Movie Review: Godzilla: King of Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters *** / *****

Directed by: Michael Dougherty.

Written by: Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields and Max Borenstein.

Starring: Millie Bobby Brown (Madison Russell), Vera Farmiga (Dr. Emma Russell), Charles Dance (Joan Alan), Bradley Whitford (Dr. Stanton), Sally Hawkins (Dr. Vivienne Graham), Kyle Chandler (Mark Russell), Ziyi Zhang (Dr. Chen), David Strathairn (Admiral William Stenz), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Chief Warrant Officer Barnes), Thomas Middleditch (Sam Coleman), Ken Watanabe (Dr. Ishiro Serizawa), Aisha Hinds (Elizabeth Ludlow), Anthony Ramos (Cpl. Martinez), CCH Pounder (Senator), Elizabeth Ludlow (Griffin), Jonathan Howard (Asher)..

 

I am one of those people who loved Gareth Evans’ 2014 Godzilla – and think it’s one of the best blockbusters in recent years. The human characters in that film are useless – they keep coming up with plan after plan after plan, and all of them are pointless. You cannot fight against the unstoppable force of Godzilla, and the “mutos” he was fighting. They represented an existential threat to humanity, and we’re screwed, unless they decide we are not. But, clearly, I was in the minority on that one – as that film didn’t make as much money as they wanted, so when they made a follow – Kong: Skull Island (in the same shared universe), they went for more big monster action, and less existential drama. Now comes a more direct sequel to the 2014 film – Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and it seems to try and split the difference. There is more monster action in this film – bringing in not only Godzilla but Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah, and lets them fight. But it is maintains the same spirit of the 2014 film – in that the human characters here are pretty useless. They make plans, but the truth is, if the monster wants to kill us, they will kill us. I wish we didn’t spend nearly as much time on the human characters as we do – and their petty personal dramas and squabbles, because in short, they aren’t worth it. The all-star (or at least all-recognizable cast) are dull and boring, and all the interpersonal conflicts are useless. I admire its ultimate willingness to admit that we are powerless in the face of this existential threat, that of course, is entirely our fault.

 

It’s pretty much a new cast from the 2014 film – and this time, most of the “drama” involves one family. When Godzilla fought the mutos in San Francisco back in 2014, Emma and Mark (Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler) had a son killed. She became obsessed with finding a solution, he became a drunk, before piecing his life back together. Their daughter, Madison (Mille Bobby Brown) now lives with her mom, who is working with the so-called Titans – and Mark is off on his own. She has invented a machine that communicates with the monsters – and can maybe control them – it can certainly awaken them. Which, of course, will fall into the wrong hands – resulting in the Titans waking up – and forcing Godzilla to re-emerge, etc.

 

If you’re one of those people who thought the 2014 film didn’t have enough Godzilla fights than a) you’re and idiot, but b) this movie doesn’t have the same issue. The film has a lot of kaiju fights, and for the most part, they are well handled. Yes, sometimes things get too dark, too shaky handheld camera like, but mostly, they are exciting fights – and will scratch that itch. The film is clearly made by and for people who loved to watch the old Godzilla movies – bringing back all of Godzilla’s old foes so they can rumble. And it works remarkably well.

 

Now, if only the humans were the least bit of interest here, you may have something. The film spends are too much time with them, and far too much time on their personal lives, for them to be this dull. You kind of get that Mark and Emma would be so obsessed with Madison and her well-being – but almost everyone in the film is likewise obsessed, even though what they are trying to do is save humanity from extinction – they are trying to save billions of Madisons, but they are all obsessed with this one. I do like the fact that the movie takes its time to lay out differing viewpoints – including that of the bad guys, who make at least a certain degree of sense – in a Thanos type way. I also like the way that faced with this sort of threat, who far back humanity seems to regress when presented with this sort of threat.

 

The film is too long at 130 minutes – and it could be a far better film with less of the uninteresting interpersonal drama – keep the fight sequences, and keep the human interaction of a more philosophical level. As soon as you introduce the wonderful Mille Bobby Brown as a potential innocent victim, you have to spend far too much time with her personal life. This movie is about humanity reaping what the sowed – and hoping against hope to survive. It’s a case in which the bigger picture is the more interesting one, than any small individual stories. Let Godzilla be the most interesting character in the film – he already is, so act like it.

