Godzilla: King of the Monsters

The art of monster movies can be traced to the iconic giant lizard himself Godzilla whose success in Japan launched a giant franchise of over 30 films. When an American adaptation was first attempted in 1998, it was so bad that the owner company Toho bought the rights back to that version just to kill it on screen in one of their later films (dubbing him Zilla). During the current age where cinematic universes are crowding up theaters, a new one dubbed the Monsterverse was started in 2014 with Godzilla. While it was miles better than the 1998 entry, it had its share of weaknesses that would need to be improved in the coming films (including Kong Skull Island, which I reviewed in 2017). This brings us to the sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which was marketed heavily with an emphasis on the powers these creatures possess. I'm a casual novice of the titular lizard rather than a hardcore one to where I've seen some clips of his antics in Japan and was more exposed to him in the 2014 incarnation rather than the 1998 one. In the current decade of expensive ticket prices and a crowded market of bland blockbusters this summer (so far) this movie has been struggling to find an audience here and after watching it, I can see why but I liked it better than the 2014 one.

What's it about? Taking place 5 years after the battle in San Francisco, the story finds the humans relying on Godzilla's aid in defeating the powerful King Ghidorah following the titans awakening. The story certainly has a good fast pace that feels consistent enough to breeze past the predictable cliches. It's very much a monster movie that fulfills a checkbox list of what's expected for its genre. Due to the giant lizards more ridiculous antics in Japan (insert joke about his "gravity defying" drop kick), none of the science and physics are taken that seriously when it comes to plot related gizmos or any army weapons.

The faults that accompany this are humans that are mostly there to serve plot purposes and deliver exposition with dialogue that isn't very good (one of these lines includes "Oh my Godzilla"). None of them feel particularly special, are given any development, or are worth much emotional investment. The drama when it comes to the main family involved doesn't have the weight from that of the 2014 predecessor where you experience it to an extent. Instead the exposition is dumped out and feels forgotten later on. It's also not afraid of sequel baiting but that's saved for the ending credits thankfully.

How's the monster action? As for the main attractions here, it's delightful to say that battles and visual style of these enormous creatures more than deliver. The destructive force from the impact of each physical action performed (whether it's a blast of energy, just flying over a city, or just bodies colliding) is definitely felt in the surrounding areas. Each of the main monsters are unique enough in design and shape to tell them apart from one another. My favorite improvement is how the lighting has been refined to the point where even in the gray smoke of destruction, the fights are made actually visible to view the stunning work put into the beasts ranging from the terror from Ghidorah to the stunning beauty of Mothra.

Overall Consensus: Godzilla: King of the Monsters fulfills the checklist of a monster film to a fault with a predictable story and weak human characters but its bolstered by great action and beautiful visuals. ⭑⭑⭑1/4🎟 Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the cliched Kaiju that don't take their science that seriously. You are a Godzilla fan and want to see how those well-known creatures are handled. You don't mind predictable blockbusters with stock characters.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the cliched Kaiju that don't take their science that seriously. You are bored with predictable blockbusters with underdeveloped characters.