Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Welcome to the podcast everyone. I am your host James. It's another episode of the polarized podcast, the movie about polarizing movies according to rotten tomatoes and we are wrapping up our sequel extravaganza as summer has wrapped up as well. We are doing a monster bash. There's multiple monster bashes. They bash, they kick, they gnaw, they bite, they laser, they blazer, they flame, they heal, they power up, they power down. These monsters do it all. The critics did not care for it though.

They said, nay, nay, nay, we give it 42, stinky, stinky, doodoo 42 to this movie. Even though they liked the first one, they say no to the second. They come back around later in the franchise. But checking in with the audience here, we got a pretty spicy 83% because I just know you guys love those numbies. So we got to get that out of the way so we can have all the fun just like they just power through the beginning of this movie with a lot of stuff.

And so then you just have all the fun with the battles. Before I get into the movie though, it is not me monologuing as I am prone to do sometimes when you get me, get me going about anything related to dinosaurs. There's some dinosaur looking things in this movie. That's what I call them. Dinosaur looking things, I haven't figured it out, they're Titans. It's the world of Titans now. Thanks to Monarch. It's a whole world. They built it out.

I'm so excited to discuss it because what else would I do after a movie like this just sit and have to ponder like I did last time, the first time I watched it? Because I don't remember talking about this movie, but I don't know. I'm not sure many people saw it. I don't know if it was as successful as the first one. I was about to bring someone in. Let's bring him in. If there was a Godzilla to my Kong or vice versa. I don't know which one is which. He would be it.

It's the great brand, Dini versus a forever guess. Yes, yes, yes. Let's go. Let's go. Kaiju. Kaiju. I am excited to talk about a Kaiju movie, man, because yeah, it's just so fun. You know, both of us have been playing armored core and the way that I would describe this. Fires of Rubicon and fires of Rubicon is like and then like a beer and then like. And then yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. A lot of that stuff. It's just so tight to. Shields activated. M.O. 50 percent. A.P. 30 percent. It's I was.

I was going to love this movie. I think I was thinking about it just regardless to a degree because of the history that I have with this type of movie. So I don't know about you, but weirdly, my dad had in at the house, VHS copies of dubbed versions. No way. Old school Godzilla. Cool. It was something that I had grown up with is Godzilla. And my because and it's just why I say it's funny that my dad owned it is because he got such an enormous kick out of how bad the dubbing is because this.

Sure. Like the old school Godzilla is such a like stereotypical example of like people's mouths would move and then what they would say would like start after their mouth stop moving or obviously like their lips and their and what they're saying have don't match what's like a lot of like kung fu movies and stuff to you at the time. Absolutely. But I was absolutely enthralled with it because it is very cool that there's this giant monster having battles with other monsters like.

It's hard for that concept not to be kind of fucking cool. Like I you know, we could maybe point out some movies that are like do it. Orally. Oh, well, I mean, now that you bring that up, that brings me into my history, which is embarrassing, but I didn't have a have a cool one. My dad was cool in many other ways, but he was not a old school Godzilla guy. But we he did take me to go see the great 1998 Matthews Roderick Helm's film. Godzilla in theaters at the age of eight when I saw it.

And I thought it was the coolest fucking coolest fucking thing ever. Like I know people don't like that movie and I realized now it's not. It's not a great representation, maybe of the great esteemed Godzilla character. And there's many other movies that people would point to. But that was my introduction. And I'm sure it introduced a lot of young American boys to Godzilla at that time in 1998. 1998. And I had a fucking great time.

And I remember walking out of that theater like fuck the egg hatched. There's another Godzilla there and they're going to make a sequel. And I kept on waiting for that sequel and I just like realized later in my life, you know, those movies that you thought were so great. You're like, oh, that's why there wasn't a sequel. That's a yeah, it's a really. It's not as good as I hoped it was. It's a great example of a movie that it was.

Enthralling as a young person because of the very simple bare bones concept of it. But then as an adult, you read this and you go like, where is what is this saying? Like, you know, kind of meat and potatoes of a human existence. And condition and emotion. Oh, and what is that going to do in the marketing and the toys and all of that stuff just works so well. I remember the Taco Bell commercial was was a like, I don't know. It was like playing along. It was always so fun.

That was one that you while I was sitting there with the trap. I think he says we're going to need a bigger box. You'll care about the bell. Wow. Sort of he does the Jaws thing. We're going to need a bigger box. He's got a little box with a taco there and he thinks Godzilla is going to go for it. Because in that movie, that's one of the plot points is they just lure him with a big pile of fish. What a dumb movie. What a stupid movie.

So again, looking back on it, because you know, it's so funny too, as I just think about how like weird and gross it is too, that is very like alien ask. And it just, yeah, there was a lot of concepts in the that Matthew Broderick version of Godzilla that could be cool. But again, yeah, after you realize that all the characters suck and Godzilla doesn't really fight anybody. All it is is the whole movie is lead up to Godzilla existing.

And then there's a little bit of destruction, but it's relatively well, especially for this movie, relatively minimal. And they make them look like a dinosaur essentially. It's really a dinosaur. It's like doesn't look like the classic kind of classic. Like the structure, like the the the the. The posture and it's more hunched over like a velociraptor kind of like Jurassic Park in the 1998 one and just so much overblown CGI and everything.

And like helicopter chases through the buildings and and shit like that. And just like this humor that from my memory, I just didn't didn't play super well. And then it they put it to rest for such a long time and then cut to and I and I went for it and I revisited the first one in this franchise of movies. The Godzilla of 2014, I believe it is. When that one came out with their interior Taylor Johnson, the Gareth Evans, is that his name? Gareth Evans. Yeah. And yeah, it's funny.

Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olson are husband and wife in that movie. And then they play brother and sister in a different movie. It's kind of funny. I forgot about that. But yeah, just yeah, comparing even that one to this, the first Godzilla in this franchise and even this one to that that one, you know, the that one is the 2014 Godzilla. I keep on doing this and that. But the 2014 Godzilla is so serious and like no no laughs really in that movie. Like I die and it's a big deal.

And there's so much build up to even revealing Godzilla in full form and having, you know, a more of a singular battle near the end. There's some there's some other stuff where there's some destruction and but they're kind of shying away from it. And they're showing the more boots on the ground approach of the terror and of the lead up and fall out of of a monster existing and the characters are characters are very, you know, are much deeper.

Even though, you know, the yeah, Brian Cranston is still a catches you off guard. How unceremoniously kind of is taken away. 45 minutes into the movie and how similar he kind of is to Kyle Chandler in this movie was kind of like seeing it next to each other. Maybe I mean, as the relationship between him and a Vera played out that, you know, couldn't be done with maybe with his character. But it was just something else like, Oh, well, yeah, he was studying this.

These what should we call it the sonar stuff. And that was like that was a big thing that Brian Cranston was saying when leading up to the Godzilla attacks was just like, Oh, there's like this. There's these, you know, bees communicating each other with sonar. And that's what's going on with the nuclear power plant and everything. But very serious movie, very like Dower and but also great and interesting in a in a different way that doesn't hit the same notes that a lot of these movies do.

And, you know, even generic as they may be, this one does those things very well. All the globe, shouting, all the all the quips, all the more like Michael Bay, like one liner sort of stuff. That's all in this movie. And in the first one, yeah, it's just it's just more of like a self serious, restrained, very like gray and black. Hard to hard to see at times, but also looks like an amazing. Like it's really it's shot really well.

And I think of that like him as a director has a really great Michael Dowery, well, Geerth, I was just kind of just running through the first one for I just that whole scene of and it's in that trailer as well. It's just a great trailer, great trailer for this movie, too. But in the first one where it just shows the guys parachuting down with the red smoke on their on their feet and everything and the the soundtrack and score leading up to that is very coral.

There's and they bring that over to this one with like the yeah, kind of a choir kind of doing those like primal chance. Love it, love all that stuff. But yeah, just want to give a little like background as some I like revisiting that one, did you catch that one in theaters? I remember there's a lot of hype for that. And for some people, I remember there's a little bit of a let down for like, oh, not enough battles, not enough.

I'm sure in my Godzilla movie is more about the forget those monsters. They like it's a pair. It's a male and female on that one. I just, you know, I agree with you a lot about the tone and the objective of the first one. But I think it's just such an interesting like result and culmination of how movie franchises have developed over the years.

