This summer, Mom and the boys are doing Film Studies Fridays every week and we wanted to share our thoughts with the world.
The boys picked our first movie: Godzilla: King of the Monsters and we prepped for it a couple weeks in advance by renting the 2014 Godzilla, which the boys found mesmerizing and Mom found slightly less boring than she expected.
So on our first summer Friday, we hit the cinema bright and early, clutching our popcorn and junior mints and ready for action!
Our first reaction comes from Jasper (age 8):
I wanted to see this movie because the last one ended on a cliffhanger--San Francisco was destroyed and Godzilla disappeared back into the ocean. I was wondering where Godzilla and the other monsters had gone and whether they were going to come back. Because I knew the sequel was coming, I figured the monsters would probably come back. My favorite character was Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (played by Ken Watanabe.) He was my favorite because he was willing to sacrifice himself to save his team, the world, and the monster that he loved (Godzilla.)
One thing to know before going into this movie, is that it has a lot of really bright lights. My eyes hurt after we left because of all the bright lights they used in the action scenes.
Our next thoughts are from Gavin (age 11): I was interested in seeing this movie because in the trailer there was the actor from Stranger Things (Millie Bobby Brown) and I really enjoyed her performance in that TV series. I think she is even better in this movie because her character is more expressive. In Stranger Things she was very shy and quiet. This movie gave her more opportunity to be a full person.
I liked this movie because it had a lot of action. It had a lot of fighting action with big, fantastic monsters. Without the big action fight scenes it would be a pretty boring mystery movie about climate change and pollution. The story centers a lot on the mom of Brown's character, Dr. Emma Russel (played by Vera Farmiga) who was a really stupid character. She kept releasing the monsters because the bad guy (Alan Jonah played by Charles Dance) convinced her that it would make the world a better place--that killing off all/most of the people would be good for the trees and the planet. She only realizes this is a bad idea when it looks like her own kid is going to be killed. She doesn't care about the rest of the world, but suddenly humanity matters when her daughter might die. I didn't mind the bright lights that hurt Jasper's eyes. Godzilla's big blue laser beam reminded my of the kamehameha that Goku does in one of my favorite TV shows, Dragonball Z. There were a few moments where multiple monsters were fighting with lasers at the same time and all that flashing went into "seizure mode," but for the most part it didn't bother me.
Mom's Thoughts: If you like big monster battle scenes and don't mind a lot of bright lights and characters whose inconsistent actions and motivations only kind of make sense, this movie is for you!
👍👍👎
