APE VS. MECHA APE (2023)
Tagline: This s#!t is bananas!
(Action, Fantasy, Man Oh Man…) [PG-13]
Note: This was given a TV-14 on streaming services. That is about the equivalent of the MPA’s PG-13 rating.
That leaves us with one option to take it down…and it better work.
In this one, the military decides to make a giant robot version of Abraham called “Mecha Ape” as a backup security measure after realizing how dangerous Abraham or “Abe” can be. Abe is a giant ape that is now caged up for safety and the only one that seems to be able to keep him calm is Sloane. Sloane has a trust factor with Abe, but he is getting more and more disgruntled as her job demands mean she is going to be with him less. Meanwhile, Mecha Ape has gone haywire and now humanity's only hope is to release Abe to deal with the problem before Chicago is destroyed. I mean…more destroyed than usual.
This is the sequel to APE VS. MONSTER from 2021. Unlike a lot of people, I actually liked that one for the most part right up until it came to the final fight which was a total dumpster fire. THE ASYLUM is a well-known studio for its mediocre acting and CGI, but their gutsy mockbusters and wild ideas have kept them in business for 25 years now which is way longer than a lot of other small studios.
One thing that have managed to do from time to time is grab up actors that have passed their prime for the most part and cast them. Tom Arnold (TRUE LIES) has just a small bit role in this, but there we are. Anna Telfer takes on the role of Sloane and does a pretty decent job. She isn’t getting any awards, but in just 3 years she has started to land several ASYLUM roles from AQUARIUM OF THE DEAD to PLANET DUNE. Lisa Lee has also quickly become an ASYLUM mainstay as well. She does a commendable job as Laura in this and has also appeared in films like TOP GUNNER: DANGER ZONE and MEGALODON RISING. We also get Lindsey Marie Wilson who is another rising force with ASYLUM, but whoever cast her as a Russian really blew it. Not saying this person should be fired, but now we know. You don’t give Lindsey this crazy accent she’s trying to pull off. She’s from Texas for Pete’s sake. Lord have mercy on this casting director.
This thing manages to borrow from the original KING KONG VS GODZILLA and GODZILLA VS KONG. The effects when we get them are cheesy, but if you already know THE ASYLUM, that is totally expected. The fights are pretty weak, but not as bad as APR VS. MONSTER. What it doesn’t borrow is character after character overacting and Sloane being one of the dumbest chicks on this fictional planet. For the last 30 minutes or so we get some Kaiju fighting, but some of the other nonsense going on in this doesn’t make any sense like the fact that Joel is having such a hard time flying an untouched airplane he’s flown all way to Chicago. Like how a nuclear bomb can go off in a giant hole, but no one is worried about radioactive fallout. How is a 100-foot hole big enough to throw a kaiju into and have it falling for what looks like forever?
So many questions, but just go with it. There are worse kaiju movies out there. I have to give this one a 4 out of 7. Like anything else, if you go into it expecting a full helping of cheese, layered with more cheese on top of a big cheesy wheel of cheese, it’s hard to not have at least a little fun with this one. Even just the Mecha Ape design was fun to look at. I do have to say that unfortunately, Abe looked like crap in this.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE ASYLUM AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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