And there's a lot of like some of the better parts of them being represented in this franchise where they set the first one up with the intention, really seeming on being there being a second one, really having the fourth thought, which like. The monster verse for better or for worse, like so many of these major studios have been trying to create these, you know, cinematic universes. And the most successful versions of it are always the one that don't course correct to include them.

They just set out from the get go to have them. And I think that this movie benefits from them understanding that this is how it's going to go, like really kind of seeing the success of. Well, it's like it's almost not successful, but like proof of concept is it's like, let it let us introduce with this new type of Godzilla, let us introduce this new type of King Kong and seeing them be successful and understanding that there is an end to

it having that in the background, but testing them out. It's almost like to me, the idea of like with Dune is that they technically didn't have the second one. Green lit, but they were going to do it like they had the story planned out, obviously. And then based on the success of it, it then easily green lit the second and then

they went into production. And I think that it is ends up creating such a better product when you are like, here is the story I would like to tell over multiple movies, even though that is very like, you know, ballsy or to do that, I'm sure in Hollywood to pitch like, you know, not only am I pitching a movie, but I'm in pitching a whole entire franchise, which I'm sure it probably gets picked up pretty easily given the

state of things. But nonetheless, like it is also too interesting how much of a product the first one is in King Kong as well of like boots on the ground is what's interesting to people. And then there needs to be also the really big like the the Pacific Rim of it all. Or like to me, this is almost looking at Zack Snyder or Christopher Nolan is how we're going to do the characters.

And then we're going to look at like a Michael Bay or a Guillermo del Toro for the big guys and then just creating like a really interesting like homage and hybrid between the two and having it be relatively successful. Another thing too is this reminds me so much of Matt Reeves as well. Like him coming into doing the the kind of the Apes franchise franchise. And he's the Batman guy, right? And he's the Batman. And then the Apes is a good example, too, for sure.

Yeah, like those should not work as well as they do. Right. Exactly. But I think there is a really great understanding of the balance. Like, God, there's just so many things. I'm sorry, like flying through my mind too. Oh, no, I. This all this also too is like a really kind of great analog to to James Cameron coming into or like how he would make a second version. Is that you have your like what Ridley Scott did, the first alien.

And then him having this very character driven, smaller picture that tack that introduces a big idea. But then the second one coming in and going like, OK, perfect. So you set up that there's this is how the world operates. Now we're going to just give people this really like a massive, massive, massive scale of a movie. Like, it's so crazy to just see these battles unfold because they're like taking over a whole like island or like a side of a continent, it feels like.

And they're just like and they well established like what the monster does and sets it. And then and then they're off and we're off to the races. It's it's really quite something where I was consistently being like, wow. Wow, look at this. Yeah. We're just. Wow, I want it. Yeah, man. These are these monsters are going at it.

And the thing I I think this franchise has unassumably like maybe in my own mind, I've seen all the movies, but I didn't just think about it until doing this podcast as much as like, wow, as a whole. They're doing a good job with this franchise. Like damn, like because I watched that first one and leading up to this one. Oh, right. I love how open. I see why comic books work well for this, too. But I love how open ended it can be.

But you can tell singular stories within within the universe or whatever. And these are, yeah, I mean, how Godzilla is, you know, him as a character, you know, he's just a he's a force of nature. He's not as much a character. So him moving and changing. Like he says anything. Yeah. But I just I love how we understand his point of view, but we kind of do some knowingly, but we kind of have this point of view that he's trying to create balance.

If I understand things correctly, like that's the force he is. No, I just I think it's great how they could have ended the first one and it still would have been great. They could have ended it. They could end at this one and still be fine. Or these are all like all and then in Kong skull Kong skull Island. You can end it there. You're fine as well. Like you can take each of these. And if you just watch even any of them on their own, you would get it.

You could watch Godzilla versus Kong and be like, this is fun. I get it. I didn't need to watch other ones. And I think that's very special within within this franchise. And I think what you gave are good examples, but also within those examples, a lot of them, hint, some of them at least hinge upon the first one to see and understand and everything. These are so fun.

Yeah, regardless, and to be able to take to take like a new cast of characters each time and approach this and Kong skull line as Kong skull Island is a, you know, awesome period piece and and, you know, a whole set of new characters and camp is shit and done in a way that's not contrived like like contrived in a very manufactured contrived and sort of way. But this one has has some great camps.

So there's some there's some stuff that gets a little much and some humor doesn't land really super well. And they didn't have that in the first one. They have in this one. It doesn't really work super well. But you kind of want some of that to know that you're like, that I can have we can have fun here. Like, oh my God, the door is open. Yeah, like the guy. One in. I need I need to know that actor's name.

But the guy from Billy Madison, the villain in Billy Madison says a lot of quippy stuff with the glasses and the gray hair and him and it was a gen. And I don't know what his they have kind of a back and forth. Oh, you're talking about Bradley Whitford. Bradley Whitford, his stuff works OK on me because he's he's a son of a bunch. And I rageous in this movie. He is not taking anything seriously. Yeah, it gets a little much sometimes.

Like if anything, there's no stopping him because, you know, like you said, he's the villain in Billy Madison, but he's also a main character on West Wing. Right. Just just a absolutely revered show like that, especially for people who write movies now. Like if you were to take a writer for a current IP, whatever, if you were to ask them, how do you feel about West Wing? They would probably love it. They were so again. Oh, yeah.

It's just what inspired me to get into making this movie that we're talking about. And so to have Bradley Whitford in there is like a homage and understanding of like what he's bringing to the table and understanding the importance of somebody who is going to deliver those snarky lines. So incredible. Yeah. And I think it's almost a similar performance in like cabin in the woods when he's been in like the control panel just like making quips with Richard Jenkins and Richard Jenkins is another.

Yeah, that's some of that. And it's like it doesn't land every time. But it's but it's it's fun to know that you can have fun. Talk about who? Charles dance. I want to get on the dance. Yeah, I mean, that brings us into the the opening scene with the Mothra and and all of all of that stuff and him storming in bad immediately because he kills a guy. Yeah, actually, you know what?

This is since it's been just a little bit before, you know, since I've seen this before recording this, can you tell can you open us up with plot of where we're at? Into the Charles dance of it all. Well, yeah, sure. Because it starts with a like almost a bat a Batman versus Superman opening of Ben Affleck like I was there on the ground when you were fucking taken down those buildings and it's the same with Kyle Chandler and Vera and little Millie Bobby Brown are like there.

Great. Yeah, I love those. I love so many of the actors in this movie, man. Like, yeah, dude. What did I say? Bear kisses or bear hugs or whatever. Give her bear kisses. That whole little scene of them like, oh, this is fun chemistry. They got it. Absolutely. So it shows like they were there on the ground. They saw Godzilla. Godzilla is instrumental in the death of their son, which tore apart their family, led him to drink and and then to get a divorce.

Millie Bobby Brown is now with Vera in China at one of the monarch facilities studying and gestating a pupa, if you are a larva. Oh, yeah, of a mothra. And they and they do that thing and where it's a blow fell thing a little bit in Skyfall or whatever where it's or Spectre, sorry, Spectre, where it's like James, I know I'm so I'm rushing out of everything. I don't fucking I was going to get it. I was going to correct myself if you gave me two seconds.

It started with an S. I'm just going to get the fucking brandy is already sharpening the pitchwork. I saw him. It's it's the one thing for people that don't know who are listening to this podcast is that my was bond is like is our shit so hardcore. And so that's the only reason I am the author of your pain. You're like a what is it a kite? Dancing dancing. Where it's on. Yeah. So anyways, this is like I am on Stavro Blofeld.

And you're like, you're supposed to be like, oh, fuck, that means something. And they do the same thing where it's like it's Mothra and like. And it's like, I mean, I know that everybody is like, but they might as well just look right down the lens of the camera and be like, we can't hit some fucking Mothra. And then that happens like five more times in the movie where that I do like that. I know all the names, but in the movie, that's what I'm saying.

There is the longest time it's done better than others. I don't know, specimen one or some bullshit like that. And I'm like, just call it Geedra. I like the little bit of like discovery rather than like it's fucking cool. Cool name right given right to you, especially for a newer, newer fan. I mean, I know Mothra, but it eventually becomes the girl from Rush Hour Two. Jean's Zee or Jean. Yeah, she is pretty much her job to tell everybody's names.

