‘GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS’ Review

2014’s Godzilla was a very divisive film among fans of the big guy. Some complained about not having enough action scenes in addition to the film having a tone that may have been conceived as “too serious”. Most people agreed that the last 30 minutes was worth some of the wait though. I dug the film but also didn’t feel like it was a great start in trying to correct the ship on course for an American adaptation. You can read my original review from five years ago on it here.

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2019 brings the follow-up to the Gareth Edwards film as well as giving us a new entry in Legendary’s “Monster Universe”, with the previous film being Kong: Skull Island. Behind the director’s chair is Michael Doughtery who most horror fans feel is the perfect fan to help usher Godzilla and other monsters like Rodan, Mothra and Ghidorah to the big screen properly. Godzilla: King of the Monsters gives us a little bit of a mixed bag and ends up being another divisive film in this series.

Millie Bobby Brown plays Madison Russell who is the daughter of her estranged parents played by Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga. The reason for parental separation is due to the loss of a child in the San Francisco incident involving Godzilla back in 2014 (yes, the film’s story takes place five years later). What follows is pretty formulaic involving the human attribute of the story. It feels a bit stale and very cookie-cutter (think of the relationship dynamics of Goldblum’s character in Independence Day) for the human element but depending on why I would go see a Godzilla film on the big screen, this is a minor complaint. The sequel definitely feels like a response to fans that were disappointed with the 2014 film, however, it may be too lopsided in the other direction as when the human stories come into play they feel a bit lifeless and it is hard to really invest in the characters when the monster aspect is a bit more appealing. Also, Charles Dance is introduced here as our villain but still feels pretty flaccid in his performance.

Godzilla, Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan are the visual feasts for viewers and fans to consume here and it’s great when they are on screen. For me, I smiled every time we saw a monster fight and I think the majority of people who are just here to see some awesome kaiju fights will be pleased. While it’s a shame that Godzilla: King of the Monsters isn’t anything to really savor on, it’s a tasty treat that still reminds us why G-Man is the king.