This review contains spoilers.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a monster movie that premiered in 2019. The movie is directed by Michael Dougherty, and is based on the monsters written by Toho. The movie stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Millie Bobby Brown. The movie takes place after Godzilla 2014 and the public is aware of the organization known as Monarch that tracked the titans. The world has rebuilt but is still adjusting to the world of monsters. An ancient monster awakens resulting in a conflict with the titans.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a well-directed and shot movie. The movie's editing and shots maximize the action that is seen in this movie. The 2014 Godzilla movie was often criticized for not featuring Godzilla enough. In this movie Godzilla is in the movie much more than in the 2014 movie. This movie features Godzilla a lot and Godzilla is a focal point in both the story and as a character. There is not a character arc that Godzilla embarks on. Godzilla is instead meant to overcome his greatest threat in King Ghidorah. The movie's designs of all the monsters are awesome and they really come to life in the computer generated imagery. This is the movie's greatest asset when it features massive battles between the titans. The audience feels like they are in the midst of titans duking it out in a city.
The production and sets in this movie are top notch. It felt like a maelstrom of chaos and destruction that was carried over from the first Godzilla movie in the monsterverse. The action by the human military and even the monsters are fun to watch. They are awe inspiring in small doses.
The story in this movie leaves much to be desired. The movie is centered around Madison Russell played by Millie Bobby Brown. The character goes from siding with her mother in Dr. Emma Russell played by Vera Farmiga to helping her father, Dr. Mark Russell played by Kyle Chandler. This was not an immersing story as the two parents simply have different opinions about the titans. It was strange to see Dr. Emma Russell deciding to aid the eco-terrorists in causing an apocalypse to happen. This did not make much sense as Dr. Emma Russell could have utilized the more appropriate revenge angle in awaking King Ghidorah to destroy Godzilla. Dr. Mark Russell on the other hand feels like he only exists in the story rather than actually playing an important part. The story suffered from the same problems as Godzilla 1998 in that it focused too much on the human characters. The story kept finding ridiculous ways for the human characters to be involved.
The movie serves as the third movie in Legendary's monsterverse. Although Godzilla 2014 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters does not feel the same, the story can get old. It appeals to audiences that enjoy watching destruction but outside of this there are no important story beats and characters experienced. This movie kills off the characters that it established in Godzilla 2014. The Dr. Vivienne Graham played by Sally Hawkins and Dr. Ishiro Serizawa played by Ken Watanabe are killed off in this movie. It was incredibly disappointing watching the way these characters died as it was forced to happen by the writing.
I would recommend Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Grade: C.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a monster movie that premiered in 2019. The movie is directed by Michael Dougherty, and is based on the monsters written by Toho. The movie stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Millie Bobby Brown. The movie takes place after Godzilla 2014 and the public is aware of the organization known as Monarch that tracked the titans. The world has rebuilt but is still adjusting to the world of monsters. An ancient monster awakens resulting in a conflict with the titans.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a well-directed and shot movie. The movie's editing and shots maximize the action that is seen in this movie. The 2014 Godzilla movie was often criticized for not featuring Godzilla enough. In this movie Godzilla is in the movie much more than in the 2014 movie. This movie features Godzilla a lot and Godzilla is a focal point in both the story and as a character. There is not a character arc that Godzilla embarks on. Godzilla is instead meant to overcome his greatest threat in King Ghidorah. The movie's designs of all the monsters are awesome and they really come to life in the computer generated imagery. This is the movie's greatest asset when it features massive battles between the titans. The audience feels like they are in the midst of titans duking it out in a city.
The production and sets in this movie are top notch. It felt like a maelstrom of chaos and destruction that was carried over from the first Godzilla movie in the monsterverse. The action by the human military and even the monsters are fun to watch. They are awe inspiring in small doses.
The story in this movie leaves much to be desired. The movie is centered around Madison Russell played by Millie Bobby Brown. The character goes from siding with her mother in Dr. Emma Russell played by Vera Farmiga to helping her father, Dr. Mark Russell played by Kyle Chandler. This was not an immersing story as the two parents simply have different opinions about the titans. It was strange to see Dr. Emma Russell deciding to aid the eco-terrorists in causing an apocalypse to happen. This did not make much sense as Dr. Emma Russell could have utilized the more appropriate revenge angle in awaking King Ghidorah to destroy Godzilla. Dr. Mark Russell on the other hand feels like he only exists in the story rather than actually playing an important part. The story suffered from the same problems as Godzilla 1998 in that it focused too much on the human characters. The story kept finding ridiculous ways for the human characters to be involved.
The movie serves as the third movie in Legendary's monsterverse. Although Godzilla 2014 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters does not feel the same, the story can get old. It appeals to audiences that enjoy watching destruction but outside of this there are no important story beats and characters experienced. This movie kills off the characters that it established in Godzilla 2014. The Dr. Vivienne Graham played by Sally Hawkins and Dr. Ishiro Serizawa played by Ken Watanabe are killed off in this movie. It was incredibly disappointing watching the way these characters died as it was forced to happen by the writing.
I would recommend Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Grade: C.