And yeah, sometimes it's better than others where it's like, oh, it's the people here in this village call it the great Radam. You know, I like that. I like that a lot too. Because then it's like a, you know, it's a it's like part of folklore. And within the different of the world, I love that all building to based on real gods of lore of the of when humanity was was ancient and the fact that it is like whatever, it's not specimen zero or whatever, like fucking Titan zero. Yeah, Titan.

Yeah, yeah. And then when you finally, oh, King, good. Oh, he's a false king. Like all that stuff is rad. And then it's like Kenwa Nabi's job to end the first and second one just to kind of stare off and be like, whoa, because of Kenwa Nabi, we get it both ways. We get Godzilla and Kuzura. Yes, I do. It means so much to me when I hear him. And when I hear I'm like, oh, what a way to have your cake and eat it too. And it go down so smooth. This I know this is later in the movie.

But did you notice what happened to his assistant? Because she just disappeared at some point. No, I don't. She was there at like the trial thing and then they take off. And she was there for a bit after and then like at the end, he's like giving the stuff to Zheng and I'm like, what about his assistant? Oh, OK, like we're done. I have the whole first movie at the first half of the. I was like, I didn't remember like a death scene. And like, I figured she should be there. Like, OK, bye.

We had so many so much memories. I just watched the first one. So that's that's probably why. But she was in a little bit of this one, too. That even just the lowest level employee, you're coming up to them and going. Hey, who are you? She was instrumental in the tape in in the first one and in everything that that came after and then she just disappeared.

I don't know. It's these characters like Brian Cranston, you know, we also can introduce to way to Millie Bobby Brown with Wave and Meetalation. That was I know how cool she is. I know God. Yeah. She's so cool, right? And kind of a wave of me, relation is kind of emblematic of the movie. I know because of all the radiation and all the destruction. And I said, what did I say? DJ soundboard. Oh, that's when I first she pulled out the orca.

She was like, and then got her got Mothra back down to to Earth. And then I started you start seeing the crash zooms, a little bit of the crash zooms start to come out of like this movie. Oh, God, this movie also benefits so much that so like so many of the scenes are at night. A lot. Yes. A lot of it is at night and like snow.

You can just the monster water come out like a blackness or some type of like background and just appear like you are on a like a ride at Universal Studios or something, it just is so much of your like as the audience member experiencing the monsters is here is this character you watch walk out to the monster. And then you get a zoomed out perspective of how small that person is with the monster.

And it just creates scales so incredibly well that you can just understand that these monsters are enormous. Yeah, I love that part of just it only doesn't work when they do a little bit too many stare downs in this movie, where they just look at each other and it's just like trying to imagine like me looking at an aunt. It could. Right. And I could I've seen an aunt, but I'm just wondering like, be like, oh, yeah, we're we're having a moment me and this aunt.

Right. Because I mean, to your point is like, you're not looking at an aunt is like. Whatever you're doing is also tied into my success as well. Yeah, I'm just a fucking. Yeah, I just work on instincts, baby. Yeah, like I'm I'm a king. I'm a king. So one of my first notes is I have a crush on Sally Hawkins. So let's talk about her performance a little bit. How do you feel about Sally Hawkins? Is what character is I think she's just so that's the assistant. That's what I'm talking about.

Oh, that is. Oh, my God. You're talking about the low level employee and you don't even know who I'm talking about. Here's the Kim Hotton Abbey's assistant, Dr. Vivian Graham, is her character. That's what happened to her. I mean, yeah, no, she got smushed by Ghidra. Did she I missed? How did I miss that? Yeah, damn, because I was bummed out about it. I one of my one of my notes was no Sally Hawkins. She got smushed by Ghidra. I must have been writing a note or some shit.

And what's seen what scene was that? Like, oh, I just and I am sorry. I just couldn't consider her an assistant to anything. Right. Because every time she's on screen, I'm like, you are just. Just captivating me because she I don't know. She yeah, she was in. Shape of water and then she's also in blue, what is it? Blue Jasmine. What's the? Is that the word? Yeah. Not being it. Yeah. Yeah, this movie. And she she's so great in that too.

And it just she just has said I just I love the way that she looks. I love the way that she acts because she just has. Yeah, such a conviction, such an earnestness to her. She like is there ready to play getting into the weeds of like because it just it must always be so weird as an actor doing a movie like this where your direction is that there's this crazy mystical beast that's doing X, Y, and Z and you have to react to it.

And the way that she handles it is just always wonderful because she just brings a sense of like grounded like Karen. Yeah, it's just the best. Damn, I need a really visit and see it. I was that's what I was I must have just blacked out for a second. It's crazy. It's OK. Rip. Sally Hawkins, man, lover. Then Charles Danes. So I brought that up. That's how we started. This movie like goes fast in like the first like 20 to 30 minutes.

It's like pumping through like from the point where it's like establishing this new family and then they're separated there in summer like the Vera and Millie are in China and he's studying wolves. And then it just moves into the Mothra stuff so quickly they get kidnapped. And it's already just like Kyle Chandler is like on the move to get them back. And they're already like giving Kyle Chandler a lot of information about like what's about to go down with all these Titans and they.

There's 17 of them is they tell him at one time and Ken. Yeah, Ken Wan, Nabi is like, yeah, we believe some of them are benevolent. Charles Danes is a British Army general turned eco terrorist restoring the natural order and you said traffic Titan DNA. I was just like, I was like, this is where I miss so much death. I was like, I want to get some of these details because what is going like? Who is this guy? Anyways, can I just say though with Charles Danes?

Like, God, do I love the choice of him being? Yeah, because he's so scary. But I just I'm going to be real like I don't, you know, that's what this. Oh, getting real good. I'm movies. We're homies. That's everybody come in if you want to get real. Get the hell out of your. And if you don't want to get real, get the hell out of here. I feel like he was like noticeably underused. Yeah. So much of this movie is like it's a peer for like long stretches of this movie.

You're like, Charles Danes up to. Yeah, I want to understand like this whole plan that he has to. Like combat. So because OK, so this is also let's OK. Because he doesn't come back. This is where the movie has where it falls apart a little bit is there is this proposition that's happening is that boots on the ground. People are. People are. People are welcoming these Kaiju because they are going to level and create a balance.

And Charles Danes is like this terrorist in the sense of like humanity has failed itself. And in order for us to see a revitalization, a resurrection, we need a major course correction from the destruction. Of course. We is a yeah, like he's welcoming the monsters because government people are not going to wake up and listen and solve the problems that they need to. So what's going to overpopulation, war, famine. And other things of that matter. Do you need more slides?

I will show you in my PowerPoint. Oh, let's the PowerPoint. No, we're not there. No, well, OK, you're right. You're we can jump around. No, no, no, no, it's fine. No, let's let's stick to it because I want to walk through this. So yeah, I just I think Charles Danes is like noticeably underused in this because he starts the movie off with a like terrorist plot that is affecting the main characters of this movie. And then it just takes the biggest and most noticeable like backseat.

And then it just goes into like whatever the monsters are doing, whatever Millie Bobby Brown is doing, the movement of like Kyle Chandler and the whole team like and then you just completely forget about Charles Danes and whatever the fuck he's doing for such a long. Whenever he does show up, he has this air of like, I know something you don't know. And even if this doesn't work out exactly how I like plan A is going, I have like plan B and C or D that could totally work out fine.

And that's kind of where we leave him as a character is like we have what we need. So whatever it's, I'll just move on and maybe I'll come back another time. But he's constantly like looming, but not really taking much action. And that leaves a lot on Vera's shoulders to do the back and forth of being bad and then good and to deliver that monologue that we were, you know, I did just reference rather than Charles Danes to be more of like any of the brains. He really seems to be the muscle.

But for to have to have him in charge, the dude just oozes, you know, wisdom and brains and that he does have a plan rather than just being, you know, a glorified bodyguard to what various ideas are. And she doesn't seem as menacing at the same time. So it is kind of like a hard balance. Do you find Emily Bobby Brown a good actress? Because there's a lot of this that I was really compelled by what she was doing.

