I remember being somewhat intrigued by this idea when it was announced. At this point in time, Mortal Kombat had become somewhat stagnant. The game series had become convoluted and uninspired. There hadn’t been a film or TV project since Mortal Kombat Conquest, so sure I wanted some live-action combat. Wannabe director Kevin Tancharoen (tankaron??) decided to make his own project with a little bit of money and some friends and Mortal Kombat Rebirth became an internet sensation. Wish it was that easy for the rest of us.
Looking back on it now and reflecting on the time it was released, I think the project was what I thought I wanted then but not what I want now. In a time that superhero films can portray our favorite characters without compromise, why would I want any other version but the truest one? There was this idea way back when that some things just couldn’t translate to screen properly, so we had to find a way to ground them or make them more realistic. Clearly, in this day and age, that’s not the case.
There are some interesting ideas here. Making Sonya and Jax detectives works more in-line with the concept. Baraka and Reptile having drastic changes in their backstory but finding ways to make a “realistic” version was cool. Raiden being locked away in a mental asylum was very intriguing, playing on the idea of whether or not he was who he said he was. An idea I would bet was lifted from Thor, since they released around the same time. But I could be wrong.
The show had decent enough talent. Michael Jai White as Jax is damn near perfect casting. Casper Van Dien was an inspired choice (if not unironic) for Johnny Cage. Mark Dacascos was great for Kung Lao. And the fact they got Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa to portray Shang Tsung shows how much he loved playing this character. If you think about it, he’s played three different versions of the same character. What other actor has done that?
The effects were great for a web series and the fight scenes were equally impressive. But it was a web series and I’m not all for watching a series like this in tidbits. I would have loved a legit series of this to allow characters and story arcs to be fleshed out more beyond seven minute vignettes. It’s a concept that could have worked wonders today seeing how everything is being transformed into bite-sized versions of itself. I never thought Tik Tok would survive but damn if the world didn’t prove me wrong. It’s gonna happen one day… you’ll see. Tik Tok original series.
Another thing the series had going against it was being on Machinima, which was a garbage-ass, click-bait YouTube channel that would post videos titles like “A third Mortal Kombat film in the works” question mark. Then you click on the video to get the scoop and they spend five minutes saying that there are rumors floating around that a film is happening but nothing confirmed. So essentially everything I just read in the video title. Assholes. So amazing how many other shows they had on their channel. Anyone remember that Terminator one? No? Neither do I.
This was a fun idea and I’m glad someone was able to get a career by remaking someone else’s work instead of making something original. That’s Hollywood in a nutshell. And yes I’m a little bitter.
Prospects of a new Mortal Kombat film had been bouncing around Hollywood for some time, but to no avail. Despite the name being a hot commodity, video game movies have a toxicity about them in the industry. Comic book movies used to be the same way. No one wanted to touch them. Mainly because most filmmakers and producers didn’t know how to approach them. They just thought they were silly kids books and that’s how they made them to be. In the case of video game movies, the running theme was to cram in whatever references from the game into the movie then work the story around it. Obviously this doesn’t work.
Eventually, more competent filmmakers started making better video game movies and the rate of good to bad began to shift. But even today, there are more bad than good and for that we can thank Uwe Boll. So, does the new film adaptation of Mortal Kombat tip the scales in favor of good or keep the bad weighted down? In my opinion, it’s better than most but not one of the best.
I had high hopes for this one. While this was the first big project for director Simon McQuoid, the fact that James Wan was attached to produce gave the film a bit of pedigree. However, considering how disjointed the film feels, I’m not sure how much he contributed to the final product. Or maybe I’m giving him too much credit.
My problem with this movie is a lack of a cohesive story. It starts off strong giving us the origins of Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han but then it slowly begins to fall apart as new elements are introduced. Sonya and Jax following leads based on clues they’ve found is a great idea. The kind of idea that would have been great to follow more than an entirely new character, especially considering the reason for that was to do it for the audience. That excuse worked for Monster Hunter. It doesn’t work here. There are too many characters in the lore of Mortal Kombat to not utilize them in some capacity to be the gateway for the audience. I don’t dislike the actor, nor did I dislike his performance. But his character becomes a problem for the narrative.
I liked that Liu Kang and Kung Lao were already training with Raiden, mainly because their fates are usually tied to the outcome of the tournament. However, we didn’t really have a tournament. Like a third of this movie was the training montage in a Rocky film. And I get that they need to train to unlock their arcana which is a clever way to involve their powers. But this is made uninteresting due to the way it’s handled. Kano has an eye power. Why? Jax’s metal arms become bigger. Why? Sonya gets rings. Why? It seems trivial to nitpick the power sets, but the writers never gave me a reason not to ask.
