Godzilla v. Kong. I'm Team Neither. I'm Team Mega-Tub of Popcorn and Large Cherry Pepsi

Haha. No shade, OP, but these CGI monsters leave me feeling cold. Give me the 1962 Japanese "Suitmation" version any day - there's just something charming about watching two full-grown men in ratty suits sumo wrestling through a miniature city set that these modern CGI spectacles can't top. I am 37, and the original "King Kong vs Godzilla" has been one of my favorite movies from the time I was about 6 years old. Though this quote refers to stop-motion animation (Harryhausen, et al), I believe it also applies equally well to old school "dino suit" Godzilla movies: "Stop-motion looks fake, but feels real. CGI looks real, but feels fake." - Roger Ebert

I could do without that song.

r1,

Here's Ghidorah putting the ZAP! to Godzilla's balls, butt and then at the .49 mark, Godzilla doesn't know if he's foot or horseback and face-plants himself.

The song, from what I've seen from reactions, has polarized reactions. You either love it or hate it.

No thanks. The Asylum series of mockbusters have turned me against films like this. I watched 12 of them in a 12 hour period, could barely get past the first 45 minutes.

Baby Kong and his smoke rings.

No Tim Hiddleston.

I thought for sure he'd be in this because he was in Kong: Skull Island.

Tom Hiddleston, not Tim.

R1, It's amazing how the CGI team makes Godzilla look a a man in a suit. Why not just use a suit?

This does look fun, though. 2019's King of the Monsters was a bit flat. I think they tried to cram in way more stuff than needed. Plus the big fight at the end was way too dark to see WTF was going on. And Vera Farmiga's character completely lacked any development other than switching teams.

oH MY GOD that song.

R7 Skull Island took place in the 70s. This takes place present day.

Kong has never saved the world; Godzilla has several times. We need to display our affection, support, and gratitude.

Bump

I'll take sexy Ultraman over this new shit any day. Or Gamera, the flatulent turtle who should have been in the Olympics.

"It's Godzilla."

Never good to hear that.

Reviewers invited to an advance screening of the entire finished movie tweeted positive reactions to G v KK.

Yeah, I posted on the other thread, too. OP here of this thread and I don't care which thread takes off, if it does.

I just watched in cinema today.

I'm a jealous bitch, r18, but good for you.

Well?

Any spoiler-free reaction you'd care to post?

R18, can I have your stuff?

If it’s debuting on hbo max, it’s crap. Trust me, the studios are delaying their worthy movies.

Just finished watching Godzilla v Kong on hbo max. I enjoyed it, but I had the good sense to have low expectations anyway.

I found myself agreeing with the advance positive reviews - the human stories, as usual, sucked, but the fights and special effects were out. of. this. world., really an eyegasm.

G v. K is meaningless, frothy, nonsense, and, oh, did I enjoy it

I watched it this evening and was bored. Corny and predictable. I would be pissed if I paid $$$ to watch it in a theater.

What will Godzilla's pronouns be in this film? I need to know Godzilla isn't cis scum before I buy a ticket.

I just watched this. It wasn’t as terrible as the last one, and there were some fun moments, but overall not as great as the first Edwards Godzilla, or as popcorny fun as Kong Skull Island.

To see what made the first film so good, and such a cultural phenomenon, in summer 2014, watch Edwards’ movie Monsters. A movie I love. It shows you how the guy knows how to tell stories like this. Make the monsters flavoring in the soup. The main ingredients have to be people.

Am I the only one that found the movie to be mostly dull?

[quote] but overall not as great as the first Edwards Godzilla

Agree, Bootsy- Gumdrop

I loved Gareth Edwards 2014 "Godzilla". I think it's underrated.

The parachute jump scene was truly unnerving, in a good way, and a visual feast, to boot.

When it suddenly turned into The Matrix with those flying ships, I just had to face palm.

no, r26, I enjoyed "G v K", but, bizarrely, at some points, it managed to be both fast-paced and dull at the same time.

For whatever reasons, the original Toho Godzillas with the exception of Ishuro Honda's original "Godzilla" in 1954, made the stupid human stories part of the enduring, cheesy charm of watching them.

The American-made Monsterverse "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" and "G v K" can't quite capture the same mood of the old Toho human story plots.

I really loved Kong: Skull Island.

I liked the first Godzilla movie well enough.

I thought Godzilla: King of the Monsters was ... damn near terrible.

This one is sort of a middle-ground. Middle of the pack somewhere. Not terrible, but not really very good either.

I couldn't be more bored with these movies made for men who are still children.

Glad to hear some other gays appreciate the 2014 Godzilla. It had a style and sense of scale that brought the kaiju aesthetic to life in a way that none of the films since have been able to match.

Who won ?

Nobody won.

In the 1963 version King Kong got top billing, you would think Toho would want their big star to be the star in America.

