Having chosen to ignore the new Ghostbusters film (well for the time being anyway), I decided that I wouldn't ignore these films because of my history with them. I have enjoyed every single Kung Fu Panda film since that franchise started and while there are better entries than others, I would never go as far as to call any of them bad (unlike one of my friends who is way too generous or way too harsh when he reviews films). The same can be said for the MonsterVerse films which are pretty much as I would expect them to be which is big blockbuster films with giant monsters which to me is the perfect kind of big screen entertainment despite how stupid it can get. It's no Barbenheimer of a weekend, but I felt the need to see these animals and monsters battle it out. Whether their respective franchises have lost steam, or not, is another matter. For now, let's see how their latest films fare:
Kung Fu Panda 4
In this latest entry to one of the big 4 DreamWorks franchises, Po (reprised by Jack Black) helps his fathers (reprised by James Hong and Bryan Cranston) open their new restaurant. With the Furious 5 out in the world fighting their own battles, Po is soon tasked with deciding a successor to his role as the Dragon Warrior. But when a new threat emerges and old foes start reappearing, Po is forced to team up with a wanted thief called Zhen (played by Awkwafina) and together, they set out to stop this new threat while learning a thing or two about honour and other things. Definitely the weakest of the films, but definitely not a bad film by any means. The soundtrack is fantastic (and with both Crazy Train and Baby One More Time being covered, it's pretty darn awesome), the returning characters are ok for the most part and the new ones are good too. I get it's trying to pay homage to the rest of the series and trying not to pack too many characters into it. But it would've been nice to see the Furious 5 and the main villain is kind of weak and has no connection to Po whatsoever other than being a copy cat as it were. Also the film's climax, to me, is just not as grand as it had been in previous films. So for this one, yeah it's probably losing steam and if they do another one, I expect the Furious 5 to play a major role like they have done previously. Otherwise, maybe it's time for Po and friends to be consumed into the spirit realm. 7/10
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
Set 3 years after the pair fought one another and then Mechagodzilla, Kong is now residing in Hollow Earth, establishing his territory. While Godzilla, continues to protect Earth and maintain order between humanity and giant monsters which in this universe, are being called Titans. Monarch also continues their work in both parts and when a new threat is detected, Godzilla starts gathering radiation to be ready for it. While Kong (alongside some of the humans), ventures through Hollow Earth to find this new threat and stop it before Earth gets a second ice age. Plus, we meet more of Kong's species in the process. While the previous film did feel like a balanced film in giving both Kong and Godzilla enough to be getting on with, this film feels more one-sided. In that it's more focused on Kong's side of things, than Godzilla, who just comes across as just eating and training. Plus, there are lots of scenes where it's Kong communicating with his kind and it kind of feels like we should have voices or subtitles, but we just don't and are expected to use our imagination. As for the humans, they are decent. Dan Stevens, as always, is the best part and the whole thing with the tribe (which is spoilers so won't reveal too much) just drags on a little much, but enough to keep us invested. So for this film, it's also probably losing steam and could've been more balanced. But overall, it's OK, and it too has a pretty decent soundtrack and moments where it feels like it's trying to be a feel good kind of film like the later Thor films. 7/10
Neither film is perfect, but we got exactly what we expect to see in them. No more, no less, and they both still have some life in them yet.
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