I liked that Shang Tsung was actively working to sabotage Earthrealm before the tournament. It makes sense that he would be doing this, making winning the tournament more difficult. And perhaps that’s a thread they should have pushed on more. Bring in more fighters, Shang Tsung and his goons wipe out quite a few, and leave the fate of Earthrealm to a handful of fighters that must now survive Mortal Kombat. And those survivors could be the ones he underestimated. I could see Johnny Cage fit that bit easily. Plus, since the tournament isn’t active, perhaps the “cheating” he was doing couldn’t necessarily be labeled that way. Mortal Kombat wasn’t happening so what rules was Shang actually breaking? They brought up these rules but like many other things, never followed up or through.
All of the actors played their characters well. The biggest standout was Josh Lawson as Kano. He stole the show and his smartass take would have clashed with a smartass Johnny Cage, so maybe write them differently? I don’t know. Just a thought. But again, he was a highlight. His fight with Reptile (was that Reptile? Had to be Reptile) was cool. Complete with Kano’s OG fatality. Max Huang was awesome as Kung Lao and I’m angry he died. He embodied that character straight out of the games and had the coolest fatality in the movie, bar none.
Hiroyuki Sanada was perfectly cast as Hanzo Hasashi but felt wasted in this movie. He really only had a chance to shine in the opening sequence, then the character of Scorpion was relegated to a glorified cameo at the end. I still don’t know why he had to have a descendant. Why was his bloodline so important? Little details could have made this story make sense.
For example, Hanzo Hansashi was destined to defeat Outworld forces in Mortal Kombat, so Shang Tsung hired Bi-Han to take him out. Sure, there was already a rivalry, but now why not make it interesting. Bi-Han is imbued with powers granted by Shang Tsung, explaining that detail. Bi-Han kills all of the Shirai Ryu thinking he’s severed the bloodline. Shang thinks he’s won and Earthrealm is a shoo-in. Enter Cole whatever years later and boom, prophecy is still on the table. But even still, I don’t like Cole.
Cole is the personification of studio executives sticking their opinions in movies they don’t understand. And anytime you hear that studios left the production alone and allowed the creatives to do their thing, it’s typically a damn good movie. And look I’m not saying it’s shit. Annihilation still holds that title. It’s problematic for many reasons films like this have fallen apart in the past. They are too concerned about building a world and planning for sequels that they forget to focus on the story at hand. Easter eggs are great and well placed ones can lead to something later. Great examples were Shinnok’s amulet in Raiden’s temple and Liu Kang referencing his former master Bo Rai Cho. These were little nuggets that rewarded fans while planting little seeds.
This film feels like pieces are missing and those missing pieces were replaced with pieces that look like they could fit but just don’t. One would hope that a sequel would help make this movie better but that’s part of the problem. A movie shouldn’t exist to make another one better. It needs to be able to stand on its own merits. Not a flawless victory for me despite some promising material.
When this film was announced I was a mix of excited and confused. I was excited because the prospect of a well-animated Mortal Kombat feature that was rated R could be amazing. I was confused because by the time of its announcement. I was well-aware that a live-action reboot was in production so the timing of it all seemed odd. I know it’s not like they can’t exist simultaneously but still.
I’m a pretty big fan of animated films. I absolutely love all of the DC animated features so seeing that WB Animation was behind the project made me feel confident that it would at least look good. And for the most part it does. It’s not the smoothest animation with all the big budget finesse but I think it’s solid.
In regards to the narrative, it takes an interesting approach. Considering almost 30 years of lore had been fleshed out, the writers really honed in on the story they wanted to tell without trying to cram every character and reference it could find into the film. This is an approach I hope the new film takes as well.
The film focuses on Scorpion’s backstory and journey for redemption while weaving it into the premise of the first Mortal Kombat. It can’t be denied that the film borrows some of its structure from the original live-action film which I’m cool with. That movie is almost 25 years old, and I’m surprised it took this long for a reboot.
In regards to Scorpion, the narrative is mostly faithful to the source material. I say mostly only because it took at least four games for Hanzo Hasashi to learn who was responsible for the death of his family. But this film pulled no punches to the brutality of it all. And to be honest, I was surprised they showed his son die on-screen. I did read that they scaled back the death though. Apparently, they were going to show an icicle pierce through him but decided against it. And it’s not necessary. The scene is heartbreaking enough.
But the story essentially follows familiar beats of our three main heroes plus Raiden, albeit with a variation on their introduction. Joel McHale was made for Johnny Cage, at least the more arrogant version of the character. Not saying he could never do serious material but this version is him all the way. Jennifer Carpenter is good as Sonya, laying down a good tone of badass. Although I couldn’t say she brought anything unique to the table that elevated the character beyond that. The voice actors for Liu Kang and Raiden are fine. They are fairly stoic and one-dimensional, but the end of the film does set up what could be a sequel focused on Liu Kang.