In New York AMC is charging $26 bucks a ticket for IMAX. I'm no cheapskate and an ex movie theater manager but c'mon especially since it's streaming too.

I thought it was a little better than the last one, but it got very unbelievable in more than a few spots. I won’t spout it for anyone, but there was a plot surprise that was enjoyable. The 2014 one was quite good though.

Team Mothra and the singing mini geishas.

Lizards are disgusting and creepy, so Team Kong all the way.

One Will Fall is kind of a deceptive promise. I didn't like that. Also, Millie whatever her name is was annoying. It had its moments but I'm surprised it's getting as good of reviews as its getting.

[quote] Who won ?

HBO Max, I guess.

I’ve never done peyote, but this movie must be what it’s like. Utterly whacko and more than a little boring.

It’s not as good as the hype, but overall entertaining. Kong is given more screen time and sympathy, whereas Godzilla was characterized as the villain and more distant.

Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle did a review, and it's chock full of ass. The man doesn't understand Godzilla films at all, or the point of the character.

Godzilla could breathe his nuclear fire breath on Kong, movie over. The end.

Have you seen it, R44?

Kong does get seriously singed.

No, not yet but c'mon it's not a real match.

I hated Millennial Godzilla a/k/a the 2014 Godzilla.

Kong using a Hong Kong skyscraper as a backrest is epic

Critics loved 2014 Zilla

Your observations are fair, R44/R46. But I can't tell you 𝑤ℎ𝑦 Kong isn't immediately wiped out by Godzilla, not without seriously spoiling the film. You'll need to see it.

You've seen the trailer, right? All versions of the trailer generally conclude with a close-up of one of Godzilla's eyes. There's something reflected there, if you look closely - something the trailers, summaries and reviews have avoided mentioning.

Full disclosure: I'm 'Team Godzilla,' and always have been , since I was a child during the Showa Era. I used to sleep with a model Godzilla as a security toy. When I was ten, I finally saw the original 'Godzilla; King of the Monsters' (1954; US cut) on television, and at the denouement, I ran from the room and sobbed my little heart out in my room. I was also rather upset with the original 'King Kong vs Godzilla' (1962).

But this 2021 film manages to be fair to both of them.

I don't give a fuck how many critics loved Millennial Godzilla: I hated it.

I hated the lead actor. He ruined the movie for me.

[quote]Critics loved 2014 Zilla

R49, "Zilla" is what the Toho kaiju franchise has chosen to call the iguana-like creature depicted in 'Godzilla' (1998) - Roland Emmerichand Tristar's loathed re-design of Godzilla. 'Zilla' makes an appearance in Toho's 2004 film, 'Godzilla: Final Wars', where he is incinerated by Godzilla's atomic breath.

Zilla 2014 is spectacular, a visual and emotional feast.

[quote]Full disclosure: I'm 'Team Godzilla,' and always have been

Being such a fan, did you like the 98 re-design?

[quote] Who won ?

You’re all winners!

I'm never going to get back the two hours I wasted trying to watch this dreck. It's awful.

The 98 Godzilla sucked, but it was a fucking masterpiece compared to the piece-of-shit Japanese Godzilla flicks of the 90s-2000s, and mads far more money, so their denial and peevish revenge on the most biologically plausible Godzilla was full of tiny dick energy.

[quote]Being such a fan, did you like the 98 re-design?

What do you think, R54? If you'd read the thread, you would know.

I think that Toho's reclaim of the Tristar 'Zilla' as a separate kaiju, distinct from Godzilla (see R52), was a creative way of answering their re-design.

Why Does King Kong have a bubble butt?

Kong has an ... "interesting'... counter to Godzilla's firey breath of death.

Kong got his butt kicked

Zilla and Kong had an awkward close up stare down that has audiences thinking they were about to kiss

[quote] Being such a fan, did you like the 98 re-design?

[quote]What do you think, [R54]? If you'd read the thread, you would know.... I think that Toho's reclaim of the Tristar 'Zilla' as a separate kaiju, distinct from Godzilla (see [R52]), was a creative way of answering their re-design.

A simple yes or no would have sufficed.

Amazeballs

Call me Gamera shows up.

The movie was shit.

Seriously.

So stupid.

I loved it and didn’t expect to.

King is so cute!

Kong*

I'm so glad that I got out of this shit business.

The only thing I truly loved about Godzilla ‘98 was this fab cover.

The production budget for this movie was $200 million and the studio postponed the release several times bc they thought it would flop big time. After its first week, the movie already made $285 million while also streaming on HBO max at the same time. I guess these numbers are pretty good for a movie release during a global pandemic.

Did you guys like Alexander Skarsgard in this movie? You guys think his name recognition contributed to the movie's success or is he basically replaceable? His career has been lackluster for years and I would love for him to have a better career and better options.

I'm so glad I didn't pay money for this stupid shit.

