Some movies are made to leave an impact upon the audience profoundly while others are mean't to be simple pieces of entertainment. There are however some movies that are mean't to be light in the storytelling and character development department and take the audience for a ride that's both thrilling and exciting.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is mean't to be that film whether one agrees with the filmmakers approach to place heavier emphasis on the action this time rather than give the film the
Jaws treatment the 2014
Godzilla received. While that film was reasonably successful in terms of reintroducing Godzilla to American audiences after the huge disappointment Roland Emmerich's 1998
Godzilla turned out to be, audiences had certain issues with the 2014 film ranging from the lack of screentime for Bryan Cranston's character to only seeing the main title character on film for just 11 minutes total. If the 2014 movie was an attempt at balancing story with carnage, then it was met with extreme mixed results from audiences as that film opened huge with 93 million then experienced sharp drops the weekends that preceded it. The filmmakers behind
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters operate with the confidence that they don't need to give much exposition this time around as the previous movie did most of the work and now the audience is free to experience the action. Under those terms,
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters arrives and absolutely delivers in giving audiences the Godzilla movie they've been waiting for in American form.
The plot for
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters picks up five years where the 2014
Godzilla left off with scientists working on a device that can allow them to communicate with super-monsters. When the device is stolen by an eco-terrorist (Played by
Game Of Thrones Charles Dance), he plans to let the monsters loose in order to punish humanity. Thwarting his plan is the leader of the crypto-zoological company Monarch (Played by
Super 8's Kyle Chandler), and his employees coming up with a plan to preserve humanity's survival. Returning from the first movie is Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, the one scientist that believes that Godzilla is an ally rather than an enemy of humanity when everyone thinks otherwise. The Monarch faces off against a battery of large monsters including Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis King Ghidorah, a three-headed monster. To say that the new
Godzilla film doesn't have a story line is absurd, the film clearly has a plot that's layered within the action to structure the films big set-pieces while allowing the build up of suspense and the anticipation of seeing these monsters fight. The film carries with it the same environmental message that the 2014 film delivered in which humans are to blame for destroying the planet.
King Of The Monsters carries themes that range from environmental concerns to science and ethics, evolution, genetic engineering, animal design, death, and sacrifice. The films overall message says that the genetic manipulation of extinct animals is dangerous, and that better ways are needed in order to protect the environment. What makes the character of Godzilla compelling to audiences is he's terrifying when he needs to be but he can also become humanity's last hope when dealing with a far greater threat making him a necessary evil. That concept goes in line with the message of the 2014
Godzilla film which said that humans can reconcile their differences while trusting nature in order to save their planet despite the message of the new film saying nature may not be the best way to preserve mankind. It only feels appropriate that the Godzilla storyline supplies a morality message about whether we should try to alter nature.
As far as the films acting performances go, the main cast does the best job with the material given to them and all seem to be clearly having fun with the story. Kyle Chandler is no stranger when it comes to making monster flicks as he played strong supporting roles in Peter Jackson's 2005
King Kong remake and JJ Abrams
Super 8. Here he does a great job playing a central role this time around compared to the previous two movies. As leader of the crypto-zoological company Mark Russell, he inserts the right amounts of drama and emotion to the part while crafting a character who viewed Godzilla as a threat to mankind at first before seeing him as mankind's last hope. Despite knowing that the central focus of the movie is going to be the monster sequences, Chandler still gives his all and manages to deliver a strong performance. Vera Farmiga does a equally good job playing Russell's wife Dr. Emma, whose working on the opposite of Chandlers team to bring the monsters together. Stranger Thing's Millie Bobby Brown does a good job playing the Russell's young daughter whose caught in the conflict between her parents. Ken Watanabe once again commands the screen as Japanese scientist Dr. Ishiro Serizawa in his endless crusade to try and convince the powers at be that Godzilla is not an enemy but actually a protector of mankind against the other monsters. Ziyi Zhang delivers an effective performance as Dr. Ilene Chen, an ally of Serizawa who also believes that Godzilla is meant to protect the human race. Bradley Whitford takes the role he has and has fun playing Dr. Rick Stanton, giving the character a similar feel to Richard Dreyfuss character in
Jaws. Sally Hawkins and Charles Dance shine in the minimal parts they have with Dance proving to be an effective antagonist both in movies and television. He's intimidating, cold. calculated and brilliant with the characters he plays. As a whole, the entire cast of
King Of The Monsters do a marvelous job of making their characters believable despite them feeling like standard generic ones from typical monster movies.
