Godzilla: King of the Monsters: Compared to Gareth Edwards' plodding, essentially action-free 2014 reboot, King of the Monsters is a triumph. Michael Dougherty (Krampus, Trick 'r Treat) decided to make a kaiju movie where the monsters actually get a notable amount of screen time and wait for it, actually fight each other! Crazy concept right? Despite atoning for the head-scratching sins of its predecessor, this new Godzilla movie still isn't anything special. Giant monsters are being unearthed constantly throughout King of the Monsters yet the entire affair feels oddly routine. A three-headed dragon emerging from the ice or a pterodactyl-like creature coming out of a volcano should generate more than a "huh, would you look that?" from the human characters-especially since most of them have spent most of their adult lives tracking and studying these creatures. The action sequences are competent and some of the individual shots of the monsters are absolutely stunning, but the final battle in Boston was the only time the movie fully utilized all of the badass creatures it had its disposal-which was really disappointing to see from a "clash of the titans" blockbuster that easily could've been an epic spectacle.
Grade: B-
Rocketman: As lazy and unfair as it might be, comparing Rocketman to Bohemian Rhapsody is inevitable. The polarizing Queen biopic is still fresh in people's minds after a very successful box office run last fall/winter and obviously deals with some of the same themes as Freddie Mercury and Elton John achieved superstardom during an era where being openly gay was viewed as a surefire way to kill your career. Not to mention, Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher was brought into complete the final few weeks of filming on Bohemian Rhapsody following the firing of credited director Bryan Singer.
When it comes to the actual on-screen product, they couldn't be any more different. Where Bohemian Rhapsody was a clearly sanitized, by-the-numbers biopic, Rocketman is a delightfully odd creation that celebrates John's career without glossing over the dark times. The frequent detours into elaborately-choregraphed dream sequences/musical numbers took a little bit of getting used to, but they do a brilliant job of helping explain the origin of many of his deeply personal songs as well as exploring the juxtaposition between his colorful on-stage persona and the toxic relationships and suffocating loneliness that plagued his personal life which eventually resulted in him developing a serious substance abuse problem.
These rapidly fluctuating emotional highs and lows flow so seamlessly in large part due to Taron Edgerton's tremendous work as John. He did a terrific job convincingly portraying the multiple facets of John's personality both off-stage and through his music with a sensational vocal performance that does all of these iconic songs justice.
Kudos to John for being brave enough to put his inner demons out there and bringing in a creative team (Fletcher, writer Lee Hall) that would make sure his story didn't turn into a typical Rockstar biopic. While I doubt that a ton of artists will be willing to follow John's lead, the fearlessness, raw emotion and vibrancy of Rocketman will hopefully lead to a future with more unfiltered biopics.
Grade: B+
Dark Phoenix: Dark Phoenix's more drama-centric approach has drawn ire from a lot critics and audiences, but I thought it was a nice, well-executed departure from the genre norm. Watching the variety of believable ways each character reacted to Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) turning into a villain with unimaginable power against her will following a mysterious explosion during a space rescue mission was fascinating and having a narrative that deals with the ideas of trauma, family and covering up the truth to "protect" someone you love allows these super talented actors to really sink their teeth into their roles. The more minimalist, emotionally-grounded storyline also turned the few huge action scenes into very impactful showdowns with legit stakes/tension that gave every member of the crew their moment to shine. Ultimately, Dark Phoenix is a satisfying albeit bittersweet ending for this criminally underrated franchise that was responsible for the rebirth of the superhero genre nearly 20 years ago. While not without its misfires, the excellent ensemble casts, massive action setpieces and willingness to actually put its heroes in danger allowed both iterations of X-Men to carve out its own place in an increasingly crowded caped crusader marketplace. These films deserve far better than to be a forgotten footnote in a genre where nothing almost nothing outside of the MCU is viewed as worthwhile and even though I'm excited to see what Marvel Studios does with the property down the road, I'll miss Fox's take on the franchise terribly.
Grade: B+
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