This film was the definition of bad writing, illogical plotting, over-acting - on top of bad acting! - and terrible directing, but if you go in expecting all that, accept it and then embrace it, the monsters will make it worth it. The kaiju fights were spectacular, loud, exciting, dynamic - if only a touch messy (which could also have been aggravated by the 3D-induced dimming) - and actually satisfying. Take away the distracting humans and their nonsensical, boring storyline, cut the running time by 20% and it might actually give Pacific Rim: Uprising (not the original!) a run for its money.
Michael Dougherty directed and co-wrote Godzilla: KOTM and maybe they should have let Gareth Edwards, who directed the 2014 Godzilla, continued on the franchise. Dougherty, and his cinematographer Lawrence Sher, had some great shots, especially when they go wide, but otherwise, his penchant for extreme close-ups were bordering on comical and ridiculous. He ain't no Barry Jenkins.
And as the director/writer, there should absolutely be no excuse for the total disregard for logic and sensibility on translation from script to screen. Furthermore, it was inexcusable to execute, and edit a film, to the point where the suspense of belief becomes so stark that it takes the audience out of the experience.
There really was no reason why we should be interrupted from a massively entertaining kaiju fight to indulge in some hollow, over-wrought, predictable, badly written and over-acted excuse for human drama.
Which then brings us to the actors.
Kyle Chandler is a treasure, but it seems that his talent may be more suited to the small screen than the big. This was possibly one of his worse acting showcase ever. He deserves a Razzie for this. Absolutely over-acting in every scene and moment, with nary an ounce of believable emotion. Come on, this is the guy that gave us Coach Taylor! He deserves way better than this.
Then we have Vera Farmiga. She got lost after Up in the Air, was briefly shining again in Bates Motel, but after that series ended, she seemed to have gotten lost and misplaced again. What a waste of another talent here. Although Farmiga did not overact, and did her best with the material, her character was too thinly written for her to really sink her teeth into.
Lastly, of the main cast, was Millie Bobby "Eleven" Brown who simply reprised aspects of her Stranger Things character. Also, her character just make narrative - rather than logical - choices. Why?!
Asian superstars Ken Watanabe and Zhang Ziyi were relegated to supporting roles that served purely as expository vehicles. But the former at least had a more defined purpose, whereas poor Zhang was relegated to the now-ubiquitous, token China actor. Worse still, a scene with her and Chandler at the end of the third act was so painfully misogynistic that it actually felt rude - bordering on vulgar - and should put Dougherty on every feminist's blacklist.
And, are we seeing a trend here about the female characters in this film? Female actors take note.
Oh, and Sally Hawkins too (not going to say much here...cos spoilers). Just because Aisha Hinds is a colonel and leading the military charge does not make everything else right.
Bradley Whitford and Thomas Middleditch brought the laughs - more like sniggers - and Charles Dance brought some English villainous flare. The pay checks definitely helped.
But the stars of the film were really Godzilla and King Ghidorah. Godzilla definitely had more screen time here than in Edwards' original, and ironically that film's problem was it spending too much time with the humans. And King Ghidorah truly did look and feel scary.
The CGI effects were great and made it worth watching on the big screen. If it was filmed for IMAX it would have been even more spectacular. Coupled with Bear McCreary's propulsive score, the fight sequences really stood out. They were exciting and involved. But then, once we cut to the human drama sides, the large difference in film quality was even more painfully obvious. We really did not care for the humans.
So, in short, this film was not really worth the IMAX or 3D extra, but if you are looking for something silly and brainless but loud and entertaining, Godzilla: KOTM will be worth a watch. Do stay till the end for a post-credits scene!
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