Legendary's 'Monsterverse' continues with yet another forgettable entry, Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Set 46 years after Kong: Skull Island and five years after 2014's Godzilla, this one sees the world trying to piece itself back together.
Monarch recruits paleobiologist Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) to uncover titans hidden across the globe.
She and her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), soon run into Madison's father, Mark (Kyle Chandler), and a host of other characters.
King of the Monsters does right by the titular character, but bungles almost everything else.
Featuring a tonne of humans and monsters, the movie quickly buckles under its immense weight.
Overshadowed by the nonsensical character motivations, Thomas Middleditch, Bradley Whitford, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, O'Shea Jackson, and Zhang Ziyi are all short-changed.
The monsters themselves, however, are all top-notch. Ghidora and Rodan make for suitable adversaries, while Godzilla himself lives up to the legend.
Hopefully, Godzilla vs. Kong will feature more high-octane thrills and fewer characters.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
In this new (and final) instalment, the X-Men - led by Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) - are treated with respect.
Following a botched space mission, the mutants are forced to track down one of their own.
Professor X and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) squabble, Mystique (a bored Jennifer Lawrence) does her own thing, and the other mutants fade into the background.
The X-Men, Logan/Wolverine, and Deadpool movies are a mixed bag. For every entry of quality (Logan), there's an X-Men: Apocalypse or an X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Dark Phoenix sees long-time producer Simon Kinberg write the script and make his directorial debut.
Like many blockbusters before it, this one falls victim to studio interference.
Whereas the other instalments felt cinematic, Dark Phoenix comes off as cheap, lazy, and dull.
Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain delivers a woeful performance in a forgettable villain sub-plot.
With underdeveloped characters, choppy action, and laughable moments, this swan song will likely fall on deaf ears.
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