Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

It occurs to me that Godzilla is like The Incredible Hulk minus Bruce Banner.  You have this giant creature that goes around smashing things without remorse.  If you like to see cities leveled, this is your character.  Motivations and origins may change, but the underlying narrative seems to be the same.

When I first saw coming attractions for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, I was all set to see it.  I mean, who doesn’t love seeing a major city left uninhabitable?  Then, I took a look at the IMDb page and realized that it was a sequel.  I was worried that I might need to see Godzilla to understand this incarnation.  It turns out I was worried for no reason.  Very little of this movie’s continuity relies on the previous movie.

In fact, had I not just told you, you could have watched this movie without knowing that any other movies came before this one.  You might have had some inclination that something was off, but not felt motivated to check.  (I have the DVD for Kong: Skull Island, which also exists in-universe.)  In fact, the two movies have exactly four actors in common.  That should tell you something.

In this outing, Godzilla is going up against several other monsters.  An organization called Monarch is all set to awaken all of these ancient creatures, including Mothra.  Why?  Well, this is the Earth’s way of taking care of itself.  We’ve become an infestation and Godzilla is the cure.  Working for Monarch is Dr. Emma Russell, who has a device that can control the monsters.

Then, there are those, such as Mark Russell, who say kill all the monsters.  He never trusted them, and he never will. He could never forgive them for the death of his boy.  (Wait…Maybe that was Kirk from Star Trek VI talking about Klingons.)  At any rate, they are a threat.  And yes, he was married to Emma.  They even have a daughter, Madison.

So, yeah.  It turns out that maybe Godzilla is a good thing.  Like in the first movie, he can keep the other monsters in line.  The main difference is that we now have 17 different monsters running around.  (It was Monarch’s plan to release one at a time, but things got out of hand.) 

One thing I like about having AMC’s A-List is that the premium movies are included in the plan.  So, whatever else, I got to see this movie in 3D.  I would tell you to do so if you can upgrade at no additional cost, since it would seem to be a vehicle for the effects.  Other than that, it wasn’t a particularly memorable movie.

IMDb page

Godzilla (2014)

I was all set to watch Godzilla: King of the Monsters until I realized that it was actually a sequel.  Or, at least, IMDb had listed movies that had preceded it.   So, I set out to find a way to stream it.  Netflix had removed it from their streaming service on May 1.  With Hulu and Amazon, I had to pay extra.  (Hulu required a special package and it didn’t appear to be available with Prime.)  I wanted to watch King of the Monsters the next day, so the library wasn‘t looking good.  Finally, I found an option through my cable provider.  I’m wondering if I should have just skipped it.

The movie, as you might expect, is about a giant lizard creature that terrorizes the human population.  We don’t get much of a back story, except to say that America’s nuclear tests were attempts to rid ourselves of the giant creature.  Oh, it comes from a time before humanity.  And since it’s an American production, it’s mostly American cities that are destroyed.  (If you live in Las Vegas or San Francisco, I have bad news for you.)

The action revolves around Godzilla fighting two other large creatures.  (Part of the suspense comes from the fact that one is pregnant.)  There are also several humans trying to stop them.  It’s clear that the mating pair is dangerous, but what of Godzilla?  Is he helpful or will he turn on us once the other two monsters are gone?

The Navy wants to nuke all three of them, but that means getting them far enough away from civilization.  Not an easy task, especially considering that these monsters feed on radiation.  Would the blast be enough to kill them?  If I understand correctly, it‘s like luring someone in with their favorite food hoping they‘ll choke on it.

The entire movie was a little confusing.  There was very little in the way of commentary.  Shin Godzilla at least had a nuclear meltdown as a backdrop.  This incarnation is more about people fighting unstoppable monsters, hoping that another unstoppable monster might save them.  Oh, and there’s a sequel.  It almost seems like it’s a vehicle for the effects.

The movie was successful enough that two sequels were green lit during this film’s opening weekend, which would mean that enough people go for that kind of action.  I also watched both of the first two movies within a 24-hour span, so there’s that.  Still, my decision to see Godzilla vs. Kong will probably be based on whether or not I still have AMC’s A-List.  (Similarly, I’d like to see Kong: Skull Island if I can get it from the library or through Netflix.)

I’d imagine that there are worse ways to spend two hours.  I’ve you’ve seen a lot of Godzilla movies, I’m sure this one will be at least a little repetitive.  I don’t know how many times you can see a city destroyed before it gets old.  For me, I always think about all the people that have to evacuate if the city is entirely destroyed.  Even when a monster steps on someone’s car, I imagine someone coming out and freaking because something important was in there.  (“My dry cleaning!  What am I going to wear to that big interview!”)  The movie’s not great, but at least it’s not radioactive.

IMDb page

The Shape of Water (2017)

My mother and I were talking about Trading Places shortly after she had watched it.  She was wondering if the use of a derogatory term by one of the Duke Brothers was called for.  I felt it was, as they weren’t really meant to be sympathetic characters.  They were the antagonists and nothing else.

In The Shape of Water, Richard Strickland fills that role.  He’s a racist, misogynistic creep who happens to be in authority.  The movie is set in the 1960s and he seems to represent everything about that decade that humanity should have overcome by now.  This shows in his interactions with the other main characters.

When he first encounters Elisa and Zelda, two female janitors, he doesn’t seem to mind them watching him urinate.  This is after they complained that men can’t hit the broad side of a urinal.  (I guess aim doesn’t make you a good person.)  He also leaves his cattle prod in plain view, mentioning how dangerous it is.  (Compensate much?)  He also prefers to wash his hands before doing his business.  (Who even does that?)

It doesn’t take long for The Asset to arrive.  What the main characters call The Asset, IMDb has listed as Amphibian Man.  He was captured in South America and brought to Baltimore to be studied.  Amphibian Man is kept locked up with Elisa and Zelda going in to clean the room as needed.  When it becomes apparent that Amphibian Man will be killed, Elisa knows she has to free him no matter the risk.

This is the movie that Bright could have been.  Instead of using the fantasy element as just another aspect of the movie, we have the fantasy element worked subtly into the plot.  A creature is brought in for study and is treated like crap.  I would normally complain about the character being called The Asset, but that’s exactly what I’d expect.  If you’re going to a vivisection, you don’t want to get too attached to the organism in question.

Strickland is a results-oriented guy.  That’s why he was brought in on the project.  However, many of the characters are minorities.  Elisa is mute.  Zelda is African-American.  Elisa’s neighbor is gay.  There’s even a Soviet spy mixed in.  These are not people that were welcomed with open arms in 1960s America, which breeds a certain level of empathy for Amphibian Man.  How we treat others, especially those not like us, says a lot about who we are.  This is where Strickland comes across as pure antagonist.

It’s worth noting that the movie doesn’t hold any punches when it comes to minorities.  A couple is turned away from a restaurant because people of color simply didn’t sit at the counter.  Strickland talks down to Zelda and Elisa with open hostility.  He’s also not afraid to torture Amphibian Man (and others) to get what he wants.  (For parents thinking of bringing their children to the movie, these aren’t the only issues.  There is sexuality and language.  I would say that 18+ should be safe.  13-17 is maybe a judgment call.  12 and other should probably wait.)

IMDb page