“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is king of the popular monster genre

Erik Jimenez/Staff Writer

 

Despite being the 35th film to feature arguably the most famous movie monster of all-time, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is actually the third film in Warner Bros. 

In the monster verse cinematic universe,”Godzilla” is related to both the 2014 reboot of Godzilla and 2017’s King Kong reimagining “Kong: Skull Island.” It is a massive improvement over its dreary, slow-paced predecessor due to keeping what succeeded and fixing what was broken.

Set five years after the events of the 2014 film, Godzilla is revealed as a giant monster roaming around the planet, and as a result the world’s government wants to destroy the creature before it can possible cause destruction. Monarch, the giant monster research organization whose presence ties these films together, believes however that the creatures are not simply “monsters” but Titans, original prehistoric gods worshipped by an ancient civilization that all humanity descended from. And that while some of them might be evil, others might be good and here to help us.

But a third faction of militant eco-terrorists led by former MI6 agent Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) believe that the return of the Titans is essentially Earth’s version of a fever, sent by the planet to cure its human infection. And they plan to speed things along by kidnapping Monarch-aligned scientist Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and forcing her to use her, well, “Titan Dog Whistle” technology to wake up the most powerful one: Monster Zero.

The rush to stop and then respond to Monster Zero, later revealed to be Godzilla arch nemesis, the three-headed dragon Ghidorah, ultimately draws the attention of Emma’s estranged husband Mark (Kyle Chandler), as well as a whole crew of Monarch scientists and soldiers who now have to follow their mountain-sized co-stars around the world, which include the likes of classic Toho monsters Rodan, Mothra, and, of course, Godzilla.

The film succeeds in delivering giant monster action on a scale never before seen, in the most vivid details possible. Every single frame with a monster in it looks ready to hang in the most prestigious of art galleries. Ghidorah annihilates entire cities with lightning; Rodan erupts from a Mexican volcano and blows away an entire village; Mothra hovers in shafts of light like she’s an angel; Godzilla charges into battle flanked by a squad of fighter jets. These images have all the madcap yet completely sincere energy of a child’s imagination when he’s playing with his Godzilla toys–as it should be. As a vessel for sheer spectacle, it’s just that good.

The film is also elevated by solid filmmaking craftsmanship and sharp narrative cleverness. The performances are also very good, with Ken Watanabe’s Dr. Serizawa (returning from the previous film) being the standout once again thanks to all his weighty gravitas scenes. 

Ziyi Zhang appears in an Easter Egg role for hardcore Godzilla fans. Chandler is the ideal guy for the regular dude, and Millie Bobby Brown shines as his and Farmiga’s daughter.

The screenplay by director Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields hits the right balance of big pulp science fiction and epic clash of godlike power that the source material demands and Bear McCreary’s score remixes the original Godzilla themes into powerful new arrangements.

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is to giant monster movies what “The Avengers” was for superhero movies. It is the perfect example of why the entire genre exists in the first place and cannot be recommended to fans of the genre enough.

 

Featured image was taken from Flickr.

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