Classic Movie Review: Trick r Treat (2007)

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Directed by: Michael Dougherty.
Written by: Michael Dougherty.
Starring: Dylan Baker (Steven), Anna Paquin (Laurie), Brian Cox (Mr. Kreeg), Rochelle Aytes (Maria), Quinn Lord (Sam / Peeping Tommy), Lauren Lee Smith (Danielle), Moneca Delain (Janet), Tahmoh Penikett (Henry), Brett Kelly (Charlie), Britt McKillip (Macy), Isabelle Deluce (Sara), Jean-Luc Bilodeau (Schrader), Alberto Ghisi (Chip), Samm Todd (Rhonda), Leslie Bibb (Emma), Connor Christopher Levins (Billy), James Willson (Alex).

Trick ‘r Treat is one of those movies that has been on “to see” list for a shamefully long time, and I’m just now getting to it. I remember hearing about the film when it played a few horror festivals – to very good reviews – back in 2007 – but then the film kept getting delayed, before Warner Bros. finally just dumped straight to DVD two years later in 2009. Since then, it has become a cult item of sorts, building up a small group of fans who seem to really, really like it. It’s easy to see why people like it – the film is fun, bloody, but not the in the “torture porn” way that seem to be dominating horror around that time, and is basically a throwback to 1980s films. In fact, it kind of reminded me of another horror anthology I watched recently – George A. Romero and Stephen King’s Creepshow (1982), as both seek to have a lot of fun more than scare the audience, and pay tribute to what the creators loved. The difference between the two movies is simple – I had a hell of lot more fun watching Trick ‘r Treat than I did watching Creepshow.

The film weaves together five stories, that all take place in the same suburban neighborhood on the same Halloween. It’s not quite an anthology, as the film doesn’t tell each story (aside from the prologue) from beginning to end and then move onto the next one, but rather have the stories overlap and sometimes double back on each other – with characters from one being the background of others, etc. The prologue is about a married couple (Leslie Bibb and Tahmoh Penikett) who come home, slightly drunk, on Halloween night after a party. Despite the husband’s warning of dire consequences if they were to blow out the Jack O-Lantern’s candle before midnight, the wife does it anyway – and needless to say, she shouldn’t have. The second story is about a mild mannered school Principal (Dylan Baker – perfectly cast) who, of course, isn’t as mild mannered as he looks – as he murders one child, and we start to worry about his son (hey – is he just playing his character from Happiness?). Another story involves Laurie (Anna Paquin), out with her sister and a couple of friends – all of whom make fun of her for being a 22-year old virgin – and want her to finally lose it at the party they’re going to. She just wants things to be “special” – and, of course, there is a twist. Another has a group of pre-high school students, who decide to play a horrible prank on the unpopular girl in school – only to have things turn around on them. We then cycle back a little, as an hour after we first see him in distress, we finally find out what the hell is happening with Mr. Kreeg (Brian Cox), the Principal’s neighbor, who has played a role in a few other stories as well. There is a strange little boy in a mask – Sam – who seemingly shows up in all the stories as well at certain times, sometimes just to be creepy, and sometimes with a lot more going on.

Trick ‘r Treat isn’t a really scary horror movie. Of the five, only the story with the kids playing the prank really gave me the chills – writer/director Michael Dougherty used the location of that one – an old quarry, at night – to brilliant effect, and the fact that he made them children – not teenagers – just makes the whole scene even creepier. The rest of the segments are more fun-scary, than scary-scary. It’s actually the type of horror movie that would be okay for younger teenagers looking to watch horror movies for the first time – or those wussies out there who don’t like the unrelenting terror of my favorite horror movies.

The film works because it never takes itself too seriously – but it takes itself seriously enough that it doesn’t cross the line between darkly comic and pure camp (which Creepshow, for example, did not do). I can see why horror fans have made this a cult item over the years – the production values and acting are really good for a low budget horror film, and the film has a great deal of fun recalling some of the 1980s horror films. I can also see why Warmers wasn’t sold on this being a big hit – horror movies usually become hits, regardless of whether or not they are any good, because they can market a simple hook. Trick ‘r Treat doesn’t have one of those. What it is though is a hell of a lot of fun for horror fans.