Godzilla vs. Kong shows why some movies need to be seen in theaters

Godzilla vs. Kong shows why some movies demand to be seen in theaters

Forget HBO Max — some movies need to be seen in theaters

(Image credit: Warner)

HBO Max provided the simple pleasance of watching a humongous ape square off with a behemothic lizard to many picture fans several weeks ago when Godzilla vs Kong premiered online. Not me, though. I waited a calendar month and a half extra so I could experience the film on the big screen. We hopefully won't have to wait every bit long to make a selection about where to see James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which comes out in theaters and on HBO Max on Baronial half dozen.

While the film debuted on HBO Max and US theaters on March 31 (and on VOD in the United kingdom), it wasn't available on the big screen here in England until this past week. Cinemas accept only recently been permitted to reopen their doors as part of the latest round of lockdown restrictions being loosened.

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I can't lie. My determination to delay watching Godzilla vs Kong until theatres re-opened was partially due to aloofness. I was not peculiarly enamored with equally destruction-heavy movies like Pacific Rim, Rampage, or even the previous two MonsterVerse films. That said, I as well thought Godzilla vs Kong would exist the ideal picture show for my return to the theaters, a place I spent so much fourth dimension in pre-COVID that I could practically become my mail sent there.

My decision to concur off was completely vindicated inside the offset fifteen minutes of the film. Streaming services well-nigh certainly take their merits, but some movies are fabricated for the silvery screen.

Y'all can't trounce the big screen feel

For reference, I loathed Godzilla: King of the Monsters and never got around to seeing Kong: Skull Island, so it'due south fair to say that I'm hardly the biggest fan of the and so-called MonsterVerse. Yet I practically stood up and cheered when Kong's fist first made contact with Godzilla's scaly temple.

Maybe it was but the novelty of actually being outside of my business firm for a reason other than buying food or exercising, but the big screen experience has rarely been more than enjoyable to me. And I saw Avengers: Endgame at a sold-out IMAX screening.

In that location are some movies that are simply designed to exist enjoyed on the biggest screen possible with an audio system that makes your chair noticeably vibrant with each massive stomp of a reckoner-generated creature'due south foot.

Forget HBO Max: it's time to go back to the theater — (Paradigm credit: Shutterstock)

I didn't even mind that roughly half of my fellow moviegoers arrived later on the movie had already started and spent what felt similar an age using their smartphone flashlight to find their seats. I welcomed each pause similar seeing an old friend, almost laughing at the days where I used to endlessly moan almost these small annoyances. Swallow your nachos loudly teenagers in the front row, it's music to my ears!

Overall, Godzilla vs Kong itself is a fairly ho-hum feel in isolation. The effects are truly impressive, and the fight choreography is surprisingly coherent, but the human characters are annoying and the plot holes are plentiful. Information technology'due south a solid B-movies but naught more.

However, what stood out to me virtually was how much the cinema experience added to the film. If I'd opted to watch at home on a streaming service, I suspect the numerous faults would have overpowered the childlike fun of watching two titans clash. But past viewing the motion-picture show on a gigantic screen with a top-notch audio system, those moments are what I came away thinking most. Not the terrible screenplay or wooly plot.

Streaming even so has its place

This article is not my attempt to debate that streaming services don't have a place in the motion-picture show manufacture. Some movies deserve to be experienced on the large screen, merely not all movies need to be watched in that environment.

I actively subscribe to iv unlike streaming services (and I mooch off family members to have access to two more), then I'm far from a streaming-skeptic. Just the talk of day-in-date streaming existence the stop of film theatres is greatly concerning.

Services like HBO Max have their place — (Paradigm credit: Searchlight)

For me, a hybrid model makes the most sense going forward. Films like The Trial of the Chicago 7, Nomadland, and Minari, all of which launched on streaming platforms due to cinemas existence close across the world over the final 14 months, are natural fits for at-home viewing.

I'k not proverb these are bottom films — all are vastly superior to Godzilla vs Kong. It's merely that I felt very little was lost past experiencing these films through the lens of my fairly unimpressive at-dwelling television setup (I'thou ashamed to acknowledge, I don't fifty-fifty have divide speakers).

The same wouldn't take been true of Godzilla vs Kong. If I'd chosen to forgo waiting and watched it had home, I'm convinced I'd have a much more negative opinion of the film as noted in a higher place. For upcoming blockbusters like Black Widow, Mission: Impossible 7 and Dune, you improve believe the but place I'm seeing them is from a cinema seat.

Now I'grand off to book my tickets for Mortal Kombat. I demand to see all that bloody carnage on the big screen.

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Rory is a staff writer at Tom'south Guide based in the UK. He covers a broad range of topics including tech news, deals, gaming, streaming and more. When he's not writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he can be institute watching a borderline unhealthy amount of movies and being thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football game team.