After five years, we finally get the Godzilla movie we really wanted and deserved. Godzilla: King of the Monsters does the exact opposite of what Gareth Edwards' 2014 film did. It gives the viewer all the kaiju action your eyes can handle and more. It's a (sometimes obnoxiously) loud and explosive two hours that gives Gorija plenty of screen time, instead of trying to hide him for some big reveal at the end like Jaws. That doesn't really work when we already know what to visually expect. When he's not available for his closeup, his enemies and ally are.
Members of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species-thought to be mere myths-rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
I do have a couple of grievances I would like to air. First, the lighting of the battles between the kaiju is rather awful. Much of the fighting is masked by rain and darkness, like the CGI artists were afraid their work wasn't good enough to put in the literal spotlight. That being said, all the special effects we see onscreen look awesome. I just wish we could have seen more daytime action where our favorite titans could be shown off a bit more.
My other complaint is that all the battles between the beasts are shot or edited so close up that we never really get a chance to see them duking it out. The original Godzilla movies were always shot where we could see all the conflict onscreen. Almost in the way wrestling matches are filmed. There's not much of that here for sure.
The casting of Millie Bobbie Brown in Godzilla: King of the Monsters will attract youngsters and others who love Stranger Things and she does a good job delivering her performance. Vera Farmiga takes us through a range of different emotions that showcase her great acting skills. Bradley Whitford's character is just as hammy and wise-cracking as I've come to expect from the guy that played Roger in Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise and Eric in Billy Madison.
The script for Godzilla: King of the Monsters definitely is more interesting than the first entry in the franchise. There are a couple twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. I found every aspect of the story to mesh well with each other and can't think of any plot-holes right off the top of my head.
The movie is rated PG-13 for sequences of monster action violence and destruction, and for some language. The F-bomb is dropped at one point, which is pretty ridiculous considering that the studio has to know how many younger kids are going to see Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Aside from that, the violence and destruction really is exactly what you would expect from this sort of movie.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters will no doubt thrill fans of all ages who love seeing giant monsters battle each other. Unlike many of the the Lizard King's movies, the human storyline is actually interesting enough to keep you tuned in between the fight scenes. The acting is at times less than stellar, but never enough to ruin the experience.
