Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Starring Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe

Directed by Michael Dougherty

The Story:
Five years after the attack on San Francisco, the world has become aware that Titans exist, especially Godzilla.  The Monarch Company attempts to keep them at bay, under the lead of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), but the government wants them to turn Monarch to the government so they can destroy the Titans.  Former Monarch employee Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) has spent the last five years hating Godzilla because his young son died during his rampage, while is wife Emma (Vera Farmiga) continues to work with Monarch, with their young daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown).

When Emma and her team awaken a new Titan - Mothra - they come under attack by a group led by Jonah Alan (Charles Dance), who have their own plans for the Titans, and kidnap Emma and Madison.  Mark is reunited with the Monarch group in hopes of finding his family, while Titan Rodan is also awakened, along with King Ghidorah, the original alpha Titan who rivals Godzilla for dominance.  As these Titans begin to clash, humanity itself could be the ultimate victim.

The Synopsis:
The Godzilla story has existed since 1954, with over thirty movies to its name.  While it's been a mainstay in Asian cultures, it never really took off for American audiences, especially the terribly received 1998 abomination, but the 2014 "Godzilla" managed to create a bit of excitement for audiences, even if Godzilla itself was only on screen for about twelve minutes.  This began the new MonsterVerse, a series of films that will connect the likes of Godzilla and King Kong in the same universe, and "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is the third in this franchise ("Kong: Skull Island" is the second).

The "Godzilla" of 2014 was criticized by not having enough Godzilla and focused more on the humans than the titular creature, and they have a legitimate point.  I was hoping that, with "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," they would right that train and create a film that really focused entirely on the legendary creature, and while he does get more ample screen time, the film once again depends more on its human characters than the monsters, a mistake that's plagued Michael Bay's "Transformers" franchise as well - we don't go to movies like this to see human drama, but to see giant creatures fight to the death.  While we see that here, it's not without several moments of boredom as humans take front and center and do what humans do best - screw everything up.

When the film focuses on the humans, it really struggles to set itself apart from anything different than any world-ending film before.  You get the classic tropes of the shattered nuclear family as one goes on an endless hunt to rescue the other, the government who believes you can solve all problems with big explosions, and differing ideologies that often clash and prove that neither side is completely right or wrong.  Then there's always the expositional dialogue that plagues movies like this, where characters often repeat the same thing over and over that seemingly tries to drill it into the audiences' heads, but it's something we're already well aware of (yes, we get Ghidorah is the most powerful being; yes we get Godzilla can be a source of good; you don't need people to keep repeating that).  With such a strong cast including Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Charles Dance, Ken Watanabe, Ziyi Zhang, Sally Hawkins, Thomas Middleditch and Bradley Whitford, you don't need them to spout worthless dialogue, but that's exactly what happens.

When it comes time for the Titans to duke it out, here is where the film absolutely shines.  The effects of the film are more than top notch, and they provide an odd sense of realism for such an unbelievable probability so much so I found myself leaving the theater looking up to see a giant Ghidorah or Godzilla looming over me.  I became lost in the fantasy of living in such a world where these earth-ending Titans exist, and could easily wipe us out with a flick of their wrist, and the battles are more than epic, but they transcend to a sense of grandeur that  I haven't seen in film before.  Add to that the music and sound effects and you've got a completely immersive experience where you can't help but feel your heart race and the adrenaline flow as these Titans duke it out to the death for our pleasure.  If only the humans weren't as involved.

The Summary:
When they focus on the true clash of the Titans, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" provides an exhilarating, adrenaline-fueled thrill-ride that's the benchmark for a summer blockbuster, but when it focuses on the humans, it turns into just another world-ending flick - needless to say, it needed more monster action.

The Score: A