Warner Bros. Pictures
It’s been five long years since the release of the last American version of Godzilla. There’s been a Japanese release in the guise of Shin Godzilla, and a Netflix trilogy of animated films, not to mention Kong: Skull Island, fleshing out Legendary’s monsterverse. 5 years is quite a long time in sequel terms, but it seems as though there was some uncertainty around Godzilla’s future. Despite being a box office success, the film faced criticism from audiences for a lack of Godzilla, cutting away from fights, and wasting Bryan Cranston. All fair points to be sure, and they were points that Godzilla: King of the Monsters, clearly sets out to rectify. From the outset we were promised more monsters, including some fan favourites, more fights, and bigger spectacle. The trailers came and seemed to confirm this, but does King of the Monsters deliver? It needs to, considering Godzilla vs. Kong is already scheduled for next year.
A brief return to 2014’s finale introduces us to the Russell family, a family who worked for monster trackers Monarch but have since been torn apart after the death of their son. In 2019, Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) is re-recruited by Monarch, after his estranged wife Emma (Vera Farmiga) and daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) are kidnapped by a team of mercenaries lead by Jonah Alan (Charles Dance), with the intent on using Emma’s machine, the Orca, to awaken and control a series of giant monsters around the globe named Titans (because Pacific Rim already took Kaiju). The plot takes a timely theme of climate change and pollution, and gives us bigass monsters kicking every shade of excrement out of each other.
The Russell family are endearing enough, although there separation and conflict would have meant a lot more if they had been the protagonists of the first film. Instead we’re rushed to catch up with their current status. Thankfully Chandler, Farmiga, and Brown all hit their notes. Brown especially convinces as a child caught in a dysfunctional family while huge creatures crash into buildings. The always reliable Ken Watanabe returns as Dr. Serizawa, and it’s with him we get some truly emotional moments, his conviction sells a number of key sequences necessary for getting behind and rooting for the titans. Elsewhere the human cast are a series of welcome cliches. Bradley Whitford makes jokes, Aisha Hinds is no nonsense, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. says cool stuff that the audience is thinking (including the obligatory “You’ve gotta be f#@king kidding me?”).
That’s enough of the humans, as we’re not here for them. Michael Dougherty jumps from smaller horror cult classics to event cinema with ease. Every key action sequence seems perfectly constructed, adding gorgeous shots to the intense buildup. Seeing it on an IMAX screen may be mandatory, to feel the sense of being dwarfed by such iconic characters. Godzilla gets a lot more screen time and looks immaculate on screen. The visual artists can take a bow for the scowling, the tiredness, the anger, all slapped across his reptilian face. Elsewhere we have the big bad Ghidorah, looking more fantastic than ever. Each of his three heads come alive and his strange proportions are utilised brilliantly. Mothra and Rodan also join the squad, with Rodan sure to gain a lot more fans due to one of cinema’s greatest introductory scenes. Finally there’s Mothra, the heart of the monster landscape. The awe on the faces of the characters as Mothra hatches from her cocoon state will be delightfully reproduced on the audience.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters biggest achievement is to create a ferocious and accessible summer blockbuster, while simultaneously inserting fan service. All four of Toho’s classic monsters are handled with respect that plays surprisingly close to their original incarnations. From plot points to gentle nods, Godzilla fans with likely react in the same way as Marvel fans did to Avengers: Endgame callbacks. Best of all is Bear McCreary’s stunning score. He creates a number of pieces as big and startling as the monsters they accompany, and his inclusion of the original Godzilla Main Title from Akira Ifukube, and the original Mothra’s Song by Yoji Koseki is startlingly well executed.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is bombastic spectacle of the highest order. It takes these kaiju and has them laying the smackdown on each other, over and over again. Despite being vicious creatures, the joy comes from the personality that Dougherty and the visual effects team manage to convey through the monsters’ actions and facial expressions. Mothra’s elegant movements are in deep contrast to Rodan’s sonic aerial manoeuvres, making these fights more eclectic than any of the rubber suited predecessors. You feel the ferocity of every blow and it’s amazing how infested you feel. There are some cringe worthy lines, over exposition, and plodding moments of human interaction, but it’s all forgiven as we are overstuffed with visual splendour, exciting action, and what we all came to see…monsters. Lots and lots of monsters.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is now on general release.
