This is something I have thought of for a while, but it kind of has come to light due to some critic reactions to films like Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla: King of the Monsters when it was released. Though GvK received positive reviews and KoTM received mixed reviews, critics often called the plots for the movies dumb, and some go on to say that the “dumb plots” are what you’d expect from movies of the Giant Monster genre (be it positive reactions to the films or negative). It honestly seems like an unfair approach to reviewing both films, and moreover, declare dumb plots a staple of the Kaiju genre.
I have multiple reasons behind saying this. For one, I would certainly say that dumb is not the way to describe the plot of the 1954 classic Godzilla, which perfectly captures to concern of nuclear weapons and has still aged excellently. Nor would it describe films such as Shin Godzilla, GMK, The Return of Godzilla, and Godzilla vs Destoroyah. You can also look to the 90’s Gamera trilogy as an example of excellently crafted films, especially Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys, which is widely regared the best in the trilogy.
As for GvK and KoTM, they honestly did not come off as particularly dumb (if at all), plot wise. And so, this brings me to my point of a double-standard. We see both films made an example out of unfairly for the problems other films have but are not criticized for. For example, the MCU films and quite a few other superhero films are great, but I would never call them intellectual films. However, you do not see critics rip those films to pieces like they did KoTM. So, I’d say films like GvK and KotM should be cut some slack.
Of course, this is only my opinion. You can say what you think on my conclusion, if you wish.
Posted by JohnGojira on 12 May 2021 at 18:45.
Edited by JohnGojira on 12 May 2021 at 20:55. |
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