Most of the cast is filled with lesser known voice actors but hearing Steve Blum voice Sub-Zero again was a nice treat. He was the voice for the character in Mortal Kombat X and 11 and he does a great job. Plus, Kevin Michael Richardson reprising his role as Goro once again! See? I told you he was awesome. And Goro gets to be responsible for Jax losing his arms which was a great twist. That would have been a good pun had he twisted the arms off, but alas he went for the pull method.
The fight scenes are done pretty well which should be expected in an animated feature since you can do anything. The gore is everything you ever wanted it to be. In fact, had this been live-action, I think the film would have been slapped with an NC-17 rating with this level of gore. The utilization of the X-ray moves was cool and can really only work in animation. It would either be distracting or ridiculous in live-action. At least in my opinion.
Some of the dialogue is eye-roll inducing but works all the same. One such example is Sonya’s line “fuck with the blade, you’re gonna get cut.” Like it’s so bad but lands for some reason. I did appreciate the myriad of Easter eggs throughout the film. The filmmakers knew they couldn’t touch on everything so they just tossed in little nuggets here and there which I appreciated. The “test you might” area in the dining hall was a nice wink. We got cameos from lesser known fighters like Nitara and Motaro. I’m almost positive the creature torturing Hanzo in the Netherrealm is Moloch from MK5, but I’ve not seen anything to officially confirm that. It looks like him.
This was a fun, breezy take on a familiar story and really makes me hope they look at doing more of these animated films. In fact, each film could take on a particular set of characters and games in the series. Since Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Quan-Chi have had the spotlight, let the next film focus on Liu Kang’s journey as the tournament moves to Outworld. The third could be about Kitana’s history with Shao Kahn, her mother, Mileena and so on as Kahn invades Earth. Just a suggestion I have that will hopefully come to fruition in some way.
(sigh) Where do I begin? Anytime I’ve approached a film on this show, I always try to remain a positive voice since I know most people will take care of the opposing side. However, finding anything positive to say about this film is harder than solving the Riemann hypothesis. So, unless hell freezes over, I too will be kicking the shit out of this film.
The Reimann Hypothesis… in case you were curious. Go ahead… read it… I don’t mind.
I watched this film in theaters on opening weekend and it was the very first time I walked out of a theater, feeling robbed. Like someone owed me my time and money back.
As soon as the movie gets started, you can tell something isn’t going to be right. Three actors from the first film have already bounced, replaced by bargain basement versions. And look, they may be great actors in their own right. I can say that I have enjoyed James Remar’s work in other films. But here… not so much. I think the only reason Robin Shou stayed on was because he didn’t have anything else going on. But I can’t confirm that. I wasn’t there. Same with Talisa Soto. Who knows? Sometimes you need a paycheck.
Then we see Shao Kahn for the film and (sigh) the moment I saw Brain Thompson, my expectations immediately dropped. He’s like the poster child for bad movies. I know he’s been in the rare one here and there, but 90% of his filmography is trash. Plus, after being treated to an amazing tease of Shao Kahn in the first film, this was far from the pay-off we were promised.
Promise…Payment…Utter disappointment.
Also during this scene, you can immediately see the decrease in film quality. So much piss-poor green screen work. Then the costume designer looks like they raided the dumpster at a Party City somewhere. Like how do you have more money in your budget than last time, yet make your movie look significantly cheaper?
I’ll tell you how! You cram it to the brim with so much unnecessary shit! Like my god! There was a film producer sitting on the side lines somewhere saying, “Well, we gotta have this character and this character and this character and this character because fans love them and we don’t want to upset the fans.” Well you failed because fans were plenty upset by this abortion.
While some characters with nothing to do at least felt like they had a purpose, others were down right shoved in with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. Case in point: Mileena. She comes out of nowhere and attacks Sonya, all for the sake of a fight. What makes it even worse is when Sonya looks at this masked individual and says, “Kitana?” She looks nothing like her! AT ALL! Furthermore, the filmmakers could have easily had Talisa Soto play this role since Mileena’s supposed to be a twin. At least one thing in this movie would have made sense.
And while this is a PG-13 film we obviously can’t have fatalities. The first film cleverly found a way around that which was cool. This film insteads to opt for one of the most ludicrous aspects in the games: the Animality. And I guess I should thank them for attempting to explain this soul searching journey Liu Kang must take to unlock his Animality but then you see it at the end of the film and wish to god you were blind. Furthermore, you can only hope to be blessed with a rock to the head in hopes of damaging your short-term memory, so you’ll never again be burdened with such memories. I guess we should be grateful they didn’t choose babalities.
I guess if there was one little sliver of something good in this film it would be Litefoot as Nightwolf. This dude looks like he walked straight out of the game and does a decent enough job with the material he’s given. It’s nothing more than a glorified cameo but at least it’s important to the story… whatever that is…
Honestly, I’m not even sure where to go from here. The movie is so damn incoherent that I don’t even know what to focus on next. Scorpion and Sub-Zero fight? Random, pointless, and makes zero sense. One could say “sub-zero” sense and that joke would be on par with this film. Liu Kang fights Jade for some reason. Baraka, I guess, shows up swinging on chains or something? I didn’t rewatch this film because I didn’t want to be angry for 90 minutes.
