There is just something about monster movies that brings a smile to my face everytime I watch them. Even if they aren’t my favorite movies, seeing a giant monster destroy a city is fairly breathtaking. Seeing a monster fight another monster is just that much better. Kaiju films are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Even though I didn’t catch it in theaters, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” was a bit of a must for me to watch.
Set after the events of 2014’s “Godzilla”, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” starts with the scientific organization Monarch tracking the likes of Godzilla and Kong as well as several other titans who have yet to arise. Monarch scientist Dr. Emma Russell has created a device that can communicate with these titans but the device is stolen by a terrorist organization who also kidnap the doctor and her daughter. Soon the device is used to awaken the hibernating monsters. Monarch soon enlists the help of Emma’s ex-husband Mark to figure out how to rescue Emma and stop the titans. When everything else seemingly fails, Monarch must put their faith in Godzilla to restore the natural order.
This film is influenced by the 1968 film “Destroy All Monsters” which sees Godzilla and several other monsters battle King Ghidorah. This film scales back the monster mayhem a bit to focus primarily on Godzilla vs King Ghidorah with a smaller scale battle between Mothra vs Rodan also happening at the same time. The monsters are the clear stars of this film but it was also nice that the human co-stars had a slightly more satisfying role to play in the sequel.
On the subject of the human co-stars, this film primarily focuses on the Russell family played by Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobby Brown. Farmiga and Chandler both give good performances but it was a bit odd seeing Chandler in the role considering he also co-starred in Peter Jackson’s “King Kong”. Millie Bobby Brown was wonderful in the movie and proved her career past “Stranger Things” is just beginning. It was also nice seeing Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and David Strathairn all return for the sequel.
Michael Dougherty took over directing duties for the sequel and delivered a superior sequel. This film is the third film set in this new monsterverse after “Godzilla” and “Kong: Skull Island”. This movie will be followed next year by “Godzilla vs. Kong” which should be an interesting film considering how both Godzilla and King Kong are depicted as protagonists in their films.
While I enjoyed how the Monarch organization managed to allow the human characters to appear in the film in a logical way without taking away from the monsters, the monsters were still what everyone came to see and they didn’t disappoint. Toho favorites King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra all join the battle in this sequel. Rodan is given the least screen time and feels almost like an after thought. King Ghidorah on the other hand is the main antagonist and is depicted incredibly. Still, for me, the main standout was Mothra, Queen of the Monsters. I won’t go into spoilers, but one of the most emotional scenes in the movie for me involved Mothra.
“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” doesn’t have much plot but also has the good fortune of not requiring much story either. These monsterverse movies provide good old fashion spectacle and that is fine by me. I would recommend this movie for anyone who just needs to sit back and relax. Enjoy the show (down).
Grade: B
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