Legendary Pictures' Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island - the MonsterVerse

I still remember exactly where I was when the first teaser trailer for Legendary Pictures' Godzilla dropped. I was in my 8th grade science class and we had a computer day and I just kept refreshing Warner Bros' YouTube channel until I eventually saw the magic words "Godzilla" and "Teaser Trailer" in the same title. It was official: the King was coming back and I was not ready. And here we are, five years later. It's really weird thinking about how fast time has flown by, but here we are. Little did I know in 2014 when Godzilla came out that it could only get better, because soon I got an announcement from Twitter saying that Legendary had the rights to Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan, and that the upcoming Kong movie would be moved to Legendary to set up Godzilla vs. Kong, a remake that has been BEGGING to happen for almost 50 years. So, what is this to say? Well, I have a lot of nostalgia and fond memories surrounding both of these movies. When Godzilla came out, I was finishing middle school, excited for what was about to come next (for the series and life), and couldn't contain how excited it made me feel. When Skull Island came out, I was wrapping up a production of Hairspray I was in, and generally killing it. It was a good Junior Year. The point I'm trying to make here is that I have memories tied to these movies, and sometimes it's hard to be objective with movies and memories you love. So, I'm going to try my best to be objective with these two movies. So, what is an objective fact about Legendary Pictures' Godzilla? Well, Godzilla is a movie that properly reintroduces cinema's greatest monster for audiences who may not have truly known him, and makes the monster king feel really cool. Of course his screentime is lacking, but we'll get to that later. As for Kong: Skull Island? Easy. Kong: Skull Island is a lovingly made throwback to the undiscovered land kind of movies that defined lots of early sci-fi, and is totally enjoyable in its own right, featuring some fantastically over the top action set pieces, brilliant effects work and a self aware tone that makes the movie even more enjoyable. So, let's start off this grand finale with my review of the 2014 film from Legendary Pictures; Godzilla.

In 1954, nuclear bomb tests in the South Pacific reawakened ancient animals from a time on Earth when radiation was higher. The king of this primeval ecosystem was the ancient guardian: Godzilla. After a decades long nap and the reemergence of his one natural predator, Godzilla will soon collide with the MUTOs, and must end them before their young can hatch and takeover this world they are freshly setting eyes upon.

That's right, we're gonna have another build in this review. There are a lot of positives to go over with this movie, and I know I won't be able to hit them all, BUT I'll try my absolute best. Let's start with the soundtrack. Alexandre Desplat is not a composer I expected to make music for a Godzilla film, but lo and behold, he did! So, here's the thing. In my opinion, it's not incredible, but it is some very good music. I don't think any songs are gonna stand in the history of film quite like Ifukube's music, but he gets some great music in the movie. My personal favorite piece is "Godzilla!" which opens the while movie. In the context of the film, I love this music. Prior to this movie, Godzilla hadn't been seen in 10 years on a screen that wasn't a slot machine in Japan. He was gone and he came back, so the music announcing his return had to sound big, exciting and dangerous. And this theme covers that feeling BEAUTIFULLY. I've heard others say that parts of the song sound like they fit Batman, which I can see. But what I hear here is a BRILLIANT theme that fits this version of the character perfectly: a supermassive creature that hid away from the world and society for millions of years only to be rediscovered and reawakened by the sins of man upon the Earth. And I think this theme demonstrates that very well. It's big, it feels bombastic and like at any point it's ready to turn more sinister, as Godzilla seems to be interpreted for a nice chunk of time in the film. It's brilliant stuff, honestly.

Next up, how about the human cast? The human cast usually bogs down the movies of this franchise, but in the case of Godzilla, it is benefited enormously from its cast of humans. Right off the bat, of course, this movie will forever live infamously with the fact that Bryan Cranston's character, Joe Brody dies WAY too early in the film, and I completely agree. But what we get out of him is an amazingly captivating performance that enhances the overall film for the amount of time he is on screen. And while I will agree Aaron Taylor-Johnson does not capture the same energy or power that Cranston gives, he's not as bad as people say. I like the character, honestly. I think it's a very honest performance, a man continually hardened by the events of the film who ultimately just wants to get home to his family. Not an amazing character, but not a bad one either. But of course the star of the show is Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizwa. First of all, the simple name callback is an amazing one, and a nice simple way to callback to the original film without being TOO obvious. And then as a character in his own right, he gets a lot of fantastic moments like Joe Brody. Of course there is the famous "Let them fight" line, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. His moments of staring at Godzilla in pure joy are the looks of every child ever, and he's just so incredibly easy to follow and get behind. He's a fantastic character to follow along on this journey of Godzilla chasing.

And you knew this was coming: you bet your ASS Godzilla is the best part of the entire movie. From his greatest first appearance on screen in the movie to his shrugging off missiles on the Golden Gate Bridge to even the Kiss of Death to end the movie, Godzilla is at the absolute peak of his character in this movie. All cards on the table, this is my favorite Godzilla. Ever. From his design to his use of the atomic breath and even his roar and sound design, Godzilla is just at his absolute best in this movie. And complain all you want, folks. But I will come to the defense of the filmmaker on this one: Godzilla's screentime was used PERFECTLY. Of course, I always would love to see more Godzilla in a movie. But every ounce of his appearances were immaculately used. I will say the only issue with Godzilla in the movie isn't his fault: it's the MUTOs. Unfortunately, the MUTOs do indeed take a bit more of a narrative focus in this movie, and that is an issue. But it was never as big an issue to me as say, Godzilla vs. Mothra. Because at the end of the day, Godzilla still appears frequently (just not as much in minutes), and ultimately gets to take care of them with two of the best kills Godzilla has ever had on screen. Godzilla is at his absolute best in this movie, and he was done absolute justice in the film. For a 10 year wait, he picked up right where he left off and immediately reminds the world why you just can't kill Godzilla.