I thought there's moments where she's like crying and like getting involved in stuff that I thought was really good. Yeah. Yeah, she's good. Right. Mm hmm. I think it's, you know, to hold up against other people in scenes and. Yeah, I don't know, like.

Because there's an emotional core to this movie that is about a mother, father, daughter relationship that creates this emotional core about what is happening to people that are choosing sides on this like quote unquote war against like whether or not you're like on Charles Dance's side or on Kyle Chandler's side. And I honestly, I think she handles it really well. I think she does a good job and I'm, you know, about nearly Bobby Brown.

Yeah, I think I think she there's a lot of scenes where it is really just what she's doing with her face and the disappointment and love and frustration and despair of like a lot of people watching a lot of people die and knowing your mother, mother is instrumental in that and that gradual realization of that. And then the disapproval after is like a good burn. And then like there's a lot of scenes where she's reacting to nothing, I'm sure, just like a green screen ball or some guy in a suit

or something like that. And I think that has to be very difficult to have some sort of emotional connection or reaction to something that is just this twice the size of a skyscraper. And yeah, that one point where she just screams back at King Godot is pretty great. I thought that was a cool moment. She's like, sure. But then it's also like, yeah, the three headed dragon is like, all focus on this one. And I was just like, yeah, me and an ant just like and just the answer.

But no, I think she's great. I enjoyed the she's definitely grown so much as as an actress and stranger things for was was really great and excited to see see them finish that and whatever she else she does with her her career. Yeah, I agree. I'm sure skies the limit. I mean, and it was funny when they were trying to find when they were making this movie and they were doing conceptual stuff and like CGI representations of what they wanted to do.

The director instructed the artist to use Millie Bobby Brown as like the example, even though she hadn't been cast or anything, or they hadn't gone to that process. So there's like this footage of her as like a CGI rendered character. Really terribly, but just trying to get the point across of what the movie will be. And then they eventually, yeah, approached her about it. And it was cool watching some of the behind the scenes stuff.

And everyone said that she's very well spoken and wise beyond her years. That's what O'Shea Jackson said. It was just like O'Shea Jackson. That's a good poll. Yeah. Yeah, he was saying she's just very well well spoken. And he kind of blew his mind that she I think she was only like 13 when she made this movie. She's talking a lot about pranks on set. Oh, my God. Her and the director and and Varro's very, I think, quote, called her a little rascal.

Whoa. And I'm like goofy and a goofball because she just yeah. Yeah. And I guess they was having fun on set and doing she prank people and she get pranked back and stuff. So that's good. I don't know. It's good. She's she's having fun at that age and having to, you know, do this good to a lot of words, a lot of work and to still be a kid. That's that's good.

You know, that's that's that's a lot to that's a lot to do to be on a it's an insane day and the stranger, all the stranger things stuff and all that pressure to do that at that age. Yeah. I mean, all of that is that I think that she's going to be around in a force to be reckoned with for a long time. I think so. And I and even though how you feel about this movie because we had mentioned off, Mike, but I haven't looked at the numbers. This movie is obviously because we're talking about it.

It's not heralded well by critics, but box office wise, I'm not quite sure where it stands up to the first one. But nonetheless, you know, her as a incredibly young actress, not being hurt by this performance, even though whatever people might say about this movie, she's not the problem. But if you have one, that's right. Like she just stands out as being somebody that is competent and is bringing exactly what she needs. Yeah, the heart of the movie.

Yeah. Yeah. And like they were kind of the conscience almost in the dividing line between the mother and the father, which that's at some of the rougher stuff is Vera's character, I think is a hard one to grasp the full breadth of who she is as a character and how it's portrayed a little bit. It's a it's a I like the the road that they tried to go down with her, but it just wasn't super successful. And yeah, again, how it was.

It just doesn't make a lot of sense because she she is on board with Charles dance to a degree. But then that's her idea. Yeah. Right. It's her idea. I'm sorry. Because she is wanting a better future for Billy Bobby Brown for MBB and. But then what happens in the movie where she turns away from Charles dance because he isn't in alignment with what she wants is so like the King of the King of Dora thing. Yeah, like of course. Good good good good. Good. Yeah. Good Dora. Getting jiggy with it.

Dora. Yeah. And yeah, that that stuff is the attempt to like bring her back at the end isn't worth it for me. I would have preferred her just to go like. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah, I'm bad deal with it, baby. I'm like she was just as bad as Charles dance or worse. Yeah, that would be so much fun. Yeah. It's like a Charlize Theron and fast. Tan, you're just kind of like that. A little bit more just like I'm just fucking bad.

Yeah. Like and I think it would almost be better for the franchise because like I would have a problem that I have with this movie is how dumb her plan is because like one side of this movie in the Charles dance side, just like how I preface how I think his stuff is really weak and that goes. That applies to with the America stuff is it's so like. They want this thing and then it quickly changes once what you expect happens. So you're just like, see, are you guys all fucking idiots?

Which is a bummer because I love Charles dance a fuckload and I love via from America or however you say her name a lot. Yeah, definitely. They're both incredible actors. It's what their purpose and character is is so like flimsy, flimsy, not fully fleshed out. It's like it's on stilts. Yeah, it's very like I think it's the king of all because like they should know that it's like a false king. It's an alien that's not from here.

If they know so much, they would know if I had a fucking quarter for every time we're like, it's not a rich man. There's only one true king. That's that's good. You're always talking every time we get into these conversations. OK, well, like the life and what's good. Who is like, it's a false king. And I'm like, damn. You know what, I just thought of it like have you ever thought about this being just a false king situation? And I'm always like, James, I did it. God damn it. You're right.

But these people know so much about like these monsters, these Titans, and she's the one that blows up the ice wall to release King Ghidorah. Like she is the big part of that happening. And I feel like just that being a surprise in what happens with with that monster in particular is discussed later on rather than like, I don't know, it just seems like they know so much about all the other monsters leading up to it. Yeah, but it's not the full JJ Abrams of like them constantly moving.

But there is an element of pace to this that that just goes and for the most part, I like it. Like it sets up that first act really, really well. And it gets you have Mothra there. You know that you're going to have possibly a host of monsters. And you don't really know or expect exactly how many. And they fucking throw monster after Titan after Titan at you. And I fucking dig that. Yeah. Do you have a favorite one besides Godzilla? Oh, you can be Godzilla.

No, well, Godzilla was the I mean, you know, he's the he's the king. Oh, yeah. King. Yeah. Come on, come on. Come on, come on. I mean, I just I know, I know, it's it's kind of a basic take. But I do also love Mothra because the way that the sense Mothra so often is it is this just enormous bioaluminescent fan that comes out. So just are so like, wow, this is so cool that this monster exists. And she has some of the best moments in the movie for sure.

That and to have a healer, you got a healer in the crew now. Everybody needs a healer as a tank, especially. I think it's just fun, like, especially for like teenagers, I think, would really connect with this is that their Mothra and Godzilla are on the same team. So cool. And there's like different teams and stuff. Love that. My legions and shit. And there's like a little age old rivalries between all of them. Like, oh, that's so cool. It's so sick.

The way that this movie builds up its kaiju's lets you know this is what this historical like mythology is about this or this is something that is like just explain what the powers and where the origin is and then lets it loose. Yeah. Really fantastic. Because that's what you want. Like you want to just go like, OK, so this monster can do this. That monster can do that and now they're going to fight and it just really kind of sets it up like, you know, bingo, bingo, bongo.

Yeah. And where you're like, cool, OK, I understand what they're going to do. And then they fight against each other. And it's in. The locales too, as you get some. I mean, you know, obviously this movie wants its cake again. I'm sorry. I feel like broken record. Like once it's cake and eat it to where it is setting up the significance of these monsters fighting in cities that causes destruction that really breaks families apart or is like hurting people and all of that stuff. So like it.

But then it grows trees after. Sure. So. OK, anyway, I'm on viewers side. It's perfect. But yeah, I just released the Kraken. But but nonetheless, like I just think about there was this video game growing up where it was very similar to this Kaiju thing. Rampage. Rampage is one of them. That's another great example. But no, I can't remember what it was called, but you get to select these really large monsters and fight in cities with, you know, against each other.

Was it an arcade game or was it actually for a console? It was for a console. That's cool. I'll have to look it up later, but it sounds familiar. OK, but your response is what I'm getting at, I guess, is like it is cool. James, yeah, awesome when big monsters fight each other in like cities and stuff. You're like, yeah, this is crazy. Fuck that up, right? Yeah, you can't fuck that up.

