By Luca Newton
From Godzilla Vs Kong to Army of the Dead, it made me realise the similarities and differences in "turn-off-your-brain" action films..
Includes spoilers for Army of the Dead and Godzilla Vs Kong
Last week, Zack Snyder released his brand new action film, Army of the Dead, on Netflix. It looked like a fun zombie action movie with a new coat of paint. With the colourful posters, and the Las Vegas setting. It seemed to be a return-to-form for Zack Snyder, as a spiritual successor to his first film, Dawn of the Dead. Watching Army of the Dead, and then seeing a lot of opinions on it, told me one thing..
Turn-Off-Your-Brain Action Films Are Excused For Being Terrible..
Army of the Dead is an absolutely terrible movie.
The movie baits you in at the start with a really exciting, fun montage. The use of Viva Las Vegas over a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested Las Vegas. We see a few of the main characters for the first time, in action - being completely badass. The use of Zack Snyder's infamous slow motion really helps this scene. I had went into this movie, hoping for a fun film, and this was providing that for me. But that's just it - that was all.
That montage was the only scene I truly loved in the movie. The rest of the film just absolutely falls apart. The characters were all so vastly uninteresting, and a few were horribly acted too. I was never once invested in a single character in the film. Not even Dave Bautista's character, who was boring - and I love Dave Bautista. He was forced to have this paternal relationship with his daughter, who is another main character in this ensemble. She was the absolute worst. Her character was completely uncompelling, and had way too much importance in the story, despite being completely irrelevant. Her goal is to save this one woman she likes, and she ends up holding everyone back. If this daughter wasn't in the story, I don't think the film would've ended the way it did, everyone wouldn't have died, it would have been completely different. I understand that her changing the story that drastically without being there means she is relevant, but the problem is that she a plot device and not a character. She exists to make the ending tragic and post-apocalyptic. There was this white-haired chick, who seemed to be the "female power" symbol, a girl that scares men. I don't tend to be annoyed over feminist characters, as I believe when done right, they do work. This white-haired chick was more of a feminazi. She had a moment beating this creepy cop, and I ended up feeling bad for him, and rolling my eyes at her. Oh and her acting was dreadful.
Additionally, the writing is god-awful. The many lines of dialogue among these characters rarely landed for me. It all felt so fake, and unbelievable. Not once did I believe any of these characters' motives. I ended up pondering over all these awful lines and laughing. For example, there's this twist villain, Martin. He was put on the mission by the employer who asked them to go on this heist. They are all suspicious of him. The writers had a field day with some of these lines though. Stuff at the start of the mission, where he talks to people, and they respond like, "When we get to the vault, me and you are gonna have a talk", or "I don't trust anyone, especially you, you're really suspicious", using paraphrasing. What is even worse, is what Martin says when he reveals he is indeed evil - and damn that is such a stupid twist, as the suspicions before seemed more jokes and not actual foreshadowing - he says, "Oh my god I got you twice, I got you twice. Slow learner. Tanaka doesn't give a shit about the money, whats in this bag, it's worth 10x what's in that vault. Ok I'm gonna go kill that dumbass pilot, and fix that chopper and fly myself out of here. Au revoir!".
And when that's all well and done, the actual point of the film, being a fun zombie action heist movie, doesn't work. We do not care for any of the characters, their dialogue is god awful, the film is horribly paced. The action never feels enough as you realise how terrible the rest of the film was, and the action doesn't really balance it out. Yet, people flocked to Army of the Dead as this super fun action flick, that is so enjoyable. Sure, it has flaws, but you can ignore them for the sake of a fun time. People saying that this is Zack Snyder's "style". It just surmounts to a bunch of confusion on my end. I cannot see this film, and look past its flaws. They are too frustrating, and obnoxious. The film is too flawed, and there is so little I got out of it.
So, I thought, well why do people turn off their brains this much to say a movie is fun? I mean, I can see viewing conditions affecting how a movie is to you. I watched Mortal Kombat in cinemas last week, and I honestly had a great time. It was a really bad film, it was a worst made film than even Army of the Dead, but it wasn't as much of a slog, and it was almost so bad, it ended up being funny. I was with friends, and we laughed and enjoyed ourselves. I also went into the film wanting and expecting it to be bad. With Army of the Dead, I really wanted it to be dumb fun, when it just wasn't even that for me. I cannot look past the flaws for "dumb fun" - and it made me realise how a film just being a "turn-off-your-brain" action film is a pretty bad sign, and yet a very lucrative one. Films don't need to be good to make money, they just need mindless action.