This movie is shite. Pure and simple. I honestly think that the filmmakers wrote up a budget of $30M, pocketed $20M of that then the rest went to the production. And I’m being generous when I say that. I don’t like this movie…at all.
For a teenager in the 90s, this movie was a big deal. The games were already a huge deal for me and many others like me, so seeing that a film was being made damn near broke my brain. Nevermind that it was PG-13. There was a MOVIE!
Remember kids! Video game movies were much rarer than that they are today. I think by this point there may have been 2 or 3. I know Super Mario Bros. was already out. I’m almost positive I saw the trailer for this film when I saw Street Fighter, but I could be wrong.. I also think there was a Double Dragon movie out around the same time. Those are all I can remember and I struggle to say positive things about them, so I’ll move along.
To me, Mortal Kombat is one of the best video game movie adaptations ever made. I could even argue that it still is. Obviously, films like Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu are good films featuring video game characters. But could you say they are faithful adaptations of the material? I don’t think so.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson was fairly new at this point, having only directed one other movie prior to this. I didn’t know who he was. Although I could say I didn’t know many directors at the time. I was aware of a few. Anyway, I had no preconceived notions about what he would or wouldn’t do wrong here. Now, after his string of Resident Evil films, I’m a harsher critic of his. That said, I did dig Monster Hunter so the guy is hit and miss for me.
At this point in time, there wasn’t much to the story of Mortal Kombat like there is today. So sticking to the basics of fighters competing in a tournament to protect their world wasn’t difficult. And they chose not to complicate it either. Which is great for this film because it’s all you really needed. Just lay the groundwork.
One thing that can ruin a good plot is bad actors. While I can’t say the entire cast crushes it, none of them are terrible. Robin Shou who was fairly unknown before this flick does just fine as Liu Kang. Linden Ashby might not look the part of Johnny Cage (at least in my mind) but he’s great. Bridgette Wilson is fine. That’s all I can muster for her. Trevor Goodard is clearly having fun as Kano, which is bittersweet when you are reminded that he died of a drug overdose in 2004… don’t mean to bring the room down. Just pointing out factual information.
And while I know everyone will be tearing the Goro puppet three extra assholes, at least recognize Kevin Michael Richardson for doing an outstanding job voicing him. You all know that guy! Even if you don’t, you do. Oh and Frank Welker essentially doing Inspector Gadget villain Dr. Claw for Shao Kahn is funny but works all the same.
But the two stand-outs here are Christopher Lambert and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, with the latter being the most memorable. Christopher Lambert does fine but his French accent fumbles over a line or two. Tagawa chews scenery and elevates the movie to another level. Much like Frank Langella did as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe but that’s a whole other topic. I was truly excited to see Tagawa return to the role in Mortal Kombat 11 and really be able to do so much more with the character. I would have said the same about the other actors… but… well, meh.
The martial arts in the film are alright. For some people, this could seem like the best fight scenes ever and perhaps I thought so as well when I was 15. However, once you’ve seen legit fight scenes coming straight out of Hong Kong cinema, everything else pales in comparison. But I’m not knocking them.
The Liu Kang/Sub-Zero fight was pretty cool. I always loved that backflip Sub-Zero pulled over Liu Kang’s head. The Johnny Cage/Scorpion fight was pretty intense, although it does go off the rails a bit when they teleport to Scorpion’s domain. Just an odd choice to make mid-fight, I guess. Then as random as it feels to just happen out of nowhere, the fight between Liu Kang and Reptile is pretty badass too. I’m not sure how everyone else feels about it, but I’ve always loved the use of the video game audio when Reptile was fully formed. Always felt proper to me for some reason… like I would have made that choice too.
The special effects in the movie have not aged well, but I’m pretty sure they were impressive enough back in 1995. A few hold up here and there like Sub-Zero’s ice powers. And look while I can admit that Goro’s design is flawed, I really don’t know how else they could have pulled this character off any better back then. CG wasn’t good enough for a fully formed character. Just look at Scorpion’s hand parasite thing. Seriously what the hell was that?
I appreciated the film not trying to cram as many video game references into the movie as they could have. Another film made that mistake and we’ll talk about that NEXT time. As disappointing as it was not getting to see Scorpion and Sub-Zero go at it, at least they made a passing reference to their history and why they aren’t fighting each other.
And the film wouldn’t be the same without the signature theme Techno Syndrome. It’s bizarre that this particular tune has persisted after all this time. That whole Mortal Kombat album felt like nothing more than a quick cash grab but somehow that tune rose above it all. It is catchy though. You can’t help but yell “Mortal Kombat” when it starts.
