Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) - 3/5

After a long and unnecessary preamble this movie eventually becomes exactly what its title promised. The fights are bashy, fun, and not nearly as dumb as the talky bits with the humans. The visuals aren’t as gorgeous as they were in the previous film, but here the fight choreography feels more grounded and brawly and less wide-shot cinematic. Fortunately the human plots are only cardboard pablum, not aggressively offensively stupid like King of Monsters and Skull Island, so it’s an improvement. The first 45 minutes are so completely disposable I recommend coming to the theater late to save yourself the boredom.

Closest comparison: It’s like Godzilla: King of Monsters and Kong: Skull Island got together to play Pacific Rim 2.

Setting: Exotic Adventure
Plot: Homeward Bound
Tone: Kaiju

Bloodshot (2020) - 3/5

This is a solid action movie with a more intelligent premise than it at first appears to have. It has a few really great, showy action scenes, a few decent action scenes, and one CGI-heavy action scene that’s not done as well as it probably should have been. Even though the plot takes several deviations from the average action film, it’s ultimately a one-and-done spring crowd-pleaser, and it lives or dies on the audience’s affinity for Vin Diesel.

Closest comparison: It’s like Memento by way of The Last Witch Hunter (2015).

Setting: Near Future Sci-Fi
Plot: Revenge Action
Tone: Spectacle Action