Godzilla and Kong teaming up in Adam Wingard’s GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).
Directed by Adam Wingard — Screenplay by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater.
Whether you call them kaiju, titans, or just plain old movie monsters, everyone knows King Kong and Godzilla. They’ve been projected onto the big screen for decades upon decades and yet it was only at the most recent Oscars ceremony that a Godzilla film was awarded with its first prestigious little golden statue. Now that franchise is only three Oscar statues behind Kong, who gained AMPAS recognition long before they finally gave Godzilla its own golden statuette. It was, however, a Japanese Toho production and not an American one, which this film is, that earned an Oscar. Nevertheless, the Oscar indicates that audiences, critics, and industry representatives alike all have an appetite for engrossing monster movies with something to say. At least, that’s what I’m told Godzilla: Minus One, which I have yet to see, is. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — Minus One’s American cousin — is, however, pretty much just a silly monster movie (though I’m not sure it aspired to be anything else, so I don’t fully mean it is a pejorative). It has plenty of things going for it, but it also made me question what exactly we, or I, want from these kinds of films.
Show Creator: Jeremy Slater — Show Directors: Mohamed Diab and Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson.
My most anticipated Marvel Studios Disney+ series thus far was, without a doubt, Moon Knight. Ever since I first started reading comic books about him on Marvel Unlimited several years ago, I have been waiting for the chance to finally see this character in live-action. When it was announced that two of my favorite actors — Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke — were going to be in it, my excitement for the show reached a fever pitch. I’ve now seen the show, so how is it? Well, overall, it’s quite good, but it still suffers from some of the early Marvel-Disney+ problems that we saw in many of last year’s Marvel Cinematic Universe shows.
The following is a review of 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four (2015)
Fantastic Four is the updated Marvel Comics origin story about its First Family – the Storm-siblings, the incredibly intelligent Reed Richards, and the strong-willed Ben Grimm. Together they team up to defend Earth and its citizens. But before becoming a team, they changed in more ways than one. Does the newest 20th Century Fox superhero film live up to its title? Sadly, no.
However, it did start quite well. This film is loosely based on the 2004 Marvel Comics reboot, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and you definitely see its roots if you’re familiar with the ‘source material.’ Reed Richards is a child prodigy, who is ultimately invited to study and work in the Baxter Building, and he is aided by his good friend, Ben Grimm, who, in spite of his involvement in Reed’s school project, has no real attachment to the Baxter Building.
In fact, I loved this part. There was a certain Batman Begins-feel to the film, and everything worked for quite a while. There can be no doubt, the best character in this film is Reed Richards – as he should be. Also, while I was afraid of what tone Fox was going with, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the film was less grim than the trailer made it out to be.
It is not that the film was perfect for the first hour, or so, but it ran rather smoothly. Sure, the dialogue was a bit wonky and cheesy at times – but it didn’t really hurt the film in its first half. But then things started to fall apart. I can tell you that there is a handful of comic book movie sins in this film – but no sin is bigger than the one they commit at its halfway point. Reed Richards’ reasoning for using the Quantum Gate is extremely dodgy and out of character.
After having reached the point of no return, you start to notice the film’s clear errors. The look of the ‘other dimension’ is not done well, Kate Mara is wearing what looks to be a wig for half of her scenes, and the pacing is awful. When I started to think about the villain, then the film started to be upsetting.
Victor Von Doom (Not ‘Domashev’; apparently, they chose to keep the original name after fan backlash) is obviously the villain. And I’m not just saying that because I know of the comic books. The film hits you over the head with the obvious fact that Toby Kebbell’s character is the villain. He is referred to as ‘Dr. Doom’ sarcastically – as well as ‘Adolf’ (no, I’m not kidding). Sadly, Doom is a forgettable character and his look is awful. Doom should not look like a silver-and-green mannequin.
Josh Trank, Simon Kinberg, and Jeremy Slater had a great plan for this film, but while they handled Mr. Fantastic and the first half of the film amazingly, they ultimately fall short. In the end, the pacing of the final act is what kills this film. The big battle is rushed, the villain is wasted, and Marvel’s First Family doesn’t really live up to its name. An awful reboot for the Fantastic Four.
Final Score: 4.9 out of 10 – Though promising at first, Fantastic Four completely falls apart in the poorly paced final act.
This week’s Marvelous Monday focuses on the potential of the newest Marvel Comics-based superhero flick coming this summer. Fantastic Four is the last superhero film of 2015. But this isn’t a Marvel Studios film. No, this is one of Fox’s attempts at a stronger superhero universe. The film has had a lot of problems in the press: rumors and comments about the script, Dr. Doom, and the director have stopped the hype-train somewhat. So, today we need to make up our minds: What are the dos and don’ts for the returning Mister Fantastic-led franchise? Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #29 – Dos and Don’ts for Fox’s Fantastic Four”→
I'm Jeffrey Rex 