01-19, 03:03 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

^ It'll make more money in China, not anywhere else. It opened to low numbers everywhere else; looking at possible sub-$400mm WW which is abysmal.
Old 06-01-19, 04:10 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by islandclaws
^ It'll make more money in China, not anywhere else. It opened to low numbers everywhere else; looking at possible sub-$400mm WW which is abysmal.

Which leads me to believe that unless Godzilla VS Kong has already been filmed that it may not happen. At the very least, I can see Godzilla VS Kong sitting on a shelf until some marketing genius figures out a way to almost guarantee a fabulous opening weekend so as to prevent the film from being considered a failure from the opening weekend forward. Look at New Mutants which surely cost a whole heck of a lot less than 250-300 million including P&A as that film is sitting on a shelf until Marvel figures out how to release the film in such a way that if it is a financial/critical bomb that its failure does not harm the prospects of other comic book films being released. Sure, Marvel could take the financial hit of New Mutants tanking but I think they are more concerned that the public might declare that comic book films are no longer the hot films to see if New Mutants bombs in theaters.

I think someone said the next film in this series has already been filmed, if so, than Lionsgate needs to come up with a scheme that almost guarantees a bofo opening weekend so even if it falls fast in subsequent weeks the perception is that it had a solid opening weekend and will make money overseas.

If Godzilla opened with at least 60-65 million it would take some burden off the film having to make it all back overseas because while it is assumed that is how most films today make it into the black that is only true until it is not.

I admit I am mildly surprised that this film is struggling to crack 50 million especially considering some probably hoped it would be the surprise film of the season and go on to make bank. However, the numbers don't lie and the films prospects even abroad are looking much bleaker than they were just a day or two back. Sure lots of folks have issues with the film, but even among the complaints there is praise that it is entertaining and the monster fights for the most part deliver so it is kind of sad that the film is fading fast.
Old 06-01-19, 04:41 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Godzila Vs. Kong has been in the can since April. It comes out March of 2020.
Old 06-01-19, 05:08 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

This movie was pretty bad. I enjoyed all the monster action and honestly wish they had cut all the human stuff out completely and just did the movie from the monster perspective and had the humans with no dialogue as second bananas.

So Ghidorah can just sprout a perfectly new head in 5 seconds? I found that bizarre.

The dialogue in this movie is atrocious. I mean...it is the fucking pits. I found myself groaning at the constant cliche lines (along with poor delivery) and unfunny humor. Did Bradley Whitford have one good line in the entire thing? And he was supposed to be the humor for the majority? Silicon Valley dude was disappointing as I figured he would be the humor (since he has that awkward humor thing down-pat) but he was barely used. All the acting was horrible except for the Millie Bobby Brown. All the adults were terrible and picking up as paycheck. She did the best with what she had.

How many times can you be saved at the last second in one movie? I thought Jurassic Park held the record on this cliche but it appears the writers wanted to steal that record. Flying stuff everywhere that never hits any character except the few red shirts. Silly plot to get them all active. Godzilla Atlantis? Umm...sure, whatever. Have Ken Wantabe say "Gahzira" about a hundred times? Check. I could go on and on but I won't.

Did Michael Bay have anything to do with this film? If not, then he should sue.

Well....I went for monster action and I got it. I just had to deal with a ton of awfulness in-between the monster action. The sound was thunderous and thought it was gonna pop my eardrums a few times. And Godzilla needs to eat a few salads. Kinda thick in the middle.

The best (intentional) laugh in the whole movie for me was
Spoiler:
when the guy ejects himself from his jet into Rodan's mouth
. Now that was funny. My groaning at the other stuff was not.

I saw it at an AMC with Prime 3D. The sucker will seriously rumble your seat and I thought the 3D was actually decent.