The films writing and directing are the areas where much of the films criticism by critics has been directed towards. Director and co-writer Michael Dougherty and Zack Shields do an admirable job of making
King Of The Monsters feel like a true second part to the 2014
Godzilla. Taking the work that was established in that film,
King Of The Monsters right from the start attempts to connect the two movies together with its opening scene showing the destruction of San Francisco from the previous monsters while introducing newer characters that the audience are meant to connect with during the destruction and fights. The Russell family is portrayed as being a sympathetic yet irritating family whose actions and motives have been shaped by the events of the last film. The Russell's are shown to have lost their son during the last great monster battle leaving both parents with bitter and cynical views towards both the worlds as well as the monsters themselves. While the Russell's aren't fully developed characters as they feel like serviceable ones to hold the audience over until the next big battle arrives, they are likable enough to keep the audiences attention from experiencing boredom. The scientists and experts in the film are given comedic traits that add to the excitement of the action, even if some of the lines are cringe inducing such as the pronunciation of the monsters names. While virtually every human character in the film is flat, it helps that the director chose good actors to play the parts as they breathed some life into their roles, however limited that life is.
On a technical note, Michael Dougherty directs this film as if its on steroids, the films CGI effects are out of this world with each monster looking breathtaking on the big screen. The monstrous fight sequences and destruction are made incredible due to the films incredible cinematography and insane sound effects. It was interesting to see the human actors in the same shots as the monsters this time around with the visual effects blending the two together well. The art-set decoration was masterfully done in a way which made every shot of the film look like a painting, especially the action sequences. The films editing was solid for the most part with some areas feeling a bit slow at times. The audio and sound effects are amazing with the roars of the monsters reaching every inch of the theater and the destruction noises leaving a large impact with the audience. The films soundtrack is also effective with choir-esque moments that makes the monster scenes dramatic while adding bits of Godzilla's traditional theme from the Japanese films. When the films technical aspects take over from the actors and story, the film truly comes alive and reaches its maximum potential. Witnessing a fight between Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Roden together is a dream come true for fans of the series as they waited to see this moment in the American format and as expected, Dougherty blows it through the roof.
A movie like
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters was never meant to be heavily focused on story- telling as the main event that the audience expects to see is the throw down between Godzilla and the other monsters. The 2014
Godzilla movie tried its absolute best to put the story first before the action and while succeeding for the most part, left large portions of fans disappointed at how little Godzilla was shown.
King Of The Monsters however
takes notice of that criticism and ditches the
Jaws style build up of suspense and places Godzilla throughout the film with relentless action. This sequel not only builds upon the universe set up by the last film but also feels like a traditional
Godzilla movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. If one reevaluates their expectations and goes into this film to see monsters fight with fantastic visual effects and stunning scenery, they will get an experience worth the price of admission. For Godzilla die hard fans, this movie is a dream come true as it knows what the audience wants and doesn't hesitate in being a traditional film in the series.
King Of The Monsters brings nothing new to the table in terms of plot but it thrives as being a roller coaster ride for audiences, that remains thrilling throughout and ends with fans anticipating the epic battle between Godzilla and King Kong due for release in 2020. For now, audiences can take delight in the large spectacle being displayed on the big screen in all its CGI glory and spectacular sound effects.
King Of The Monsters for all intents and purposes is a relentlessly entertaining film that's much better than what critics give it credit for. If you're a fan of Godzilla or the series as a whole, this is a must see.
Final Verdict: SEE IT
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