How They Can Be The Best Of Best Worlds
However, earlier this year, I also saw a set of films that were also pretty "turn-off-your-brain", and yet I actually enjoyed despite their flaws. The Monsterverse.
Godzilla (2014) isn't the strongest in this cinematic universe, however, it does what it sets out to do. It is a movie about Godzilla, with a mysterious, mythological angle, seeing the humans' perspective, as Godzilla fights an evil giant titan. I think the movie was only decent, but it delivered on what it promised, and I liked the way Godzilla truly felt huge. The reason this film, being pretty brainless, works is because the flaws aren't as egregious - while I didn't think the characters were investing, there was never anything that took me out of the movie. Everything did feel in place, it didn't become a list of how fail at making a movie.
The follow-up, Kong: Skull Island (2017), was a movie that owns my whole argument here. I had such a blast with Kong: Skull Island - it never tried to be this serious film, while also never overdoing the cheese in a way that is excessive and distracting. It found the balance between a movie you can watch and think is really good, while also having mindless fun too. It balances the best of both worlds. I actually enjoyed all the characters. They weren't the best written characters ever, but I thought they were all pretty defined, especially John C Reilly's character, who had genuine heart, and a beautiful character arc. Furthermore, Kong was incredible. He had enough screen-time, and you could see him clearly. His presence was feared but also simultaneously cheered at. Kong: Skull Island KNEW what it was, and delivered on its promise.
Godzilla Vs Kong has its flaws. I though that the plot seemed pretty inconsequential. The people around Kong, were literally just following Kong in a nice looking area for the sake of using CGI, when the actual purpose was for one weapon. Also the villain seemed so generic, and also was really just a means to an end over an actual defined villain. Godzilla felt like he wasn't in the film much outside of the action, and didn't feel like a character, Kong did. It felt very much like a Kong movie. However, with all that, I think that these movies are kaiju action flicks, and action can't just be 2 hours, so they add these extra layers to make it work together. However, when the fighting is happening. It is HAPPENING. The movie is called "Godzilla Vs Kong", and the film is literally Godzilla Vs Kong. They get 3 major fights over the course of the movie, evenly spread to keep you engaged. Each is visually nice I felt, you could see what was going on. Each ended with a winner. The final major fight between them actually managed to deliver an actual winner with Godzilla, rather than a cop-out. It was also an insanely pretty and riveting fight that completely delivered on what I felt I was promised.
When I watched all of these Monsterverse movies, I had a great time because I felt I was delivered what I was promised, and the flaws around that promise, while there, were never so overwhelming. I felt satisfied with what I did get, and chose to, while acknowledging the flaws, mention the positives more. I believe if entertainment can deliver a fun film, you don't need to be over-critical; the intention was never to be a masterpiece, so why try and compare it to the standards of one? I think there is a line however...
Movies Should Have Standards
What stands between Army of the Dead and Godzilla Vs Kong is how far I am willing to look past blatant flaws. It's a difference in the amount of terrible aspects of a film I can ignore and turn off my brain for. I believe all movies are thoughtful, and that movies that aren't can never be anything past fun. While I enjoy the Monsterverse, I like movies to have thought in them.
Compare these films, to something like Groundhog Day. On the surface, a high-concept comedy starring Bill Murray, in reality, a movie filled with deep philosophical and religious themes invoking thought from the spectator. You have Phil using a time loop to his advantage; to steal, to kill himself, to have sex, to break the rules, and to get the girl he wants. But the deeper in you get, you see how the time loop goes from being used to Phil's advantage, and rather used for other people's advantage to stop things he knows will happen - completely selflessly. This act of genuine selflessness, attracts the girl he loves to reciprocate those feelings, as he changed naturally and became the ideal guy for her. It's such a flawless character arc, that ends with a character we end up genuinely liking.
Additionally, a foreign movie, A Separation, is a deeply thoughtful movie. It is built with multiple perspectives. Every character has a motive, every character is understandable, each character also has a darker side. In the end, the film poses an ethical question, and it's up to the spectator to choose what you think. The film is also filled with twists which keep you engaged until the final reveal, that takes genuine thought and a good eye to see coming. The dialogue is thoughtfully written, the camerawork is thoughtfully shot, the characters are thoughtfully acted, and the story is thoughtfully planned, all by a very thoughtful director.
I could go on all day about thoughtful movies - they are always so insightful, and always brings the best of me in writing. It's why keeping movies with brains is so significant. A good movie provokes thought, and really sticks with you way after a day after you first saw it.
Thanks for reading.
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