The Bigger They Come Part 12 (The Return of Godzilla, 1984)

This Godzilla film was released with a few different titles. Return of Godzilla, Godzilla 1984, Godzilla and Godzilla 1985 (The American Edit). The American Godzilla 1985 brings back Raymond Burr’s Steve Martin. But if you watch the original version of the film (Godzilla 1984 or Return of Godzilla) you will not deal Burr at all. This review is of the original Japanese version of the film.

The 1984 film is notable for a return to a more serious treatment of Godzilla that we had seen for many years, where Godzilla became more of a kid’s hero. This film has no monsters. Ignoring thirty years of films, Return of Godzilla features no monsters outside of Godzilla himself, and a more dramatic tone. The film is meant as a direct sequel to the 1954 original. When it is discovered that Godzilla is back, the Japanese Government tries to keep it a secret. Only when the world is on the verge of nuclear war do they confess the truth.

The story works quite well. Godzilla’s motive is simple, he is seeking food and, well, he eats nuclear power. There is political intrigue as a reporter tries to expose the truth about the return of the giant beast.By and large, most of the characters are likable, if rather simplistic in motivations.

Visually, while the budget is larger, the studio sticks with what works. By 1984, they had improved some of the technology greatly. Godzilla’s face is a bit more emotive in the film. Overall, this is a rather successful sequel that appeals to those who appreciate the charms of the original classic.

March 28, 2017 1

The Bigger They Come Part 11 (King Kong Escapes, 1967)

King Kong Escapes features King Kong fighting a robot version of himself created by an evil organization bent on taking over the world. The leaders of this plot are Madame Piranha (Japanese Version)/Madame X (the American version) and a guy named Dr. Who. While the evil organization perfects Mechakong, an American/Japanese team is hunting for the real Kong, seeking him on Mondo Island.

In the Toho Studio world of Kong, he lives on two different islands. In King Kong vs Godzilla he is found on Faro Island…in this film it is Mondo Island. Neither sound quite as good as Skull Island.

King Kong Escapes is pretty much an embarrassment to watch, though it might be good fodder for MST3K. The performances are standard for giant monster films, nothing unique there. But even by “Rubber Suit” standards, the approach that can work so well for Godzilla just looks freakish here. And the fact that they made this five years after King Kong Vs. Godzilla and the suit does not have any evidence of being updated…does not inspire much hope. Ridiculously, anytime King Kong is holding on to someone,whenever it is not a close-up, the person is obviously a small action figure. There is little effort to hide this.

The story just feels silly having a James Bond-like villain seeking to take over the world that Kong has to stop. Really, movies like this depend mightily on the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. And the flaws are far to large to be able to ignore for that.

March 27, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 10 (King Kong Lives, 1986)

A direct sequel to 1976’s remake of King King, we discover that that Kong did not die from being shot up and falling from a tall building. He merely went comatose.

Linda Hamilton plays a surgeon who was part of a team seeking to save Kong, but they need a blood transfusion before performing a heart transplant and it could only come from another giant ape. Hamilton tells her boss that they need a miracle. Queue Miracle as adventurer Brian Kerwin who discovers a giant female ape that is dubbed Lady Kong.

The heart transplant is successful and the two apes get free. The Kongs run off together and the chase begins. At least Kong is interested in a lady ape this time around. The film has the typical adversarial relationship that grows to romance between Hamilton and Kerwin. It kind of works, because it becomes clear that Kerwin is far less the craven opportunist he initially seems to be and is genuinely interested in protecting King and Lady Kong.

The film is, oddly, less exploitative and campy than the 1976 remake. It’s tone is actually much more serious. But this does not really serve the film in anyway. It never really rises above mediocre. The ape suits look okay, but this does not make for a good story. And that is where the film falls flat. The story becomes an extended “Capture of Kong” story in which he and the lady try and escape the military to make a happy home.

There is a scene ripped off from Jaws where drunk guys get in boats to try and catch Kong. So, I guess that is something.