Overall, I felt this movie did a respectable job in translating the source material without deviating so much that it feels foreign or adhering so much to it that it isn’t a coherent flick. Too bad that lesson wasn’t remembered the second time around.
Tackling this subject is not a simple task for me. I am 100% unapologetically a defender of any and all things Godzilla and Kong. When people decide to shit talk any of these movies, I immediately get defensive of them. I think it boils down to so many positive connections I have with them stemming since childhood. They’re like a warm blanket. That said, I can recognize the low points in each series. I’m not blind to them.
But for me to narrow it down will be damn near impossible. So I’ll do my best to keep it simple.
King Kong Escapes is hard for me to watch but I still try. If you thought Kong’s suit in King Kong vs. Godzilla was bad, then this one will destroy your brain. Funny story: as a kid, I loved the concept of Mechagodzilla and at one point thought it would be cool if there was a movie where King Kong fought Mecha King Kong. Little did I know Mechani-kong predated Mechgodzilla by seven years. Imagine my surprise when I saw this flick for the first time.
To build off of that, I can find joy in any Kong movie. Son of Kong? It’s barely an hour long and just fine. Kong 76? Dig it! King Kong Lives? I consider it a hidden gem and will defend it till my death! I love me some Kong.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (aka the Smog Monster) is one that I’ve grown to appreciate over time but would definitely consider it one of the lowest points of the series. The concept is noble in a way. Our hero Godzilla is fighting the personification of pollution, which is somewhat ironic when you think about it. Plus, it was attempting to send a message much like the original film was but did it in a sillier fashion because that’s where the series was at the time. Once Godzilla flew, I was like, “Well I’ve seen it all now.”
You really can’t go wrong with any of Godzilla’s Showa era stuff which, for those who don’t know the term, is any film in the series made between 1954 to 1978. So many solid flicks that range from social commentary to satire to plain old sci-fi fun. Then we have classic monsters like Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, Ghidorah, Gigan, Megalon, King Caesar and Mechgodzilla just to name a few of my favorites.
Probably one of my all time favorite Godzilla films is The Return of Godzilla aka Godzilla 1985. This was one of my earliest introductions to the character and I loved it so much. As a kid, I would cry at the ending. So angry that he was killed. SPOILER ALERT: He returns again 4 years later alive and well. Anyway, this was a menacing Godzilla. He felt like a genuine threat and looked the part as well. I love the score of this film. I love the alteration on Godzilla’s roar which sounds much more sinister.
It’s a much darker take on the character that had not been done for decades and I dig the hell out of it. I know some people prefer the lighter “Godzilla is the hero” stuff but this is my preference. In fact all of Godzilla in the Heisei era (basically all of the films in the 80s and 90s) is my preferred take on the character.
I dig every iteration of Mechgodzilla. I love the idea of Spacegodzilla. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Attack of the Giant Monsters from 2001 is my favorite Millennium era film. Godzilla’s Final Wars design is my least favorite although the movie rocks overall.
And finally, Shin Godzilla is an underrated masterpiece.
There was a time that I thought I’d never see this film. After numerous rights issues preventing a new crossover to the multiple delays that came once the film had been completed, the road to seeing the movie felt like a journey in its own right. But we finally got it and despite some issues the film has, I believe it was worth it.
I watched the film on opening day on HBO Max, which is not where I wanted to watch it but where it was convenient for me to watch it. And while it may not have been a full theater experience, I did my best to replicate it. My first viewing experience left me unsure how I felt, mainly because of a bias that I’ve been spouting on here for weeks. After a week had passed, I watched it again with no expectations of anything and found myself coming out the other side more fulfilled.
The plot of this flick is pretty straight-forward and honestly I appreciate that. No need to complicate a movie that explicitly states a fight is going down in the title. Godzilla’s rampaging and we don’t know why, although it’s fairly obvious when you see he’s targeting a specific facility. Even if you don’t know the exact reason why, deducing that Apex is up to no good is not hard.
Conversely, Kong is contained on Skull Island for what I would assume is his protection, although that reason feels muddles considering Godzilla and Kong have existed simultaneously for decades and never once did Godzilla seek him out, so why didn’t he come after him before and why would they need to protect him now? All we’re told is it’s due to an ancient rivalry which sounds cool BUT never explained.
But then Kong is needed to lead a team to the Hollow Earth because it could reveal a new power source for Apex. See? Not hard to deduce. Obviously for reasons previously stated, getting Kong to the entrance will be problematic. But they ultimately succeed and Kong gets to explore the Hollow Earth before his big showdown with Godzilla. See? Simple enough.
