Movie review

Kong, Godzilla fight for right to defend humanity

By Robert D. Grubaugh

Contributing columnist For The Edge

EDWARDSVILLE — I have spent much of the previous week in a serious state of excitement because this week, unlike most others, allowed me the chance to see a new movie in a new theater. For the first time since 2015, when AMC launched the beautiful Streets Of St. Charles location, the greater St. Louis area has a new cinema to make my stomping grounds and to play in. This one — Neighborhood Cinema Group (NCG) — is in the Metro East.

NCG has opened an eight-screen movie theater at Alton Square Mall, where Sears used to be, and I was there on opening night to see for myself what treats lay in store for us here in Madison County.

NCG is a small, Midwestern chain, with just over two dozen locations, headquartered out of Michigan. The theater itself has been built out of the back part of the mall, behind JCPenney. The space is tightly configured and makes excellent use of its sightlines through the lobby and common areas. I would call the simple concept a cross between industrial chic and “Saved by the Bell” cool. The cashier stand and concession equipment operations were separated by a wall, which is a unique look.

The menu features typical moviegoer fare and the popcorn smelled delicious. Beer and wine were for sale alongside a bank of Coke Freestyle and ICEE drink dispensers. The auditoria are of a typical “black box” design, featuring reclining seats and tray table attachments. Seat counts range from roughly 44 to 150 (with social distancing being strictly enforced). I particularly loved the electronic advertisement cases in the lobby, one-sheet posters with motion.

If I was thrilled at the prospect of having NCG Alton to add to our list of local moviehouses, I was less certain about my choice of movie. “Godzilla vs. Kong” was a head-scratcher at times, full of unbelievability, and never less than groan-inducing.

Since Legendary Entertainment reincarnated its “MonsterVerse” in 2014, Godzilla and King Kong have been back in the limelight where they’ve always toiled. This movie, though, is the first of the four that’s made me note how awful the sustainability outlook for this franchise is. By the 30-minute mark, I realized that someone had decided to take the best trait of the movie (the hook about shadowy corporate and/or government-military organizations called APEX and MONARCH and Hollow Earth mumbo jumbo) and make it the focal point of a special effects-laden mashup.

Essentially, the movie is a battle between King Kong and Godzilla for their right to defend humanity from itself, I think. Alexander Skarsgard is a scientist trying to transport the beasts to their original home at the center of the Earth. Rebecca Hall hangs around to annoyingly acquiesce to his every stupid suggestion. Millie Bobby Brown’s character is still a student, but somehow moves about internationally at her own whim. By the time the monsters are duking it out with the lame-looking robot Mechagodzilla, I was too baffled to understand what was happening or why. Not even Brian Tyree Henry could not save this movie; I should have watched Bob Odenkirk in “Nobody” for a second time.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” runs 113 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction and brief language. I give this film one star out of four.

This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows a scene from “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

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