In terms of iconic film creatures, Godzilla is in the elite tier, in the company of Dracula, Frankenstein etc. To my embarrassment, I am yet to see the original Japanese classic of the 1950s, but as a fan of some of the later franchise entries (I actually enjoy the much maligned 1998 version with Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno), I thought King of the Monsters was worth a go. If it was it was down purely to the pretty shameless action and effects, but it is safe to say that it was a poor film in many ways.
There were poor, mundane performances by most of the cast (the best was from the young girl) - they all phoned it in.. and sometimes looked awkward earnestly delivering some of the more laughable lines. There were so many lines delivered and emotional moments presented with fake gravitas that carried no real heft - as Emperor Joseph says to Mozart in Amadeus, 'You are indeed passionate mozart, but you do not persuade'.
It played like a film that had been heavily edited down to it's key moments, with no crucial scene setting, build up or fallout. A modern blockbuster in all the worst ways, we all know what to expect from such things. The main characters survive by the skin of thier teeth multiple times, there was little or no logic in the script, it was littered with spectacle for spectacle's sake and lots of unearned awe. Any intelligence amongst the audience would be a waste of time, although that may be part of the popularity for some people.
We all know that this kind of production's main concern is financial gain over artistic integrity. There may not be anything intrinsically wrong with that, but why can this kind of big money enterprise not also deliver on a skill level.
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