I'm going to give my consensus on Godzilla later, 'cause we got a whole other movie to talk about right now; Kong: Skull Island. Skull Island is a bit of a controversial movie, and I get why. This movie is just SO. FUN. This is not in a lot of ways a technically good movie. Its characters are undeveloped and the ones that are don't get the focus they deserve, the story is a bit messy and it's entirely aware of it. This movie is a throwback to the movies like the Lost World and even the original King Kong, largely distinguishing itself from the lack of time in New York City. Kong: Skull Island is an absolute blast to watch, because with your brain turned off, this is one of the most fun movies I think I've honestly ever watched.

With the Cold War ramping up and with the United States discovering a piece of land undiscovered by the USSR, a crew of soldiers and scientists venture to this mystical land: Skull Island. But once the soldiers begin bombing the island in hopes of luring out a giant monster, the monster makes itself known: Kong. After Kong wiped out the full helicopter brigade, the people have to get off the island within three days, or die to Kong, the Skullcrawlers and whatever other horrible monsters roam the island of horrors.

First and foremost; this is not King Kong. Like, this is about as far from a true Kong movie as you can get. Because this movie is not aiming for awe and a sad message about beauty and the beast. It's a pure balls to the wall action movie. And I LOVE it. I just love it. This starts with Kong. Holy crap, Kong is IN. CREDIBLE. Of course, this is not the King Kong of old, and they're not going for that. This is an action star and he is so damn good at it. I love the design, looking enough like the original Kong and enough like a new one that anyone can get behind him. Of course, this is not the original Kong. I know he isn't and most people do have an issue with that, and I understand. I adore the original movie and no movie, not even Peter Jackson's remake are going to ever be what the original movie is and always will be. And the thing I love about Kong: Skull Island is that it knows that it isn't and never will be. It is going for something different, and that's okay, because unlike TriStar's Godzilla, it's still a boiled down version of the original character. I enjoy what we get in this movie and it's awesome. The only bummer with this Kong is that he never leaves Skull Island, and that is actually so much of what makes the movie interesting. Speaking of which...

Skull Island is SUCH a cool location. The two most important things of the movie are in the title: Kong: Skull Island. If they didn't nail Skull Island in the movie, it would be an absolute failure, because half of the movie is out the window. And so it was critical they got it right and they absolutely perfected Skull Island. For future appearances of Kong, this is the version of the infamous island to mimic. Of course, it is such a bummer there aren't dinosaurs. But it's alright in my eyes because it fits with the environment and history of this Earth filled with monsters. It only makes sense that in a world that natural tends to follow the evolutionary trends of the real Earth that Skull Island would follow that too. The animals of the island are so cool, all massive bugs and mammals and one very big squid. My favorite one is the Mother Longlegs. The action scene is brief but exciting and actually pretty horrifying with its visuals. The Island is so incredibly well put together and it is genuinely quite terrifying at times.

And of course we got the simple problem of the movie: everything else. Yeah, this movies characters and story are ridiculous. And that's not a problem honestly. The movie's goal is simple: get dumb people on an island, kill a lot of them and let the cool-ISH ones get away. That's the conventions of this genre, and I understand why it might be an issue for some, but for me, that's the characters I expect and am okay with. Of course, more nuanced characters are always welcome. But it's what I expect, so when that's what I get, I have no problem with it. HOWEVER, John C. Reilly's character of Hank Marlow is awesome. The only problem is that he's not the intended protagonist, but it happens. I like the characters, honestly. They do exactly what they need to and that's not an issue. They're just humans in a monster movie.

As for Godzilla, it is a great movie. It gets some incredible action and even two fantastic performances in the movie. What we get in Godzilla is one of the landmark installments in the series, and I cannot help but recommend it to anyone, especially fans trying to enter the series.

Kong: Skull Island is an exciting action movie that knows EXACTLY what it is. It doesn't try being philosophical or anything more than a fun action movie. It's just a movie to get you in a seat and leave with a BIG smile on your face and adrenaline in your heart. Does it do that? Absolutely.

The MonsterVerse is off to a great start, but you know what we've been building to. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the movie I have been waiting for for the last five years, and the fact it comes out tomorrow is astonishing. I love this series so far and what it's doing with these characters so far. I love this so much, and I cannot wait to enter the theater tomorrow to see some incredible monster action.

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And that's that. Until I get to seeing and reviewing the movie, my review series is almost over. BUT NOT QUITE! Because tomorrow I will be releasing my official list of my top 10 favorite Godzilla movies. I am nervous, because it is always a discussion starter when talking about your favorite G Flicks, but I think I have an exciting list. So please come back tomorrow, and stay tuned. Because once that's done, you know for sure I will review Godzilla: King of the Monsters.