Godzilla: King of the Monsters

If you’ve seen any of the trailers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, then you’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into, and in this case, that’s not a bad thing whatsoever. Director Michael Dougherty heard your pleas and cries about the lack of Godzilla in 2014’s, well, Godzilla, and more than makes up for it in this entry, giving us all the Godzilla and monstrous titans we could ever want. The film understands exactly what we came for and more than delivers on its kaiju off-the-wall brawls and visual spectacle/scope, giving Godzilla and his kaiju friends and foes the divine reverence they so deserve.

5 years after the events of Godzilla, the world has been made aware of the existence of monsters, who are now referred to as Titans, and for good reason. The secret organization Monarch has been keeping track of and monitoring these creatures whereas the military aims at completely eradicating them. Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) attempts to handle the titans by controlling them via a device called the ORCA. But things change when she and her daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) are kidnapped by eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), who seeks to use the ORCA to control the other hibernating titans and bring order to the world. At the same time, Ghidorah, an ancient three-headed beast, is awoken from his slumber and calls upon the other titans. Now Monarch must work with ORCA designer Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) in order to find the ORCA while hoping for Godzilla to challenge King Ghidorah for the crown of king of all monsters.

From start to finish it’s clear Dougherty has a deep love and passion for the world and scope of Godzilla’s mythology. Therefore, it’s smart he puts much of the focus on the monsters themselves and the fights they have, whether with the humans or with each other. Incorporating the likes of various legendary kaiju such as the angelic and mystical Mothra as well as Godzilla’s arch-nemesis King Ghidorah, all of them are given a chance to shine and display the power each one of them possess, both literally and influentially. Mothra is often presented as a majestic and almost angelic figure who seeks to protect and live in harmony with humanity. She’s referred to as the Queen of Monsters and the film holds nothing back when showing us her beauty. King Ghidorah is the most powerful and terrifying of Godzilla’s rogues gallery and he is given many times to show his sheer power. All of these factors culminate in countless moments where you cheer, scream, and jump out of your seats in shock and awe. From battles in the sky to the city of Boston, the action is nonstop and makes for a wide variety of excitement and thrills.

One of the more admirable qualities of this shared MonsterVerse is how the filmmakers present the scale and sheer scope of the Titans themselves. Back in the times of rubber suits and miniature scale models of cities, we saw them as giant monsters duking it out. But in recent years, especially in this entry, we see them as Gods, as beings beyond our own comprehension who arguably deserve to rule this world as their own. and the direction of the creatures helps to show that divinity majestically and beautifully. The visual effects help bolster that divinity exceptionally well, accurately picturing how miniscule and insignificant we are compared to these Titans.

With films like these, however, there’s always a likelihood that no one will be interested in the characters. You can probably expect most of them will be bland, boring, or simply idiotic in their decisions, and to be fair, there’s plenty of that in the movie. But instead of whether or not the characters are interesting or not, a better question would be whether their characterizations, or lack thereof, would become a nuisance throughout the story. The family drama at the center of Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Millie Bobby Brown isn’t interesting whatsoever. It can often feel forced upon us as well as rushed and underdeveloped. For the most part, however, it’s kept in the back of the plot, never really being focused on, and that’s probably for the best. I think it’s best to view that subplot as simple crumbs on the side of a dish, crumbs that you don’t want but don’t ruin the rest of the dish as a whole.

The odd thing is that while their stories are for the most part lackluster, they’re still tolerable in their own right. It feels as though the times when you can get behind these characters (mostly) is when they’re directly influencing the conflicts of the Titans, whether helping them or fighting against them. One can also argue the actors themselves do all they can to make their characters tolerable, and as I just mentioned, it works somewhat. Chandler does somewhat work as the “man who wants all Titans killed but then soon has a change of heart and wants to help them.” Farmiga’s character makes unquestionably moronic decisions throughout and sometimes successfully justifies them and other times fails at doing so. But she does all she can with the writing she’s given. Millie Bobby Brown is probably the most relatable and enjoyable character, given that she gives an admirable performance as well as has the more simplistic narrative arc compared to her costars.

The supporting cast also suffer from a lack of development. Charles Dance does practically nothing the whole way through and the rest of the cast are simply there for exposition mostly. The exceptions, however, would be Ken Watanabe, who continues to be the strongest human character in the franchise, and Bradley Whitford, who perfectly understands the kind of film he’s in and actually looks like he’s having fun on set.

Overall, Godzilla: King of the Monsters understands what it wants to be and doesn’t shy away from that mindset. The film bolsters a multitude of outrageously epic and exhilarating battles and visual splendors that’ll make any kaiju fan jump in joy and excitement. It can be expected that the characters are lacking in emotion and intrigue but not to the point of utter annoyance. In some ways, the characters did get chances to shine. It just would’ve been nice to see them shine from start to finish. But nonetheless, the Titans are the true stars of the story and Dougherty does every single one of them justice. While it isn’t as strong as it could’ve been, in the end, it’s incredibly fun, and that might be the most important part of it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFxN2oDKk0E&t=1s&w=585