So I gave this movie 2.5 stars. Because half of it is cheesy fun and the other half is horrible.
Old 06-01-19, 05:51 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

While we're getting GvK regardless, I think this one made a mistake of coming out in the summer. I think it would have fared better if they had stuck to their guns of putting it out in March of this year when the competition wasn't as fierce. Hopefully that will help GvK, but then again, that will probably be the end of the saga at WB so who knows. The audience score for this at RT is around 90%, but I don't know if that equates to good word of mouth or not.

That said, I do agree that they could have tweaked the story a bit more. A movie like this needed some praise from mainstream critics to get momentum at the box-office, and alas that did not happen. Casual movie goers (at least in the US) don't really give a crap about this kind of movie,for other examples see the 2014 Godzilla, which faded after opening weekend, as well as the first Pacific Rim and the Power Rangers movie. Though I am curious if say Guillermo Del Toro had been the director and yielded the exact same movie if critical reception would have a been a bit better. I am NOT knocking Del Toro, I love his movies. However, I have noticed that critics can over praise a movie if they happen to have a pretense to like anything the director does (examples are people like Scorsese and Innaratu).

Last edited by Dr. DVD; 06-01-19 at 05:59 PM.
Old 06-01-19, 07:20 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Wasn't this movie supposed to come out last year but kept being delayed as the studio knew that any other big movie would cut into their earnings?
Old 06-01-19, 07:36 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
While we're getting GvK regardless, I think this one made a mistake of coming out in the summer. I think it would have fared better if they had stuck to their guns of putting it out in March of this year when the competition wasn't as fierce. Hopefully that will help GvK, but then again, that will probably be the end of the saga at WB so who knows. The audience score for this at RT is around 90%, but I don't know if that equates to good word of mouth or not.

That said, I do agree that they could have tweaked the story a bit more. A movie like this needed some praise from mainstream critics to get momentum at the box-office, and alas that did not happen. Casual movie goers (at least in the US) don't really give a crap about this kind of movie,for other examples see the 2014 Godzilla, which faded after opening weekend, as well as the first Pacific Rim and the Power Rangers movie. Though I am curious if say Guillermo Del Toro had been the director and yielded the exact same movie if critical reception would have a been a bit better. I am NOT knocking Del Toro, I love his movies. However, I have noticed that critics can over praise a movie if they happen to have a pretense to like anything the director does (examples are people like Scorsese and Innaratu).
March had Captain Marvel, so no way were they going to compete with a Marvel property.
Old 06-01-19, 07:48 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

August 16th would've been a better date. Sucks, as this likely kills the MonsterVerse.
Old 06-01-19, 08:38 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by islandclaws
August 16th would've been a better date. Sucks, as this likely kills the MonsterVerse.

​​​​ That's a bittersweet statement to me. While I would like a MonsterVerse, I truly feel that having done Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah with this one and Kong in the next one, they have truly done all that needs to be done for the kaiju universe. I still feel that deep down the producers or creative minds behind this knew this had limited appeal and that's why they pushed to get all of the heavy hitters into this installment. The only big rival that we haven't seen is Mecha-Godzilla, and I have a feeling either he or Mecha-Ghidorah will play a part in GvK . WB also made Ready Player One, and we've technically already seen the MechaGodzilla design they're likely to use.
Old 06-01-19, 09:13 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by islandclaws
August 16th would've been a better date. Sucks, as this likely kills the MonsterVerse.
Well, not yet, we've got at least one more film coming. I'm sure if G vs K makes money that'll redeem this one and they will continue the series.
Old 06-01-19, 10:22 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

I saw it today and thought it was fun, better than the 2014 installment. There were some really beautiful shots of the monsters.
Old 06-02-19, 01:37 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

The human stuff was horrible, the monster stuff was amazing, In the end, I was entertained.
Old 06-02-19, 02:26 PM
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Re: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, D: Michael Dougherty) -- The Spoiler Filled Reviews Thread

I did manage to make it to an IMAX screen yesterday. Glad I went since I think that's a format this movie shines in. Made it easy to overlook stuff and just be carried away with the spectacle.

I can't believe I completely missed the twins reference (somehow completely missed there were two Dr. Chen's, let alone an entire family of twins)

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