I Want to Be Excited About Godzilla vs Kong, But I Can’t Be
I’m a child of fantasy, having grown up on cartoon violence and outlandish, mystical storytelling. I love foreign planets, strange dimensions, larger-than-life characters, and beasts of different configurations.
The power of imagination is the greatest superpower we have. It allows us to tell stories and experience a different reality, a reality that doesn’t exist and might never will. It allows us to experience feelings over non-existent people, and share a connection with each other like nothing else does.
So it’s difficult when you see someone bastardize that for profit.
Godzilla vs Kong is Legendary Pictures’ 4th film in their “MonsterVerse,” itself a copied idea, only attempted after the unprecedented and phenomenal success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The trailer dropped 3 days ago, and it has already spawned a number of memes, some positive and some not so much.
The film looks GORGEOUS. With modern technology, Hollywood really knows how to bring us a sensory spectacle worth remembering.
It’s just sad then, when the story rehashes tired, old, and “proven safe” tropes because they want to make 70% of the movie about human beings. Because you need white people on the screen at all times, even when you’re using a different culture’s IP. (Let’s also conveniently forget that Godzilla is a metaphor for the destructive power of atom bombs.)
The problem with Hollywood is that it takes itself too seriously. They have a one-track mind when it comes to making money — everything needs to be dramatic and cool. In trying to make everything dramatic and cool, they take away the charm of silliness and imagination.
Contrast that with the 1962 Japanese version where Godzilla dropkicked King Kong.
The dropkick is famously in Godzilla’s repertoire from his TV show. Just take a moment to appreciate the kind of imagination it takes to make this art.
Dramatic “realistic” storytelling is great, but it does not have to be the only type of storytelling that exists. Lest we forget, we’re talking about a giant nuclear lizard and a giant ape.
Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong and see the new movie have Godzilla go Kazuchika Okada on Kong’s ass and dropkick him in the face.
Most fans would be thrilled with a straight 60 minute ironman match between the two behemoths. But the people who make the films don’t believe in market research.
Will the new movie be a financial success? Probably. Solo movies are one thing, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from the PPV model, it’s that the big matchups draw money. Fans will tune in to see the two well-known beasts grapple.
This premise is too juicy to be hampered by tired, lazy, and safe Hollywood tropes. The film will be a gorgeous spectacle for fans.
It’s just not for me.
This is a bite-sized essay.