Godzilla bores a hole down to the center of the earth where Kong is, and they SEE each other?

Kong fell for like HOURS down into the center of the earth, but manages to climb back up in like 2 minutes?

He has an electric axe with a wireless charging plate?

My fucking god this movie was so goddamned stupid.

[quote]The production budget for this movie was $200 million and the studio postponed the release several times bc they thought it would flop big time.

The studio postponed the release several times because movie theaters have been closed for over a year. Jeez.

I almost fell asleep during it. Can anyone actually remember the plot? There wasn't much of one. And the stories with the humans? Do you even REMEMBER them? I don't. I can't remember a single actual character.

R74 The stuff with Hollow Earth was really stupid and they spend way too much time trying to explain it. It' weird that Kong is the hero because the film feels more like the last Godzilla film than any of the Kong films.

Spoilers

For those who are wondering. Godzilla keeps kicking Kong's ass. Kong is able to land some hits with help from the humans but instead of killing him, Godzilla just leaves Kong for dead. Godzilla, Kong, and the humans all team up to defeat Mechagodzilla in the end.

Godzilla should kick Kong’s ass. It is not a contest

Not everyone loved Godzilla 2014 =

[Quote]The studio postponed the release several times because movie theaters have been closed for over a year. Jeez.

Wrong dumbass. The movie release was already delayed before the pandemic hit last year. The pandemic postponed the release even longer.

[quote]A simple yes or no would have sufficed.

If you had just read the thread, R63, you wouldn't have needed that.

Meanwhile...

Why are trollsocks so intent upon diverting this thread onto Godzilla 2014?

I've sat through 'Godzilla vs Kong' twice now - once with my brother, and a second time with my best friend.

I do have a few criticisms.

Kyle Chandler, the star of the previous film in the franchise, appears here, but he is entirely superfluous, and the character's cluelessness made me dislike him.

At the Antarctic, the passageway in the mountainside gave me hope that they might be about to connect the Monsterverse with a little bit of Lovecraft, that this might have been 'unknown Kadath in the cold waste,' and the passageway the potential lair of Earth's last surviving 'Old Ones,' and their former servants, the Shoggothoi. No such luck. It was instead the passageway to 'Hollow Earth,' a fanciful theory from the 17th century which found favor with the Nazis, and more recently with the alt/far right, who are reviving it.

Within a couple of moments of the film taking us there, I wanted to know, in the center of the Earth, what is the light source? Where's the light coming from? It's stupid.

Kong finding the Shrine of the Titans, finding a weapon, and sitting upon the throne was a tiresome trope. It reminded me of Conan ('Conan the Barbarian' (1982)) finding the tomb of an Atlantean potentate and appropriating his sword, which led him to victory. It also reminded me of a video game trope, one of those quests: find the magical item - in this case, an axe fashioned from a Godzilla-type titan femur and one of the radioactive spines, which collects and concentrates atomic energy. Full Stop: If Godzilla and his unique properties were the result of atomic tests in the late 1940s/early 1950s (summarized in 'Godzilla vs Kong's opening montage), how is it we're seeing the remains of giant atomic titans and a shrine powered by their energy dating from time immemorial? C'mon, people. You're crapping up the franchise. Later film storylines are going to walk this stuff back, or just ignore it and take it a different direction.

It also somehow renders the imaginative universe in which these stories take place much smaller. Mysteries in the heart of the Earth? Nah- been there, seen that.

What perhaps annoyed me the most is the conspiracy-QAnon-bleach guy, Bernie Hayes, being the one with real insider knowledge and a handle on what's going on in the film. This kind of constitutes meta-commentary on the legitimacy of our society's QAnon nuts, implying that they might be right about some things. I do not appreciate that about this film. I can see how it might have made an inroad into this film's storyline through studio focus groups and attempts to find what society might find identifiable, data assembled during the heart of the Trump Administration and its far right madness, with internet trends being artificially magnified to make it seem like a more popular viewpoint; producers/writers at Warner Bros evidently thought this would make the film cool and trendy. But 'Godzilla vs Kong' has been released to the public after that particular ride came to an end on Nov 3 and Jan 20; its indulgence of the far-right mindset is already dead on arrival. They just shouldn't have put that in the film.

The film's entertainment value, for me, is ephemeral. A week from now, I won't be thinking about it anymore, and by the time of the next installment, I probably won't remember much about it.

R80 my god. Even this thread can’t be free of politics.

The film isn't free of politics, R81. Far from it. It even manages to bring in Trump's bleach.

You know how forgettable this movie's human characters and storylines are? I didn't even remember that Kyle Chandler or Millie Bobbie Brown were in the movie! Did they have roles? I mean, seriously, WTF?