Some of my issues with this film stem from there being little to no follow through with the entirety of the Monsterverse franchise. There have been very few characters that have overlapped in these films and, in my opinion, only one felt like they were developed beyond one movie. That character being Dr. Serizawa. However, there was a character in this film named Serizawa who seemingly had an initial interest in Gojira at the beginning but then he was nothing more than a lackey for Apex. Was this supposed to be someone related to Dr. Serizawa? If so, how and why are they working against Gojira? But perhaps he’s not. Just another guy in the world with that surname. Odd choice for a writer to make though. I don’t know. This felt like an undeveloped plot thread.
The return of Madison Russell and her father Mark was nice to see but did not feel necessary. Their presence changed nothing. Madison claiming that she knows Godzilla wouldn’t act this way could fall to anyone in Monarch, even Mark despite his previous feelings towards him. And everything she and her friends do throughout the movie is nothing more than exposition for us as an audience. They do nothing to move the plot in any way. That said, Brian Tyree Henry and Julian Dennison are both entertaining as always.
For me, the biggest misstep here would be the character of Nathan Lind played by Alexander Skarsgård. While I have no issue with him or his character, the character that SHOULD have been here is Houston Brooks from Kong: Skull Island. He was the man behind the Hollow Earth theory AND worked for Monarch AND was last seen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, so why not have him appear here to finally SEE what he theorized for decades? This was a missed opportunity to tie together these films in a much more cohesive manner.
And while we’re talking about the Hollow Earth, this is something that needs to be fleshed out in a future installment. You can’t introduce a Journey to the Center of the Earth style world with famous kaiju and not explore it fully. Especially when there is a clear history of something going on down there! Hell, this could be a prime opportunity to introduce other unseen kaiju from Toho. Gorosaurus would be a great call back to King Kong Escapes. Maybe some other lesser knowns like Varan or Baragon. Hell why not someone like Gamera. Nab the American film rights to him and finally get him and Godzilla to clash! That’s how they pulled this off!
To digress for a moment, one complaint I’ve heard about the film is its leaps in technology and logic. How we go from the grounded element of the 2014 film to the portal jumping of this film. I want to point out once again that this is not unheard of in Godzilla films. By the 5th film entry of the Showa era, they were dealing with aliens and crossing film franchises. Be like Elsa and let it go.
Xiliens from Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
I guess the human characters I do enjoy would be Dr. Andrews and Jia. Since they are the connection to Kong, they feel necessary and I like that they are protective of him. Plus, having Kong be able to sign was a nice addition that felt like proper growth for the character. And let’s talk about the monsters because that’s why we all came here.
First, we get to see a Skull Crawler again which I was so excited to see. Being used as a tool for an Apex training exercise was a clever way to use them. Then we get some winged vipers (whose name I don’t know) in the Hollow Earth. Seeing that creature reminded me of a design I had for a character years ago where I crossed elements of a snake and a spider. Obviously this leans more towards a cobra with dragon-like wings but still it’s an uncanny resemblance.
Then what should have been the biggest surprise but wasn’t because we all literally knew it was coming: Mechagodzilla. The design is good, although I would say the take in Ready Player One is my preferred conception if we’re comparing Americanized versions. I get the design here though. It works. And they made it a force to be reckoned with, just as it was in the Japanese iterations. My only gripe is that it should have come close to killing Godzilla, like putting him on his last legs like Godzilla did to Kong… yeah I gotta talk about that.
First things first, Both Godzilla and Kong are handled with care. Nothing about either of them feels uncharacteristic. Godzilla is a force of nature reacting to a threat he is sensing. He senses Ghidorah and when you learn that, it makes sense as to why he’s being extremely aggressive in his search. This was a major threat that damn near wiped out the world. I did like the idea that Ghidorah “possessed” Mechagodzilla so, in a way, Godzilla was facing two of his biggest nemeses in one form!
Kong is more relatable because of the emotions you get from him. And when they clash? We get some real fights that don’t feel cheap or rushed. When Godzilla attacked at sea, I knew Kong was in trouble from the start. This is Godzilla’s domain. This wasn’t a fight he could easily come out on top of. Then when they meet in Hong Kong, Kong puts his newly found axe to good use and gives Godzilla an grade-A ass whoopin’! But ultimately, Godzilla gets the upper hand and forces Kong to submit but not willingly.
I will openly admit that when that scene played out, I was upset. Even my wife looked over at me and said, “you are so pissed right now, aren’t you?” Having time to reflect, I agree that it was the right decision to make. Godzilla is more powerful and I’ve never once not believed that. My stance was always standing by the underdog. I despise people who instantly dismiss those they deem to be weaker and then proceed to rag on them while pumping up their big champion. It comes off arrogant and bullyish. And I can’t stand a bully.
Kong gave as good as he got and, in the end, I think Godzilla respected him. They both knew who the alpha was but Godzilla can acknowledge strength all the same. He saw Kong take down Mechagodzilla and game recognizes game. Then the ending gives way to an approach to both franchises continuing without having to worry about crossovers. Godzilla rules the Earth. Kong rules the Hollow Earth. Saying that aloud almost sounds like he got the second place trophy.
