Kaiju Grab bag 6: Comic-con and more Godzilla goodness

     A lot has happened in the past two weeks. The Godzilla community is in an uproar about everything that has been released this past weekend. The news even seemed to drown out the release of City On the Edge of Battle on Netflix. There is a lot to talk about here so it is best to just get started and not waste any time.

Comic-Con Trailers

     Before talking about the "main attraction" it should be noted that a lot of good trailers came out this year at SDCC. Everything ranging from animated teasers, to new season reveals of everyone's favorites shows and even some unexpected pleasantries. DC Comics almost completely stole the show this year with two movie trailers that already made a lot of people happy. Aquaman was a personal standout as it looks gorgeous and fun, completely unlike the dark "edgy" feel of the other movies that came before it. Time will tell if this is a good movie, but the trailer was truly excellent regardless.
     Weirdly enough, shows seemed to get more love than movies this year. Matt Groening's new show "Disenchantment" brings back the humor we love from his other works. We even got announcements regarding new seasons of widely popular shows like Walking Dead and Young Justice. I'm sure that most people have seen the trailer for Teen Titans, but we don't need that kind of negativity in our lives so no need to dwell on it. There is so much that happened at this years Comic-con to talk about, from Fantastic Beasts to Steven Universe. All I can say is look up everything. There is bound to be something for everyone among the trailers

Godzilla: King of the Monsters Trailer

     Despite the  Overwhelming good news that came from Comic-Con this year, one trailer really stole the show. One of, if not, the most talked about trailers to come out was the for the Godzilla: King of The Monsters. Kaiju fans went ballistic as The Big G was in the spotlight once more. The trailer showcases the 4 promised monsters to fans of the franchise while building them up in a wonderful way for new viewers. It really is noteworthy and commendable that not much of Mothra, Rodan or Ghidorah is shown outside of brief glimpses and silhouettes. Hype for this movie was built really quick
     This movie seems to be showcasing a very different atmosphere compared to the 2014 Godzilla film. Whereas the predecessor was a somewhat dark Kaiju Blockbuster, the sequel seems to be taking the series into a more depressing story. This movie could very well be the start of some apocolypse level stuff. Tone in this movie is also matched by use of color on the specific monsters. All of the scenes with Mothra and Godzilla look blue which, coupled with the orchestral, creates a very awe-inspiring feel. In contrast, All of the scenes with Rodan look red to emphasize the destructive side of the movie. Even Ghidorah has a scheme of black, gray and gold to show the sinister and forboding side of the movie.
     Honestly there is a lot to pick apart in this trailer from the orchestral music to the potential story. All I can really say is that this trailer does a fantastic job in getting people hyped for this sequel that very well could be better than the first. Time will tell and it's not like we have nothing to keep us occupied in the meantime.

Monarch Viral Marketing

      Before Comic-con was upon us the site monarchsciences.com was up and running to allow us to track Godzilla and look up confidential information. Key sites on the map allowed people to look into some Monarch case files regarding the monsters that will appear in this movie. As people explore they are given more clearance, and after deciphering a code on their twitter they are given the highest level of clearance on the site (at least so far). There is some awesome pictures and easter eggs on that site just ripe for people to explore. The best part about the site is that they are still updating it!
     One of the main features of the site is the ability to "track" Godzilla as he movies along the ocean to unknown destinations. The first destination was San Diego to mark the arrival of the trailer. Admittedly this did take me way too long to realize. Fortunately Godzilla is still on the move to some unknown destinations as we speak. For a time people thought he was going towards the Monarch outpost in Columbia. Then Godzilla made a sharp turn and theories began buzzing all over. It is very likely this site will be used to slowly reveal teasers or even other monsters that could be in the movie. Time will tell, so this really is a great site to keep an eye on as we hype for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

City On the Edge of Battle

      While Comic-con was certainly the main focus of Godzilla news lately, it was not the only thing. Truth is, SDCC seemed to completely overshadow any discussion about the next installment in the Godzilla anime. There is a reason for this. The movie was ultimately left with reviews that range from bad to okay. While this installment is better than the first, it suffers from many of the same problems and even some new ones.
     I won't do a full review of this until all three parts are released since each installments really does feel like a part of a whole as oppose to an individual movie. The quickie review of this movie is that it is flawed but rather enjoyable. One of the biggest flaws of the first part was the main character Haruo and how reckless and well, stupid he was. The second part ditches this side of Haruo for a more composed and rational lead. It really did seem like Godzilla slapped a sense of reality into him. This does not erase the other present flaws, but it does show a marked improvement from the first part. Despite it's flaws this movie really is worth a watch if you have the time.

Conclusion

    A few years ago I made the observation that we were entering a monster movie renaissance. This was around the time where Kong: Skull Island and Shin Gojira were the biggest talks in the Kaiju world. After Kong, things seemed to stagnate for a while until this year. I still firmly believe in the potential for a new age of monster movies. If the other two films in Legendary's monster-verse and TOHO's future endeavors with the king prove fruitful, Other companies and monsters will likely follow suit. Keep your roars load my fellow Kaiju-philes. Let's do everything we can to help the King of the monsters start the new age of monsters!