And that's I think what we what we're getting at, or at least what I would like to get at with this movie is that I do think there are parts of the on the boots on the ground shit that is. Boring or yeah, is is try hard. That's the other thing, too, because the. We haven't talked to middle ditches. The other one middle ditch. I was going to say, the middle ditch, the middle ditch of a very mid of it all. Wearing like yeah, mid yeah, mid bull ditch. Yeah, I can't hang none of it work.

None of none of his character works for me at all. I understand, though, the ski for his yeah, his character. That's the thing is the is like makes it almost more glaring is that I understand the need for somebody to explain things going on to a military man as Kyle Chandler character or whatever, but he is just so snarky and non serious. And I've I've seen Godzilla versus King Kong and there's a lot of that in the movie, too. That's where this movie has in my mind. It's problems. It's like.

Agreed. You don't need as many jokes as you're giving us. I love that you have jokes in here. Good. It would be like you said with the first one. So fucking dour if we were just talking about like here's another mass casualty situation with a kaiju fucking stomping through a city and here's thousands of people died and we're just like, fuck, you know, have to deal with that. Like I do want some levity to it. That's why I think actually like Oshie Jackson, like the way he handles.

Yeah, like I thought the way that he handles the like military aspect of it had some level of levity to it that was kind of fun where he's like this is serious because we need to accomplish this mission. But we're kind of like occasionally isn't this crazy that it's a fucking big monster or whatever, and it has that really strikes a really great balance between having fun and not being too. Because that's the thing is like I'm not asking for the movie to be more serious. That's not the problem.

It's like if anything be a little less funny or like not play it straight a bit more, you know, not so much like, yeah. Like if anything would just be like, you know, that whole bit about like it's not funny. Like there's some stuff in here where I'm like, it's just not funny. There is a moment. Damn, what was the moment between Watanabe and Zhang where it was like a beautiful moment right before he goes. Oh, yeah, where he goes away. I think it was between them two.

And then he says something like really heartfelt. And she's like, wow, that's beautiful. And then it could have just end and seen right there. That's beautiful, beautiful moment. And he's like, yeah, I read it in a fortune cookie once. It was a really long fortune cookie. It's like, oh, come on. It's like funny. Going to dump at the end zone. Just like pinching a loaf right when you're about to score a touchdown. You know how that goes.

You know, yeah, I mean, we get into some of the the battles. I mean, I think what one of the coolest, the sound design in all of these movies so fucking cool and it adds such an effects that is even me calling it out. I'm sure there's other even supplemental stuff that just makes you feel a certain way just experiencing it and seeing the theaters was really, really cool. And when I did, I was a solo movie movie experience.

It's fun. I was another situation I had to bring my car in and just went to the went to the movies and caught one on my own and the the sounds of him mixed with the light of his spikes of the blue light under water is a great, you know, yeah, Jurassic Park almost like slow down and have the pulse of the water or something and know that something looming is coming and you're about, you know, kind of eye of the storm about to get into some some shit.

And and that's what the door of popping out of the ice, of course, is that's a great set piece as well. And I think the design of of the dragon, the director mentioned, it's very meant to be more of an eastern, obviously, version of of how a dragon is depicted rather than like a Western, you know, kind of maybe a medieval one or something. It's very very similar to the dragon in Zelda, Chairs of the Kingdom. There are these whiskers that are very, very similar.

I also got Hydra. When Ghidra travels, it's a thunderstorm wherever it goes. So cool. So cool. You know, because they talk, you know, obviously, the, you know, it's kind of common in how silly at very much of times the. Way information about things is presented because it's on like these screens and these like weird, like underground bases or like a moving like. Marmar outpost point one seven three. What do you mean? Underground oil bunker.

Which but I, you know what, as like it and I think of this almost appeals to me like as a gamer and I just experienced this too in Starfield where. You go from the surface to this underground mine. And there are so many moments that it just yeah, in this movie, again, appeals to like maybe like a male sensibility or like a gamer sensibility where like all the bases are really cool. Yeah, you know, they're huge in these caverns. And you know, there's a lot of people.

Big wall of the other ice with you can see you can see the three headed. Yeah, it's just such a this really shows off the scale. You like you're saying. Yeah, absolutely. The scale in this movie is really well done. You always feel like. The majesty of a huge creature is put on display often because there are time and time again shots of this massive monster in relation to the person on the ground. That's experienced there like a weakening or whatever.

And I'll do that crash scene where it'll be out and then it'll go quick in. And that's just like, yeah, I feel like a quick establishment of scale to a close up. Right. It's an interesting effect. Yeah, a more recent one, even stuff like succession and stuff. You know. But yeah, the middle ditch not not great. But yeah, the lit up Godzilla and then the the Gidea fight is is fucking dope.

Rodin, I just say to Rodin is like the Maltrace to Gidea's sat face, but yeah, I don't know if there's a snow one. I don't know if they have the Lord was that a great way to say that. When it was like finals like, oh, it's Maltrace. Cool. It's the devastation upon that village is is fucked up.

It just looks like the the the abilities of it is put on display in such a cool way, even though like I'm not a big like disaster porn movie guy and seeing all the death and destruction and lots of, you know, typically gets me just like not really in the best mood or just like, yeah, yeah, border or whatever. And and that just quick flyover was just like fuck. It was like Pompeii level just devastation on the ground of just the wing. Bro Dan comes out of a volcano too. It's so huge.

Just like take this like Walton Firebird. And then there's yeah, they're like yeah. And then then comes in and it's like yeah. And then you're like, you think you're going to fight guys? It's like, no, but yeah, like rodeo and like fights. You're and then fucking and then they all fight each other. It's a flame. Come on. This movie is tight. Guts is kind of the water kaiju, I guess. Yeah, man. It's it's like the lightning kaiju too. He can do it all. He's the avatar. Long live the king.

Long live the king. Then. So there anything else you want to talk about? We can. Yeah, we can barrel barrel on through. I'm trying to think if there's a I mean, there's the Mothra sacrifice. I thought was was heartfelt. But there is a point in this movie where it gets the final big battle between everybody where I just put my notes down and just enjoyed the show and watch. And enjoy the battles and everything. Godzilla is like a nuclear. Like it's he is this nuclear bomb.

That can watch the lobby has to like revive Godzilla because the oxygen missile. Like, OK, let's OK. We mentioned it maybe off mic before we got on. But let's talk about this oxygen nuke that comes out of nowhere. I'm like, what the really quick? And they're like, oh, it's already on its way. I already fired it. You pulled the awesome and die as he's like, oh, no, no, we got to get out. He's like, too late. You think I'd wait? Yeah, like, who the fuck are you people?

And you're like, right, who is this organization in comparison to the broader whole? You're like, I don't I don't know why. Like, are they talking to the president? Like there's just oxygen out and they just fucking kill Godzilla. And they have to spend the next one. They put him out of commission. They have to spend the next part of the movie bringing him back, which I just think is funny, is like part of the movie is just rectifying a mistake that just happened in the movie. It almost.

It almost feels to like when you take your like in a sports movie, when you take your your best player gets like injured or whatever. And you have to bring him on the bench. And then it's this whole like like in Rocky, where the guy at the corner is just like, come on, rock, you gotta get back up. You gotta come on. Yeah. I was back. But instead he kills. I was fucking great. I love that. Come on. Come on. Go to your. Don't give up now. You got to cut me. You got to cut me.

I was like enthralled. It was so funny because like there's again, like the stuff with Millie Bobby. I know we talked about how good of an actor she is. And like, I love again, the if America. I love Charles dance, but like all of that stuff is kind of a fucking drag. And then it's the stuff when it's like Ken Watts, Nabi, when it was Sally Hawkins, like we're trying to figure out these monsters. We're trying to get them on our side. Like all of that stuff really works for me.

And it's when you get into the. Like, yeah, the emotional weight of this movie really is dead. Yeah, you know, because some of the channel might be in my seat with the Ken Wan and Nabi stuff like, yeah, it's like, OK, we got to revive Godzilla or Gojira. That is how he would say, which I love the fact that we this movie gives you both.