March 26, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 9 (King Kong, 1976)

In 1976, we saw the first King Kong Remake. Producer Dino De Laurentiis had this made amid legal hassles over who actually owned the rights to King Kong. The setting is moved to the 1970’s and it is a new batch of characters. Fred Wilson is an oil executive trying to reach the newly discovered Skull Island. He is certain it will be a treasure trove of fossil fuels. Jack Prescott is a primate paleontologist who stows away. He ends up being used as the staff photographer. Finally, the freighter comes upon a raft with the unconscious Dwan, a beautiful young blonde.

The motives are different, but the results are the same. The team discovers a giant wall (a surprise as it was assumed that the island had no native peoples). The native chief is enthralled by Dwan and tries to trade girls for her. They later kidnap Dwan and offer her up to Kong. Jack leads a team to save her, and then Fred decides to bring capture Kong. It follows the original story pretty closely here (though substituting the World Trade Center for the Empire State Building).

One of the biggest changes is how Kong is a lot less sympathetic. He is a bit of a creep, at one point practically molesting Dwan. Fred Wilson is not like Carl Denham. Denham was an obsessed dreamer as well as an opportunist. Fred is simply a man of great greed.

The remake starts out serious, gets very campy and then ends with an attempt at being “powerfully dramatic”.

Of all the versions of the Kong story, this take on Skull Island is the dullest. It has few creatures and there is little sense of danger.

Kong is clearly a guy in a suit, especially noticeable when he walks. But the mechanics of the gorilla head are actually quite effective. The face is especially effective.

Overall, the 1976 remake is a dud, in spite of a fairly strong cast.

March 25, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 8 (Godzilla: King of Monsters, 1956)

Filmmakers wanted to bring Godzilla to American audiences, and what they thought Godzilla needed was a white guy’s perspective. Godzilla: King of Monsters was not so much a remake as it was a revision of the original film. Adding footage of Raymond Burr, the film becomes a narrated flash black.

Opening in the wake of Godzilla’s attack, Burr’s American journalist Steve Martin starts to recount the destruction. The story is basically the same, except it is now all told through a white American’s eyes. Suddenly, the human stories of the film feel less personal and more foreign than they should.

The atomic fears are not removed, but altered a bit by changing the perspective of the story to America’s eyes. It is still an entertaining story, but it feels like the cliff notes version.

March 24, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 7 (Godzilla, 1954)

In 1954 with fears of nuclear annihilation feeding filmmakers hearts, it is no surprise Japan provided the most memorable monster of all.

The film begins with a series of mysterious freighter accidents. As attempts to determine the cause turn up no answers, an unseen threat is creeping towards Tokyo. This is, of course, our titular monster. Godzilla makes land and starts to terrorize the locals.

A lot is made of what Godzilla himself represents in the fears of the atomic age. Certainly, the dramatic images of Godzilla’s destruction evoke the horrors of Hiroshima. But when it comes to the fears of atomic weaponry, we see it in the character Serizawa-hakase, a scientist who stumbles upon the creation of a weapon so horrible, he dare not share it with the world. When it is discovered, he is called upon to provide it for stopping Godzilla…but is it worth the sacrifice?

While Godzilla is pretty obviously a man in a suit smashing miniatures, the storytelling is very effective and the characters compelling. Ishirô Honda tells a tale that overcomes the limitations. Which says a lot, considering this first incarnation of Godzilla is a bit bug eyed and flails like Donald Trump at a rally.

March 23, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 6 (Son of Kong, 1933)

King Kong was quickly followed up by Son of Kong.

Song of Kong finds Carl Denham trying to avoid the public after the King Kong debacle. He ends up returning to Skull Island. He and a few companions get stranded there. They discover a “pint sized” Kong. Unlike the first film, this is not an adversarial relationship. Instead, they befriend the mini-Kong.

While the effects are are up to par with the original, this is a far less memorable film. There is a reason it is forgotten. It is kind of a dull affair, in spite of attempts to recapture the original film’s excitement.

The cast is primarily new, except for the returning Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham), Frank Reicher (Capt. Englehorn) and Victor Wong (Charlie the Chinese Cook). Son of Kong is a minor footnote in the Big Ape genre for certain.

March 22, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 5 (King Kong, 1933)

In 1933, Merian C. Cooper began making giant ape movies. King Kong still stands as the most memorable. Carl Denham is committed to make an epic film on the newly discovered Skull Island. Bring his cast and crew, they discover horror as Ann Darrow is kidnapped by the native people and sacrificed to Kong.

