Kaiju. Japanese game shows. Patton Oswalt getting beat up. Really, this short film has it all.
Directed and written by Michael Giacchino, the composer behind films like Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, “Monster Challenge” stars a hapless Patton Oswalt caught up in all the fervor and excitement of a madcap Japanese game show. The chaos includes: tanks, kaiju suits, tranquilizer darts, a boat captain, Ben Schwartz. It does not include: dignity.
This is, honestly, a whole ton of fun. Made with an obvious love for Japanese game shows and humiliating Patton Oswalt, Giacchino’s film also functions as a sort of ersatz tribute to kaiju flicks, with Patton’s silly arc being reflective of the kind of storylines given to, say, Godzilla in some of his films. Just much more absurd, and in moderately brighter colours.
While Giacchino is mostly known as a composer, he clearly has some directorial chops and a knack for casting. Hopefully, we’ll see more from him, even if they’re just more shorts like this.