Because there I feel like there was like this online discourse about how like, well, the Japanese pronunciation of God is this and we give Godzilla and Gojira in the same fucking movie. I think it's just so fun that they were able to accomplish that in a way that totally made sense. It's like, yeah, Ken Watanabe would say that. Yeah, I like that stuff. The Kyle Chandler stuff was OK. It was OK at parts of him, you know, just being like seeing red and just like, I have to get my daughter back.

Nothing else matters. But it does fall flat for me and those characters do ring a little hollow when he's, I don't know, you got to make do with what you can and you got to save the world and everything. But when the Vera kind of just like, I'm here to help now and we're going to figure this out, I'm just kind of like, get lost. Or like Jiang says, that bitch.

During the ending of the PowerPoint, which I mean, if there's just one part about that, too, that is like one of the most clunky is like exposition. Like turns of a character into evil that I've ever seen. And I think that's part of the reason why it doesn't follow through as much. It's it is fun and campy to have a character proclaim like we need a new world order of monsters. Cool. But it's just something like she's too good of an actress. I know.

It's like, I need someone else that's just like. You're playing with sincerity and I had to be way silly. I believe everything she's saying, but I wanted to be more just like Wallace Sean and Southland Tales or Liquid Karma Liquid Karma. I want Kyle Chandler to be married to Wallace Sean and for him to play his wife. Inconceivable. But I do agree Ken Wan now be in his follow through and in his character, I think, was was played well.

And final battle fucking cool with the atom bomb and getting fire powers. And like the last one, he got powered up in a way to and shot fire down the the one of the monsters, gullets and shooting it through the gullet out through the mouth the other way. I thought that was a cool effect too. It's just so badass. Look like a noodle that that King of Deer or whatever. But I'm just looking at any of my other notes here. Like a fucking noodle.

As such as life where, you know, you just consume a noodle and blows on the back of you. Oh, that's not how you do it. You know, you don't blow you suck. Oh, my bad. I thought I'm doing it wrong. Let's see. OK, so bear kisses. We're both doing her. Let's see. Oh, why now they always willing to get advice. Oh, yeah. In the first movie and the second movie, both and especially this one, there's a lot like Kyle Channell walks in, he's like, no, that's not what we're supposed to do.

This is what we're supposed to do. And you guys are all reading it wrong. Ken Wan, Nabi has that just. It's just like, I was what to do. You're absolutely right. And you should. What should we do next? And he just asked Kyle Channell for advice and he follows everything he does. And Brian Cranston kind of is that in the first movie where he's like, what you're doing? No, I'm just kidding. No, is that we? It's like it just follows everything he does, no matter if he believes in it or not.

No, if anything, I was just like, no, I didn't mean I was just more. I was more. I was I was kind of impressed. I was like, wow, this character is heeding other characters advice that might know more about the topic. And he's very quickly able to recognize someone who might know better and bring them along because he brought Brian Cranston along and Aaron Taylor Johnson.

And it was like asking them a lot of questions and they've kind of been these like characters in the background that approach people and just like, you know, like what's going on? Like seeing these monsters and collecting data and all that stuff. And I kind of like that background scientist thing where they're just collecting all the all the data and just taking it all in. But I think in this one more so he was a little bitch in this one. He was.

Whatever you say, Kyle Chan, there, whatever you say. They said they got a fucking here. I thought that was cool for a PG 13 movie. Get a fucking there. Why not? Yeah. Oshay's I think says you got to be fucking kidding me. Oh, yeah. Um. Uh, classic Godzilla roar at a time. I like that. Like when he like gets thrown into the crevasse Godzilla and man character get knocked out at the same time like last movie. That happened last Godzilla gets knocked out.

Mary Taylor Johnson gets knocked out and they both like go to sleep. Be by at the same time. There was a movie that M.B.B. screams back at Gadira. Yeah. So I was like that. Yeah, like just stare at the fucking green scene and just be like. Yeah. Reminding me of Brennan Fraser and the mummy. I'm just like, well, I can do it too. Yeah. What I don't know. What else we got here? PowerPoint. Oh, she's almost kind of like Ozzyman.

Dias to just kind of like, I'm going to bring the world together by bringing in this outside force that will unite humanity. Total awesome. Kyle Chandler asks what it's called. And he's like, oh, it's called Radon and immediately is calls it Turk. Big Bird. He like asks. They tell him and he's like, I'm not calling it that. It's fucking. Yeah. It was a big bird about. It's a nerd say someone else calls it like a turkey, though. I'll just and then I was a coach at Friday Night Lights.

I don't take no guy. The guy from Billy Madison calls it like the calls it fucking Moe, the three stuges Moe Curley. Yeah. Yeah. And does it gone or reage? I don't know. It's stuff. Some of these some of these are rough. There's like, yeah, I just wrote. He says that bitch is right at a point which really stood out to me. I'm like, good Lord, dude, come on. Yeah. There's some of the Michael. He's I've record everything, man.

There's somebody somebody said you're a monster, which I was like, double meaning that was. Yeah, that was very on the nose, but it was good because Millie Bobby Brown's a good good little actress. But she said that to her mom. I would like when all these monsters are being released and they're looking at all the destruction, she looks right in her soul and it's like, you're the monster, not all them. You you're the monster. And I'm talking about Godzilla, Mothra, Rodin, Gidra.

What are the other ones? Oh, fuck, I wish I wrote all of them. There's a couple more, right? There's the mammoth guy and the one from the lab. There's like another one from the last movie, another another version. And then like there's like a spider guy. What was the hint? I mean, they mentioned Skull Island multiple times. And then, yeah, there's like there's some Skull Island discussion because that movie takes place in like the 70s. So they've kind of known about that.

And he's been he's just been bulking up getting ready for this battle since the 70s. Just lifted weight. Oh, yeah, dude. Just getting big barrels, Donkey Kong style, trying to get that plumber. That pesky plumber. He also mentioned to a huge concept in the Godzilla versus King Kong movie, which is the like there's a middle or like not Middle Earth. Oh, yeah. Lord of the Rings. Like an under there's like an it. On which is there's middle. There's over.

And there's in an insane concept to think about. He's like, I told you, Jan, I told you there was an under Earth. There's in the craziest thing is when you see it in the movie for King Kong versus Gunsville, there's like a whole Scott like a. Oh, yeah, that part's cool. You know, you're like, so this entire thing exists inside the earth is. Yeah, but it's cool because it's a place for these guys to just fight. Do get out. Let's get. Yeah. Round one. And then in round three inside the earth.

Round one is in San Francisco. Round three under Earth. Fight under. Yeah, let's see. Anything else I got here. Let them fight. Is it? Oh, yeah, because he says let them fight. You know, I don't need to talk about that. There's a lot of monsters I see. Tiny people. Yeah. Has he been working out? And just starts yelling her name. Oh, yeah, he like gets off the plane and it's like a whole monster battle going on. He just started screaming her name. She's not going to hear you.

There's like a whole monster. He's like, wow. Wow. Oh, she's like, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. I wrote that the oxygen destroyer has a two mile radius. And then I thought to myself, that's not long enough. That's definitely not long enough. It shows the size of Godzilla would be at least a couple of miles, like way beyond two, right? Like if you were to think about like some a monster that is as big as the skyscraper and its tail goes past it, like that's that's easily like four or five miles.

I don't know. OK, two mile radius. I thought it seemed almost like doesn't seem like enough. Yeah. Yeah. Put two monsters in it. And then, yeah, just doesn't seem like enough. Like, yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, for for oxygen for oxygen missiles, I'm not I'm not. I'm not quite sure we're not. I do experts on this. I know, I'm sorry. I'm I'm throwing out some, you know, really specific kaiju questions and, you know, what's not what this spot's about.

I would love to see the scale of, yeah, multi multi hundred hundred mile dinosaur. It's a hundred mile dinosaur. Because I'm miles. That's pretty big. There's a part at the end of like all the news clippings. That's a lot of Easter eggs all coming up like a blog shit during the during the credits. One of the things is that Titan poop is a viable energy source. Oh, it's one of the news articles I saw. I thought that was pretty fun. Makes sense with some radiation in that in the doodoo.

You maybe could could burn it and. Like your radiator. Let's check out what those pesky critics got to say about things. We do that. Can we take a break? Yes, break time. We'll be right back. OK, we are back. Welcome, welcome, welcome back. We are going to start talking about some reactions from the critics here. And on the negative side of things, the 42 percent side of things. Let's start with Empire with a 20. Not sure who wrote it.