King Kong is a pretty impressive feat for it’s day. While the stop motion does not compare to, say, Ray Harryhausen’s later works. The sets are also pretty impressive.

The story moves at a fast pace, rarely taking time to slow down. The performances are all pretty good, though most people really only remember Fay Wray (in part for screaming a whole lot). Darrow is, typically for the times, strictly in the “Helpless Damsel” mode.

The Savage Natives trope is embarrassingly outdated. Peter Jackson made no attempt to change this in his 2005 remake, while Kong: Skull Island overcompensates by going the Noble Savage route. It is one of those rather frustrating stamps of the past that lacks justification beyond “It was the times”.

King Kong is a memorable piece of genre film history and overall a fun watch in spite of it’s shortcomings.

March 21, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 4 (Pacific Rim, 2013)

Guermillo Del Toro is a man of unique vision. He always has his own take on traditional monsters. In Cronos, he tackled vampires in a heartbreaking tale of a grandfather who finds a mysterious device. Both Crimson Peak and the Devils Backbone are period pieces focusing ghost stories where humans are the truly frightening characters. And so we find that del Toro’s love letter to Japanese giant Monster movies and Anime mech cartoons and brought together with his own vision.

In a near future, the earth finds itself under attack by giant monsters nicknamed Kaiju. At first, the giant creatures are able to be taken down with conventional weapons…but as newer Kaiju emerge, a new approach is needed. The nations of the world build giant robots, called Jaegers, controlled by two pilots who are psychically linked. Raleigh and Yancy Becket are celebrity pilots, but when a fight with a Kaiju ends in tragedy, Raleigh walks away.

He is called back into action by Stacker Pentacost and paired with young pilot Mako Mori. Raleigh, Mako and several other pilots are about to take on a special mission. They need to close the interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean.

As expected, Del Toro created a visual feast. The Kaiju are immense and impressive. The Jaegers have weapons and are exciting to watch. The characters are not especially unique but are used effectively. Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are entertaining as eccentric scientists specializing in Kaiju sciences. And the always enjoyable Ron Perlman is a stylish black market dealer who traffics in Kaiju parts. And Idris Elba is always reliable for a gruff but heroic role.

Fun and bombastic, Del Toro has given us a fun film. It is not a deep film, but it is a ride.

March 14, 2017 0

The Bigger They Come Part 3 (King Kong, 2005)

Following the smashing success of the Lord of the Rings films, Jackson had the cred to get a pet project off the ground. A remake of 1933’s classic King Kong. He wanted to make an epic, and it is far from the cheesey camp of the 1976 film starring Jessica Lang, Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin.

Instead of updating the location to modern times, Jackson meticulously recreates 1930s New York. He introduces us to Carl Denham, a director who dreams very big and is trying to secure financing to go to a mysterious island shown on a map he has acquired. He hires down on his luck playwright Jack Driscoll to write a script for a grand adventure. He finds a beautiful leading lady in struggling actress Ann Darrow. His male lead is the egotistical Bruce Baxter.

They get on a boat, go to Skull Island, explore, find monsters, the Natives kidnap Ann who is sacrificed to a mysterious monster. The monster is the giant ape Kong who takes a liking to Darrow. Jack and Carl lead the crew to rescue Ann. Denham, of course, has an ulterior motive of getting film of the monsters on the island. They save Ann, capture Kong and Kong is brought to New York. Kong Breaks free and runs amok in the city.

Jackson hits all the beats, and it all sounds exciting. He is very faithful to the original story. Except…well, in typical Peter Jackson fashion, he overdoes it. The film takes an hour to set things up. A full hour before they get to Skull Island. All in a misguided attempt to set up character motivation and romance. Once on Skull Island, the film picks up and gets very exciting. But an hour of setup and added time for the reveal of King Kong…makes for a dull and slow film. The whole cruel savages approach to Skull Island’s natives is embarrassingly dated.

The performance by Andy Serkis as Kong is really impressive looking. The digital Kong is still impressive looking. But the film clocks in at three hours (and that is before Jackson’s expanded cut) and that results ina ridiculous amount of bloated storytelling.

March 13, 2017 1