2014’s Godzilla was a pleasant surprise and the second film in Universal’s horribly named “Monsterverse” Kong: Skull Island was even better. This third entry in the series is, though, a bit of a dud. Dr Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) teams up with eco-terrorist Jonah Alan (Charles Dance) to unleash a group of long dormant monsters in a hair brained scheme to save the planet. Only Godzilla and a team of scientists including Emma’s ex husband, Mark (Kyle Chandler) and, returning from the first film, Dr Graham (Sally Hawkins) and Dr Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) can save the day.
The plot is very slight but it is functional in that it serves up a number of clashes between the various monsters. However, this film has some major problems. Firstly, the characterisation of the humans is sketchy to say the least. Farmiga and Chandler can bring nothing to stop their characters being extremely dull. Dance has nothing to do and Hawkins, who stood out in the first film, is dispatched far too early. Only Millie Bobbie Brown as Emma and Mark’s daughter rises above the material.
The visual effects, whilst being better than you normally see in these sort of films, are too reliant in being shrouded in heavy rain or murky light to make them look more real. It’s an old trick, but with so much of the running time featuring the creatures, it is one of the greyest movies I have seen. Speaking of running time, 130 minutes is way too long, and with no one particularly to root for, I was bored at times.
Too competently made to be a real turkey, this flabby blockbuster is quite a let down.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10