Let's see. It's from Empire. They say globetrotting but not adventurous, action packed, but not remotely exciting, utterly overstuffed and completely paper thin. Nuke it from orbit. Wow. Nuke it from this is the support. Yeah. Let's move on to the observer and another 20.

The ugly visual effects are outdone only by the sound design, which is relentlessly loud and thunderingly tedious, the verbal exchanges between the humans are devoid of wit and barely functional in communicating the story by Simran Hans. What else we got here? Let's try Screen Crush by Matt Singer, a 30.

Godzilla King of the Monsters is a narrative is as narratively incomprehensible as it is visually with an even more talented roster of overqualified actors tasked with the with carrying the film's insipid story and trying to make their characters bizarre decisions seem halfway plausible. Yeah. From LA Times, Katie Walsh with 40. Amazingly, somehow an overstuffed Godzilla movie feels scant. Hmm. Hmm. Contradictory sort of language from these critics are like it's it's big, but small.

It's it's wide, but then you can see why. From Peter Travers, a 40 on the Rolling Stone. The chance to see giant monsters go apeshit. A few more are added near the end is almost worth the price of admission. Seeing, however, is part of the problem. Godzilla King of the Monsters is often so lost in the shadows of digital muck that it makes the squinting chaos of the battle of Winterfell and Game of Thrones look like a light show. Wow. He's saying topical for the time of 2019.

Wow, that's why he does what he does. How about that battle of Winterfell? Am I right? You can see anything. Who came out that was like you should get a better TV? It was one of those situations. One of the Benny off for the for the Wices. You can't remember. But yeah, it was like, well, because your TV sucks, you're like, are you fucking kidding? Like, what are you talking about? That's how you're going to. Maybe it's all of you people versus me. We're perfect.

We'll do another one from the Guardian with a 40. Benjamin Lee says it's a film with too much yet somehow so very little. So I don't know. Everyone's so so kind of polarized against themselves about like this movie's a walking contradiction. Just like me, Brandon. I'll stop. You dirty dog. Let's do some audience reviews of five star from Amazon, from Sam's review. Let's check it out. Bear with me. It's a little little much, but it's fun.

My complaints and concerns are mainly directed at producers. Stop hiding the monster fights in smoke, darkness, clouds, foggy haze or behind the military, Osprey's. This was the primary complaint in the last Godzilla movie. You'd think the producers would have learned that lesson by now. This is why this movie did not make a lot of money at the American box offices, because fans are a little raw about that. Try that. Try that again in King Kong and see what happens to your bottom line.

I see they fixed they fixed Godzilla's feet once again. At least they got that part right. Mothra died a little too soon, guys. Really? I'm old school, grew up with Godzilla all throughout the 80s. So why in the hell is there a giant wooly mammoth in this movie? Because there are no wooly mammoth in the Godzilla family of monsters when I was growing up. Stop screwing up these movies, guys.

If the producers were smart, they would have included three of the giant praying mantis from Son of Godzilla. Remember those guys? Now that would have been epic. Instead of a frickin wooly mammoth that has nothing to do with anything. There was too much unnecessary human dialogue. Focus on the monsters. I got really tired of the little know it all teenage girl drama. This is not days of our lives. Miss me with that next time, guys, and stay focused on the monsters back stories.

So all writers and producers don't even screw up Godzilla versus King Kong. Take notes from all the critical reviews and make the necessary corrections. Otherwise, you guys killed it. Congratulations on an amazing movie. But fix all the problems. Listen to the fans. The facts. Wow. Then there's a list of facts. One, running time approximately two hours, 50 minutes. Two, sound DTS 5.1 and at most three picture widescreen. Four, filled with action, suspense and drama. Almost almost epic.

Oh, number five wanted it to be. Yeah, but damn. OK, number five explains backstory very well. Oh, good. Number six, producers try to hide monster fights again. Seven, not enough focus on monsters. Do you know too much unnecessary human dialogue? Nine, movie was intense. Want the backstory or did you know I want it? I don't just the monsters because of fuck about people. Number nine, movie was intense and good, but dropped the ball in some areas.

Number 10, recommended purchase on Blu-ray must have classic. Thank you. Hope this helps. Oh, I mean, five stars. Five stars. Wow, cool. I'm going to do like one or two more. I know that one was a lot, but there's some Godzilla nerds are fun. Yeah. They're a good time. From Audrey, Audrey, five stars titled Great Monster Action and Special Effects. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Good fun and well done special effects. I don't watch Godzilla movies for the acting or the great writing.

I watch Godzilla movies because I like Godzilla and all the campiness of the franchise. This movie delivers Godzilla and the other monsters beautifully. And I thought really well, I especially enjoy the majestic and earth goddess-like portrayal of Mothera didn't see that coming. And it was a nice surprise. Road and made an appearance too. And I enjoyed in those scenes as well.

All in all, this reminded me of the style of Starship Troopers, which I also really enjoyed because of the corn and great bug monsters. Good fun, not serious. Godzilla at his slash her best. Taking out the alien trash. It is definitely worth the rental and perhaps even the few extra bucks. Bucks, buts, bucks. Got my mind on a buts brand and sorry. Few extra bucks to put a permanent DVD copy in the video library. For all you people, people having a stroke about the anti-Christian theme.

Seriously, the understory is about taking care of the earth and has nothing to do with organized religion. Maybe you can buy a clue at Amazon.com. With Amazon Prime, get a clue. That was like an atom bomb from Godzilla in the movie. Just like, oh, man, he's going to blow and then just put a zinger. All right, I'm going to do one more because this one's kind of a trip. And there's probably more out there.

I anytime you're bored, it's it's not it's not bad to to check in on some reviews of things because people sometimes will just really let it out. This person, Fennex, twelve hundred five stars. Godzilla wipes out Monster Zero and the Liberals. Oh, OK.

If you are a true Godzilla fan and I have been a fan since the 1970s, you will enjoy this movie with such stars in the Godzilla universe as Mothra, Monster Zero, Rodan, Titanus, Bohemoth, Muto three and others as they battle Monster Zero, King Ghidorah with alien origins for supremacy of the planet. The plot is apropos for today's political climate.

The world is being destroyed by nasty conservative humans and a liberal scientist hatches a plot to hatches a plot to destroy most of the world's population by unleashing the Godzilla universe monsters, which are placed in secure bunkers around the world, hidden from the population by a secret organization called Monarchs, so the Liberals can reappear from under their hiding places and repopulate the world. I thought Ted Kaczynski was going to make an appearance.

Well, of course, this line of thinking is insane, just like the liberal mind. And it takes a group of hardworking scientists, military experts and good old fashioned ingenuity to quell the disaster that has already killed millions of people and destroyed trillions in infrastructure and pits Godzilla against Ghidorah for supremacy of the planet.

I won't spoil the ending, but the best line of the movie is when Dr. Chen calls Dr. Russell that bitch as Dr. Russell was detailing why she wanted the world destroyed by calling humans nasty parasites with a monster universe represent representing the only means to remove humans, the Earth's immune system ejecting humans. She gets it in the end. After the near disaster of wiping out the entire planet.

Of course, just like modern movies, there are tons of CGI and military hardware in entire cities being destroyed by these monsters. It won't disappoint those who love CGI. The tone is one of immediacy. And let's try one last thing to kill these monsters. And we finally see humans get it together and help Godzilla kill Ghidorah. Now the world must clean up after the meltdown of one liberal scientist. Wow. Wow. Wow. We watched this movie wrong, Brandon. I had no idea. I get it now.

Cultural ramifications of this film. I get it. This is it was just laid out that there is. We're talking this movie is not just a movie. It is a battleground. That is not just filled with kind Jews, but it's filled with liberals. Jitter, Jitter. And they're ruining for all the rest of us. I had zero idea. I was watching a true patriot Godzilla. Thank God for the military and the ingenuity of of of love in American values. Yes, exactly. God. Wow. I don't know, man. Makes me proud.

I mean, Long Live the King. Long Live the King. What does it say? I'm ready to give our final thoughts and move on. What do you think? And you want to go? No, you go first. Andre. Mwah. I will say that this movie, like I was I mentioned at the beginning, a successful franchise that is kind of like unassumedly for me done really well at being consistent and having complete stories told within each of the feature films that borrow and take from the others.