I can remember the bit monster battles, but I literally cannot remember anything having to do with the humans. Their plots didn't even intersect at all. It was all a pointless waste of time.

r71 I thought Alexander Skarsgard was very forgettable in this role. Sadly, he's losing his looks if this movie is any indication.

R84, why cast Alexander Skarsgård at all, as a separate character? Wouldn't Kyle Chandler's character be a better fit, in-franchise?

Inconsistencies like this make it feel as if this film was contested by factions, internally, during its making.

And its validation of QAnon is just unacceptable.

As I continue to digest it, I'm becoming more critical of it.

Godzilla is looking a bit chunky. I think she's put on weight.

Chandler was also in 2005 "King Kong"

Godzilla 2014: “ May 15, 2014 If you're into superlatives - and who isn't? - Godzilla conjures the most jaw-dropping giant monster sequences since the original King Kong.” —Dallas Morning News

R88 the action had higher stakes in 2014. It felt real. This one felt more like a live action cartoon. The hokey sci fi elements didn’t help.

I hated this goddam movie.

[quote] What perhaps annoyed me the most is the conspiracy-QAnon-bleach guy, Bernie Hayes, being the one with real insider knowledge and a handle on what's going on in the film.

Not every tin-hat conspiracy theorist is Q-Anon. That's like saying every American is a Deplorable. It's a very inaccurate generalization.

Godzilla is Thicc yo

Whatever happened to Godzooky, Godzilla’s nephew?

R87 That's interesting. They kept continuity among the characters from the Godzilla films but not the Kong films. I personally would've liked to see less of the sci fi aspect and more of the action adventure feel of the earlier Kong films.

Kong: Skull Island was the only really GOOD movie of the series.

The first Godzilla movie was second, but a rather distant second.

There is no third. All the rest are shit.

One thing I don't like about these recent monster movies is the uniformly drag color palette. The 2005 King Kong looked good but unfortunately the CGI wasn't that great in spots. But everything that has come out since has looked overly red, yellow, or blue.

I missed Godzilla’s adorable and iconic high-pitched roar, which usually tapers off into a questioning little moan. It’s exclusion bothered me.

[Quote][R84], why cast Alexander Skarsgård at all, as a separate character? Wouldn't Kyle Chandler's character be a better fit, in-franchise?

Didn't the last movie with Kyle Chandler as the lead bomb at the boxoffice? They probably dropped him as the lead bc he doesn't have much star power to get butts into seats. He's a great actor, but more a supporting guy and definitely not leading man material. Most probably recognize his face but don't even know his name. Alexander Skarsgard just had a very successful year with Big Little Lies when he got the part in this movie. Too bad he's already middle-aged now and the big breakout role/movie career never happened.

I don't know why they don't try to use/get the rights to the

characters from the 70s Marvel comic book or the late 70s tv show.

r85 As a gayling had a crush on Kyle Chandler during his Early Edition years.

Fingers crossed for Zack Snyder making a four hour+ Gadzooky spin-off. Someone should start a hashtag.

It is so bad.

Not bad good. Bad bad.

It’s quite good

It is not, by any standard, 'quite good'.

Team Dong

R104, the public response and reviews say otherwise

R103 It’s fun, isn’t it?

R106 "The Public" also liked "Lobster". One of the worst movies ever made.

This movie is god awful.

Lobster?

The Lobster, with Colin Farrell. I thought it was pretty good. Anyway, personal taste and all that.

Can't believe there is any real debate. The filmmakers had to make Kong bigger just to turn this into something resembling a fair right (remember how small he was relative to the Empire State Building in the original?). Kong was rightly depicted as the David to Godzilla's Goliath.

Debate?

Well now, you do get your money's worth, it may be only an hour and forty five minutes, it seems to never end.

Eh. I’ll stick with my Kamen Rider and Sentai/Power Rangers.

And even they aren’t adapted well or faithfully by the West from the original Japanese. I’m still waiting to see the English-speaking version of my husbandō Jan Kandou (Geki Red/Red Tiger Ranger) done properly...

The one thing that decreased the climax for me was how little the realm baddie was able to do onscreen before he emerged and they ran a train on him.

Those 60s Japanese monster movies are quaint and can be a bit dull at times, but they knew how to set up a final confrontation.

^^^ real

WE NEED AN EDIT FUNCTION

#GodzillaVsKong keeps smashing pandemic box office records

💰 $357.8M worldwide

💰 $70M domestic, overtaking 'Tenet' as top-grosser of the pandemic

💰 On track to turn a profit

It's amazing that $70 million domestic is considered a success now. Pre-pandemic everything under $200 million for a film with this budget would have been a huge flop.

John Carter made $70M domestic and is still considered as one of the biggest flops in history.

R118, "John Carter" was a ten times better movie than Godzilla vs Kong"

R118, we’re still in a pandemic. Expectations are adjusted accordingly. You should know that

^That is why i wrote pre-pandemic, dumbass.

Thicc