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 this ancient super-species-thought to be mere myths-rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.
To start off, to say I’m a “huge fan” of Godzilla is asinine. I’m aware of this franchise because of the cartoons I’ve watched as a child and the Godzilla movie that came out in 1998 from Roland Emmerich that is critically known as the “worst” film of the now 35-film history of this cultural phenomenon. I have maybe watched a couple of the older Toho features, but I don’t go out to look for them like other fans do. I appreciate these last two films the most and these last two features that came out are the quintessential Godzilla flicks that I think should be the go-to films to introduce people to Godzilla.
The best thing to say about this movie is the CGI. Hands down, some of the best and most realistic CGI I’ve seen in any movie. That includes Gareth Edwards’ 2014 that started this “MonsterVerse” titled Godzilla. The visuals in this movie alone are impressive and jaw-dropping. Not only does Godzilla look incredible, but his arch-rival, King Ghidorah is an amazing sight to behold. Accompanying Godzilla and King Ghidorah in this feature is the giant bug, Mothra and the fire-bird, Rodan.
As I stated above, I am not too familiar with Godzilla as a franchise. So when we see all of these monsters, I was impressed to see that each one has some sort of elemental power to them. Godzilla is radiation, Ghidorah is electrical, Rodan is fire and Mothra is more of an Earth elemental, the only reason I say that is because she is found in the Yunnan rainforest and she doesn’t give off powers like the others do, although she does transfer her life-force to Godzilla in the final act of the film. Seeing these monsters and their powers displayed on the screen was honestly amazing and it just shouts pure fun and entertainment, which is what a movie-goer wants in a movie about monsters fighting to the death.
However, with all the good said, I must say the weakest parts are the human aspect to it. The weakest, mainly for me, was Vera Farmiga’s character. Her character felt the most confused throughout the entire film. I didn’t know if she as helping or not helping throughout the entire film. I think if her character was either killed off early on or just not in there at all, it would have a lot better. As far as the human aspect of the film goes, it’s a well-acted effort from each actor, but the writing suffers here and there. Which is a shame to me, as I love 2014’s Godzilla and thought that movie handled human drama well and centered their entire real-world Godzilla scenario really well and made it believable. Bryan Cranston’s and other actors performances were magnificent in that film.
Where this movie dips in writing and story, it arises in entertainment and masterful visuals making this an overall enjoyable and pleasant film. If you’re a fan of Godzilla and monsters and pretty visuals, I recommend this movie. I honestly don’t think you’d be let down.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is out in theaters now.
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