It's hard to hate too much on a movie like 'King Kong vs. Godzilla'. It is extraordinarily goofy and the uneasiness adapting the film to American audiences is plain to be seen. When it exploits the title characters and we get to see the monsters delivering the goods than I say it works in a very Ed Wood kind of fashion. I think one would be surprised going into 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' when they find out that the monsters are not exploited at all. In fact I would say that they are only really in the film for about a third of the whole movie. Well, when one goes into a film called 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' and doesn't see the monsters than well...
The film does a lot to build up the supposed "story". A pharmaceutical company wants to capture Kong to advertise a new line of berries found on Skull Island. We get to meet the company's comical C.E.O and his goofy underlings who provide some humor that I don't think is fully compatible with American audiences. Godzilla comes and then we spend a great deal of time talking about how the military intends to stop him. I'm sorry but this stuff is so boring. I found every scene without the monsters to be an almost chore to sit through. I suppose the material with the C.E.O and Skull Island was a little easier to stomach but not by much really. I wanted monsters. How many times do we have to listen to the military dissect how they intend to kill Godzilla? Every film has these moments and it never changes. Godzilla if we haven't learned by now simply crushes whatever they throw at him and so these moments are pointless narratively and do nothing but add filler to the script. Give me monsters!
This film also is interesting in that a conscious effort was made to make it palatable to American audiences. There are extra scenes sprinkled in with actor Eric Carter(who surprise surprise never did anything but this for the most part) as a UN newscaster. These scenes look like they were filmed in the break room at Universal. Everything about the American footage is pathetic and amateurish. It's embarrassing to watch because at least the Japanese footage has momentum to it. Whenever we cut to the American stuff the film grinds to a screeching halt. The film has bad enough pacing problems on it's own, it doesn't' need the help of the Yanks. They choose the worst possible places to insert the footage too. We often get it right after a monster scene, the last place it is wanted.
What does work? The Monsters. The problem? They are not on the screen nearly enough and we miss their presence when they aren't. Don't get me wrong these aren't expert portrayals of monsters with character and soul. These are men in fake rubber suits but they are endearing and fun. When Kong and Godzilla duke it out it is magic.
The film does a lot to build up the supposed "story". A pharmaceutical company wants to capture Kong to advertise a new line of berries found on Skull Island. We get to meet the company's comical C.E.O and his goofy underlings who provide some humor that I don't think is fully compatible with American audiences. Godzilla comes and then we spend a great deal of time talking about how the military intends to stop him. I'm sorry but this stuff is so boring. I found every scene without the monsters to be an almost chore to sit through. I suppose the material with the C.E.O and Skull Island was a little easier to stomach but not by much really. I wanted monsters. How many times do we have to listen to the military dissect how they intend to kill Godzilla? Every film has these moments and it never changes. Godzilla if we haven't learned by now simply crushes whatever they throw at him and so these moments are pointless narratively and do nothing but add filler to the script. Give me monsters!
This film also is interesting in that a conscious effort was made to make it palatable to American audiences. There are extra scenes sprinkled in with actor Eric Carter(who surprise surprise never did anything but this for the most part) as a UN newscaster. These scenes look like they were filmed in the break room at Universal. Everything about the American footage is pathetic and amateurish. It's embarrassing to watch because at least the Japanese footage has momentum to it. Whenever we cut to the American stuff the film grinds to a screeching halt. The film has bad enough pacing problems on it's own, it doesn't' need the help of the Yanks. They choose the worst possible places to insert the footage too. We often get it right after a monster scene, the last place it is wanted.
What does work? The Monsters. The problem? They are not on the screen nearly enough and we miss their presence when they aren't. Don't get me wrong these aren't expert portrayals of monsters with character and soul. These are men in fake rubber suits but they are endearing and fun. When Kong and Godzilla duke it out it is magic.