Oh my sweet baby Mothra, you deserved so much better. Continuing the universe established by its predecessor and Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters aims to make this new monster-verse even bigger with the introduction of more characters and more titan action. While I have not seen any of the original Godzilla films and can not speak for the mythology surrounding all of the creatures introduced in this movie, I actually enjoyed this film for the most part. Thankfully, this movie has a better balance with the stories of the monsters as well as the human characters, which I know was a large criticism for most when discussing the original 2014 film. Even though the human stories were frankly not that interesting, there is still a lot to like about this addition to the exciting franchise.
Five years after Godzilla's destruction of San Francisco, the world has only begun to get worse as the emergence of new, ancient titans has begun. With the help of scientist Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), her daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), her ex-husband Mark (Kyle Chandler), and a slew of other almost nameless adversaries, Godzilla attempts to regain his throne from the evil, three-headed King Ghidorah. I word this synopsis in such a way that makes it seem like Godzilla is the main character and to some extent, he is. What I enjoyed the most about this film was the better balance between human stories and the ruthless action that came from the monster scenes. Absent from this franchise's previous entry, Godzilla himself actually takes the spotlight for the majority of this film and it was refreshing to see the titular character actually shine. He makes the audience feel for him in the same way that a wounded puppy makes people downhearted, instead of making people think of him as a heartless monster. As difficult as it can be to make people root for a giant, radioactive lizard, the screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields did a very good job. And they did solid work for the characters who were actually able to talk instead of roar and shriek, too. The human story lies at the center of this film, as it revolves around a group of scientists attempting to communicate with the monsters in order to restore a natural balance. The cast in this film is massive, boasting the likes of not just Farmiga, Brown, and Chandler, but also Ken Watanabe, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, and Thomas Middleditch among many others. It was fun to see this star-studded lineup play their roles in this huge film, but I couldn't help but feel how stereotypical everything was. Each role that the actors played seemed very type-casted and the way that they were all written makes them seem extremely one-dimensional. Because of this, their stories are almost impossible to remotely feel for and the sheer amount of cast involved didn't help either.
Although the human characters' stories were not written very well, I did love the fight scenes between the monsters and the cinematography that helped as well. Lawrence Sher's camerawork was exquisite and the way that his angles characterized the differences between the evil beasts was phenomenal to watch. The CGI in this film, while typical for a big-budget movie such as this one, also looked fantastic. Every single monster had a unique look to them that made them uniquely stand out, from the dragon-esque aesthetic of Ghidorah to the gorgeously dazzling Mothra. My only issue with the monsters throughout this film is that there were not nearly enough. One piece of the opening dialogue mentioned that there were 17 titans that roamed the earth and throughout this film, we only got to see about seven of them! Going into this film, I was expecting a battle royale with goofy creatures fighting everyone, but instead, I got a player select screen with the majority of the fighters that had to be unlocked. I was a bit underwhelmed by the use of the monsters in this way, as I feel there could have been much more entertaining action sequences around the world with the various titans. Another pet peeve of mine that this film unfortunately fell into is the element of traveling around the world and having graphic cards read where the characters are. I understand that movies like these have to be appealing to audiences across the world, but the constant reminder of globe-trotting gets on my nerves. Especially in a film like this where the characters are going absolutely everywhere possible.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a perfect summer blockbuster and one that is sure to please audiences from any age range. Though often forgettable and a bit too on-the-nose for me at times, this film is definite fun. As long as you go in expecting some mindlessly ridiculous monster action, you will not be disappointed.
My Rating: ★★★
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