Godzilla: King of the Monsters Movie Review
3 out of 5
Jeremy Wood
Godzilla: King of the Monsters stomps into theaters this weekend, and what you think of the film will really boil down to what you want out of a movie when you go. Do you want to have something to sink your teeth into? A deep plot, or a story that keeps you guessing until the end? Or do you mostly go to be entertained? Perhaps you like the movies to have some story to them, but just as much important is the action, humor and special effects.
If you are the first person I described — you already know what this movie is. The story line is not really the main thing. The main thing is awesomely designed monsters fighting each other, destroying everything in their path, and human beings attempting to stop them with every weapon available. Hence, you might not feel like this film is worth your time. If you’re the second person I described…Then you will absolutely love this movie.
Picking up after the events of the 2014 film, Godzilla, in which Godzilla made a brief cameo, humans have discovered there are other giant monsters basically hibernating all over the world. Once this news becomes common knowledge, the government gets involved and brings the company called Monarch into the light to discuss what they know, and potentially take over their operations. All options are on the table, including destroying the monsters while they sleep to avoid further catastrophe. While this is going on a group of eco-terrorists across the world are determined to free all of the monsters in order to essentially destroy the Earth and the “virus” that inhabits it — humans. The group feels the monsters, now called Titans, will eradicate a great number of humans and essentially give the planet a chance start over. Other than a slight twist right at the beginning of the film — that’s about it for the human part of the story — other than trying to survive.
As for the monsters, they are magnificent. If you grew up watching Godzilla movies like I did, this film takes things to “eleven” so to speak. The CGI work is amazing and the monsters are all true to form from the Toho creations — just much better (although I found Rodan’s face to be eerily reminiscent of Salacious B. Crumb from Return of the Jedi — look him up and see if you don’t agree). Of course, their fights are just as impressive, and other than a small side trip to find Godzilla’s home — which I found odd — you just want them to go ahead and get rid of the humans (who really are just in the way), and spend the rest of the movie duking it out.
Again, this movie isn’t going to win any awards for the acting, storyline or script. But it might win a few for the impressive sound design and CGI work. Just like Gareth Edwards did with the first installment, director Michael Dougherty, does a fantastic job with camera angles and composition, to show just how big the monsters are — with many shots from the “human” point of view. The way it’s done often times puts you right in the middle of it all, as you look up at the Titans battling it out. Of course, everything goes to plan — which sets up the fight we’re all waiting for with Godzilla vs. Kong due out in 2020. Be sure to stay through the credits, as a final scene shows that there might be more to that movie than just Kong and Godzilla going at each other.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters does exactly what it is supposed to do. It is entertaining, when the monsters are on screen, and it keeps the ball rolling in this cinematic universe, which seems to be picking up a little bit of steam.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is now playing and is rated PG-13 for sequences of monster action, violence and destruction, and for some language.