There were some nice callbacks to the original film like Kong’s airlift, the tree in the mouth gag, and even Kong being revived with electricity. If there were any more than that, then I must have missed them upon both viewings.
All in all, the film delivered on its promise of a throwdown and none of the monster action was obscured or in the dark. It even ends in a way that leaves the door open to a variety of possibilities for future installments without setting a direct path forward. I hope we get to see Godzilla and Kong again in this universe whether it’s separate adventures or together. I think I will always have more of a fondness for the original Japanese films, but I believe my fondness for these films will also grow over time.
As I’ve mentioned every single time, trailer equals hype and this film was no different. Seeing Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah for the first time made me cheer immensely. They had been perfectly designed to be more “realistic” takes on the characters while still maintaining core elements of their original designs. All of the imagery and subtle story beats compounded with the haunting take on “Over the Rainbow” made a damn fine trailer. The promise of seeing a full-blown Japanese style Godzilla film was an exciting prospect.
I’m probably gonna say something jarring here considering everything I’ve said about all of these films up to this point, but I walked out of this film feeling empty. As if the film didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Now, I want to preface this by saying that right before I watched this film, I received some bad news. Like I was literally sitting in the theater waiting for the film to start and got a phone call. I’ve wondered if it tainted my viewing experience at the time, but even repeat viewings have left me feeling about the same.
But my biggest question is “why?” This has the makings of every single thing I ever wanted from an Americanized Godzilla film and then some! Michael Dougherty clearly seems like a fan and lovingly crafts so many Easter eggs throughout the film. Then Bear McCreary’s score pays homage and even remakes several compositions by Akira Ifukube, which were amazing. Although I was disappointed that neither Rodan’s nor King Ghidorah’s themes were used, there may have been licensing fees for those that could have prevented their use. And McCreary’s own Rodan theme was pretty cool in its own right.
Perhaps the story could be to blame. I liked the idea of the Russell family having been affected by Godzilla’s fight in San Francisco. It frames the situation differently, now seeing people suffering a tragedy in the wake of that event. I liked Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown in their respective roles. They’re both great actors. Kyle Chandler is also great and I feel like I can relate to his character arc, having disdain for something that was in some ways responsible for the death of a loved one.
I know that Emma’s story arc is the one that people have complained about the most. And I’ll admit I have no sympathy for the character. When she dies at the end, I couldn’t care less. She was a terrible person and had no redeeming qualities. I guess I do find her reasonings somewhat fascinating. Titans will save the world or something but they screw up and release a real threat.
Look, anyone who is going to bitch and complain about the realistic nature of a plot in a Godzilla clearly hasn’t watched any of the films. Godzilla has been to space for god’s sake! When monsters go smash, you can’t expect Shakespeare. Sure, it would be nice every once and awhile but this is the nature of the beast. I’m not sure what people were expecting.
Then there’s the “I don’t care about the humans. Why can’t it just be monsters fighting the whole time? That’s what I’m here to see!” complaint. You try watching 90 minutes of nothing but monsters fighting and I promise you, you’ll get bored at some point. We need human characters to drive any kind of plot along, regardless of how silly it may be. There isn’t much character development that can be done with kaiju. That is unless you want them to start talking. Sorry, I’ve gone off the rails a bit.
If the story isn’t to blame, it’s surely not the kaiju. I love seeing every single one of them, even the ones I don’t know! I’d have to say Rodan’s introduction was probably one of the biggest highlights for me. I feel like he’s one of those kaiju that doesn’t get enough recognition even though he’s been around over 60 years. As far as the others, Godzilla’s just doing his thing and constantly clashing with Ghidorah while Mothra’s being Mothra.
And it’s that last statement that really helped me reflect what may be my biggest issue with the film: I’ve seen it already. There were very few things about this movie that surprised me. First, the marketing was relentless so I felt I’d seen half the movie before sitting in the theater. Secondly, I saw all of the story beats coming. I’m sure all of that coupled with the numerous Easter eggs throughout were meant as a love letter to fans. And I appreciate it. BUT I’ve seen those films and would like something that pays homage while doing something different. Something new.
Perhaps in time, I can find a new appreciation for the film when the new car smell wears off. But for now, as amazing as all that monster action is, it’s not enough for me to say it’s everything I ever wanted in a Godzilla film.
Let me take you back to a time when the internet didn’t spoil everything for you. And information wasn’t readily available. When I was a child, let’s say about 8 because I don’t know all the specifics, I happened to be at the local K-Mart looking through the movie section. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon King Kong vs. Godzilla on VHS.
At this point in my life, I was aware of both monsters, having seen at least one or two films of each. Hell, back in the 80s, if you were looking to get into Japanese kaiju films, you were issued a copy of Godzilla vs. Megalon just to get you started. But Kong AND Godzilla in the SAME movie?? My brain couldn’t conceive such a notion. I had to have this movie. I don’t know how I exactly convinced my parents to buy this for me… but I did and I thank them silently for it.
