This time of year is an intense time for me as a critic and podcaster. Between my holiday coverage at Hallmarkies Podcast and getting all the awards contenders watched I am woefully behind on my reviews. Therefore, over the next few days you are going to be seeing a lot of shorter reviews as I try and get my opinions out into the world. In this post we are looking at 2 recent blockbusters- one that feels like the last tired push from a corporate behemoth and one that continues on a decades-long tradition of moviemaking with heart and soul. Let's talk about Aquaman vs Godzilla.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
For a long time I was one that defended comicbook movies against folks who said they aren't cinema but it has become increasingly more difficult to do so in 2023. What should be explorations into popular mythmaking and escapism have turned into soulless corporate exercises of mundanity and money-calculated blandness. Such is the case in our last entry for the year Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In this final entry in the DCEU director James Wan has given us a laborious, reverential, self-serious slog.
Now I'm someone that didn't like the original but here they've doubled down on the burdens of Arthur ruling Atlantis and the back and forth of Atlantean politics. There are a few nice moments between Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson who plays his brother Orm but mostly this felt like a bunch of attempts to try and be epic without any epicness to back it up. Also why they chose to screen it to us in 3D I'll never know. The whole thing looked cloudy and it was hard to make out what was happening in some scenes. This one is a definite skip from me
Frown Worthy
3 out of 10
Godzilla: Minus One
If you want to see an actual good blockbuster with compelling characters and action look towards Japan and Godzilla: Minus One. I have not seen all of them but I do think it is the best Godzilla movie I've ever seen. Ryunosuke Kamiki plays Koichi who is disgraced when he fails to be a kamikaze pilot in WWII and he cannot shoot the Godzilla monster that attacks his crew. This gives the entire story an emotional weight beyond the typical monster movie trappings of the franchise. Minami Hamabe steals any scene she is in as Noriko Oishi, Koichi's partner.
Like all the good Godzilla movies Godzilla: Minus One has something to say about war, nuclear arms, the environment and toxic masculinity. What does it mean to be a hero? This is something that plagues Koichi almost as much as the giant monster throughout the film! I also appreciate that all of the monster action is clear and I can see what is happening unlike the recent Godzilla: King of the Monsters made here in America. The music is also excellent. I never thought a Godzilla movie would be one of my favorite films of the year but that's where we are.
9 out of 10
Smile Worthy
So there you have 2 would-be epics at theaters right now. I know which one I'd recommend and see again if given the chance! Happy moviegoing!
No comments:
Post a Comment