Kind of in a way like Marvel does as far as like, oh, this superhero showed up. Oh, King Kong is going to show up in this one. And they've been working towards it. Maybe like a Captain America versus Iron Man or something. Civil War, whatever. I don't know why I'm making this comparison.

It's just interesting to see a franchise, any universe start at the time that it did and take notes clearly, I feel like from from that and do it in a way that is taking a lot of big things and stuff that has been around a while. Like Godzilla has been around for so long and there's so many so many fans that wanted to be done a certain way. And I'm I'm impressed with the franchise to do a job well, like well enough where the first one is different enough from this one.

But they're all good for different reasons. And Godzilla vs. Kong is just like, yeah, I mean, it's going to be cool. They're fucking battling each other. Like and I think this one does course correct from the first one in my mind. And it does try to instill humor and it and more action and you get to see the monsters more and there are more monsters. And it doesn't mean I like the first one less.

I like both of them for different reasons, but I'm really happy that this one exists and it was fun watching it for a second time and just kind of being blown away that there are so many battles and there and they mix up not just Godzilla vs. Sun, but you get the Rodan versus King Ghadira and all that stuff. And they've done and they're done in interesting locales. But you kind of have to be OK with it. Yeah, being a big spectacle.

The characters themselves are clunkily clunkily written concerning like the villain and the whole plan and why certain things need to happen as far as like her her decision making and her follow through at the end of her character for Vera, for Miga. But luckily, that really is just holding up the ability to have these these battles and kind of have the humans be there to see it. And look at it. Yeah, it's just it's it's bad ass. It's a bad ass movie. The effects are all there in the screen.

The monies are all there on the screen. I can understand why it's not for everybody. I can understand why this is polarizing and it is less of a movie like other ones we've done where it's like, what is their problem? Like, why don't they get it? It's like, yeah, I don't know. Maybe it's not everyone's thing. Like a big monster movie where it's they're kind of saying some stupid stuff and there's big loud action scenes and it's almost two and a half hours long.

It's it's a it's a big thing to take in. And it's maybe not everyone's cup of tea. But if you're looking for spectacle and a globetrotting monster movie, I think it I think it fills the bill for for a lot of reasons. That you would want in a fucking Godzilla King of the monsters movie. I was having a hard time deciding which one I like better. Like between the first and the second you just watch and recently really such a glowing review, I just I'm so curious about your me too.

I've been having a hard time. God, I just I like love that. Yeah, I just OK. It's not going to be. Yeah, it's not going to be perfect. And it's it's not going to be above and beyond because, yeah, the characters and it is it is a little. Big and I like the characterization and the first one a lot better for different reasons. It is, yeah, the alien alien thing almost is a good comparison of like they are good for different reasons.

For me, I'm thinking a strong 70 like a like a high 70 sounds good for me. Do like a seventy seven. Fuck yeah, seventy seven feels good. It's like I would and I would watch it again even to it's it's like it's fun and I would recommend it overall. I agree. So. This movie falls in wonderful company in my mind of a couple films like. The Two Towers. Wow. Well, dead to wow. Biderman to wow. Just in the pantheon of. Rush Hour to wow. And beyond of the second movie being the one that really just.

Knocks it out of the park. It gets it gets its job done. It it it it just comes to play. It's like, OK, so we got some of the housekeeping out of the way. Now we can just get to. Yeah, so just like what we talked about with Rush Hour to is like. Rush Hour one's amazing, but it is so fun to be at a point in their relationship in Rush Hour to where we know that we the introductions are done. Let's just get to what everybody is here for. And this movie does that.

Yeah. The story of Charles Dan's via from America kind of is poopy. And I understand why the critics by and large don't like this movie because the emotional core or the humanity that ties you as a human to the to the movie. Mid big time mid. Middle ditch. But all the yeah, there you go. Thank you. Sort of middle ditch. Get it. But ultimately, this is a bunch of really fucking cool monsters battling each other. And that is super cool. Yes, super. So super cool. Yeah. And like, you know what?

Pretty much fucking rips. What I want to say. Yeah. So. Fuck yeah. Yeah. I'm going to give this movie. So originally when I was going into this, I was going to give it a 75. But I would much rather because of the way that you described this movie to is that I think we feel the same way about it. And I think that we should have the same score. Four sevens add two more to him. Hell yeah. We were like at the lottery. Or like the slats would be set and another and another seven to the to the three.

I love it. This is a it's hard to be mad at this movie. It's it's so fun and it doesn't. It just goes, man. It just it's it's thoroughly entertaining for a two and a half hour thing. Like and it's the way I think that first 20 minutes is such a great job, too. Of laying whatever groundwork that you not sure if you're the first one. Yeah, they're all fucking let's go. Let's go. Let's yeah, buddy. The 17 that was such an interesting number to me.

I want to see whatever if there's a list of all the 17 titans or if that is like meaningful and like the past Godzilla movies, like he actually has like 17 different monsters. I mean, you know what though? So I was thinking about this on our break is like all of those monsters, however many they may be, if they relatively stick into the pocket of this and Godzilla versus King Kong, make 17 movies like let's let's yeah, I was going to say they are making 17.

Like you like bundle them a little bit. You know what I mean? They are making a television series. I think you I almost forgot to mention is called Monarch Legacy of Monsters, an upcoming American television series created by Chris Black and developed by for Apple TV Plus. What is the premise?

I'm curious because I think the trailer just recently dropped after the battle set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans revealing that monsters are real or follows one family's journey to uncover its buried secrets and legacy linking them to Monarch. So it is after Kong and King of Monsters. It's got both of the Russell's Wyatt and Kurt. Isn't that cool? Well, Kurt and Wyatt together. Oh, it's fucking cool. It's OK. I mean, the premise of the show is out.

Poopy, I do not care for that premise, but comes out in November. We shall see. It's I mean, they're pushing the world. They're they're taking it to TV land. So I mean, to the point that you're making is that I think this establishes a formula that is like it's a formula that I'm on board with. And that's why I would give it a positive score that I did give it is because what the structure of this movie?

Yes, certain things could change about it or get better, but the structure of it is good and solid. I'm probably going to check out the show too. Yeah, I've enjoyed enough that like I'll give it a shot. See what's up. Until next time, we will be doing another film that will not be a sequel. We've wrapped that up. Throwing away the close to book. We close the book, which is just a sequel book. I don't want summer to end, but it has to. And you know what?

I think this is going to be a good this is going to be a transition. Maybe we can do like summer three equals next next summer or something like that can be fun. Yeah. This is more to the next summer. Oh, you always do. Summer summer brandini. I'm a brandini. The next movie feels kind of kind of autumn fall. You a little bit. We will be doing where the crawdad sing from 2022. It is very polarizing, extremely polarizing, fits perfectly for our podcast. It's great.

It's unfortunate people disagree, but it works for us. We just feast off the vitriol. Critics gave it 35 percent. Audience gave it a 96. Spicy 90s. We hope to see you hear you. We hope you hear us next time. I could read the premise. No, you guys have probably heard of it. We're the crowd. We're the crowd. I'd sing if not, you know, check it out. We're going to be talking about it. We love you all.

If you want to catch us live or on twitch.tv slash polarized pod, you can send us an email at polarized the pod at gmail.com. Have I miss anything else? Brandina, I have to tell you it's been a true pledge. Sharing this monster battle discussion with you. And I'm glad there was a moment where we just evolved into a shield activated bomb. He's gaining too much energy. It's going to explode. I want him to explode. Yeah, explode. God, but it's like a nuclear bomb going on.

But anyway, you evacuated the city. It's OK. Even though the city will never be able to be in the habitable for decades. No, the trees will grow back. It'll be great. Mothra rules. Mothra rules. I've had a good time on this app as well, because this movie is fun. This podcast is fun. I had a good time. Yeah, every time, every time. And we'll see you. Next time we love you. We love you. Bye. Bye. Bye. We love you. I think I love you. Says that Godzilla is 550 feet. Orange.

The feet are like 5,200 or something. Oh, it's 5,000. Yeah, 5,200. I was like, that's a big like a multi-mode. OK. God, I. I don't know. I just.