Like most of us here, I will be referring to the Americanized version of this film since it’s no doubt the one we’ve all viewed. But I do have comments on the Japanese cut as well. Big surprise! I LOVE this movie! And it could be that I’m wearing the biggest pair of nostalgia glasses because of the previous story, but I can watch this film at any time and always enjoy it. But why though, right? That’s the big question. I’ve seen numerous outlets tear this film to shreds for a number of reasons that I personally don’t agree with. But as with everything here, to each their own. We all don’t have to like the same things.
But what do I like? Oh man where do I begin. First of all, I feel like the story is pretty solid, even more so in the Japanese cut but still holds up despite losing some of its satirical bite. Ichirô Arishima is hilarious as Mr. Tako. That face he makes while watching the TV always cracks me up and the frustrated noises he makes just adds to it all. Then Tadao Takashima and Kenji Sahara and both great as Sakurai and Fujita respectively. Fun fact, Kenji Sahara was the first actor I could name in Godzilla films, mainly because I put two and two together when I saw his name in the credits. Not sure if he’s the record holder of actor that has most appeared in a Godzilla films but it wouldn’t surprise me if he was.
I’ve heard comments about the UN broadcasts being ridiculous expositions for American audiences but I like them. I think they make for fun little segues. Plus, Michael Keith is charming enough to keep your attention. Don’t tell me he isn’t. And while I always love the music of Akira Ifukube in these films, it somewhat pains me to say that I kinda prefer the Universal stock music. It just brings a different kind of energy to film and I like it more. Had I been exposed to the Japanese cut first, my opinion could be different. Another fun fact: the music Universal used was actually the theme music to one of their classic horror flicks, the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Had I been exposed to that film first it could have changed my perception.
But the main focus here should be our monsters and this film does not skimp on that. This film definitely feels like it created a nice balance between focusing on Godzilla, Kong and the human characters that have to drive the plot forward. Kong’s origins are familiar enough but then takes a turn when he appears to fight the giant octopus who actually has a name, Oodako I believe. You’d think that would mean “octopus” but in fact “tako” means “octopus” so… do what you will with that trivia. That octopus scene always disturbed me as a kid. The addition of the suction noises as it breathes just made me uneasy for some reason. The shit is nasty.
While we’re adjacent to the subject, let’s talk about Kong. I admit his design looks goofy at times. Don’t even get me started on the close-up shots. But for suitmation, it’s not as bad as it could be. Just go look at King Kong Escapes. And it was clear from the start, everyone knows Kong is the underdog. Godzilla ran him off fairly quickly during their first encounter because, you know, atomic breath. So I try to be understanding as to why Toho would have given him some extra ability. But, he was doing pretty damn good on his own before the lightning boost. And the lightning bolt didn’t seem to change his fighting tactics. I’m sure the decision makers thought they were leveling the playing field, but I felt you could have made some minor adjustments and done away with that element. Make it a true Rocky vs. Apollo story.
Then we have Godzilla who, along with Kong, is making his third film debut AND for the first time in color AND in a widescreen format. Amazing how all that worked out. I really dig Godzilla’s design here. He has a much more reptilian look which contrasts nicely with Kong’s design. He’s still in villain mode since he hadn’t made the switch yet and he’s kind of a jerk which I love as well! The mocking gestures he makes at Kong, clacking his claws together is one of my favorite things.
And Godzilla is still a genuine threat in Japan. There’s still the fear of his appearance and they spend a better part of the movie trying to stop his rampage. I will say in regards to the Japanese edit, the scenes of Godzilla and Kong rampaging make more sense from a narrative standpoint. In the US version, some scenes felt out of place but I had no context as to why. Now, having seen the Japanese version, it’s because they are!
Finally, the fight on Mt. Fuji could not be any more perfect than it was at that point in time. This was a fight! In fact, I can’t think of another fight Godzilla has had that felt like a genuine brawl. Punches, kicks, pushing, shoving, leg trips and body flips… it’s all here. And of course the classic “tree in the mouth” move which comes off like a desperate tactic done out of frustration. But it’s a great moment!
If I saw this movie for the first time today, I would like to think I would derive the same amount of joy from it. I do appreciate the Japanese version because it’s much stronger narratively. But I have such a fondness for the American version that it’s usually my go to. To the casual viewer, it might be a hard sell despite the names attached. To the hardcore fans, it’s a dream come true.
Anyone who keeps up with my work should know I have been a frequent contributor on Podcasters Assemble since 2021. For each entry I record, I script about two pages worth of thoughts about the film that is being discussed. What I record is then pieced together by talented editors, making the show the delight I find it to be. Most of my scripts have not been deleted, so I decided to post them here for others to read like a review piece. Enjoy!
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