Godzilla (2014 film)
2014
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May 31, 2019 · 42% 353 Reviews Tomatometer 83% 25,000+ Verified Ratings Audience Score Members of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty ...
- (5.8K)
- Michael Dougherty
- PG-13
- Kyle Chandler
May 31, 2019 · Reviews. Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Matt Zoller Seitz May 31, 2019. Tweet. Now streaming on: Powered by JustWatch. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” has a sense of wonder. After I left the screening late at night and emerged onto a dark city street at nearly one a.m.,
- Monsters, Inc.
- Godzilla's Greatest Fights
- Verdict
By Scott Collura
Updated: Apr 21, 2020 7:15 am
Posted: May 30, 2019 11:26 pm
For even more on Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the MonsterVerse, check out our rundown of all the monsters in this shared universe. Or get caught up on Godzilla and Kong in five minutes. Or watch star Charles Dance respond to IGN comments!
Right from the start, Godzilla: King of the Monsters makes it clear that it is not going to be another hide-the-monsters exercise like its predecessor, 2014’s Godzilla. Whereas that movie, which rebooted the king of the monsters for modern audiences, aimed for a more contemplative if stingy approach to portraying the iconic beast, this new film gives us a huge scene -- with a huge monster! -- within its first few minutes.
The message is clear: This Godzilla movie is gonna be wall to wall with the monsters, contemplativeness be damned.
Co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty, who has also helmed the spook-fests Trick 'r Treat and Krampus, Godzilla: King of the Monsters stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown as a splintered family that gets swept up in the drama when a new array of giant monsters begins to appear around the world. Perhaps not surprisingly, the cast mostly gets short shrift when compared to the kaiju, with Chandler’s character spending most of his screen time stressed out, Brown’s crying more often than not, and Farmiga’s… well, let’s just say her character’s motivations are confusing at best and ridiculous at worst.
But the monsters! They include the classic Godzilla players Mothra, Rodan and the nasty King Ghidorah, all realized with designs that call back to their Toho origins while also looking fresh and, basically, fantastic. As for Godzilla, as we saw at the end of the 2014 film, he is firmly planted on the side of good, ready to battle these creatures alongside humanity… even if his motivation seems to be more as a simple force of nature rather than specifically as mankind’s BGFF -- Best Giant Friend Forever.
As has been the case with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.’ monster series, the secret scientific agency Monarch is once again attempting to quell the monster threat in this film, and not doing a particularly great job of it. But at least this time out Dougherty has given them more agency, allowing for the Monarch team of scientists and soldiers to do more than just stand around and watch monsters duking it out. That includes a super-cool underwater headquarters where they hang out -- complete with a view of Godzilla’s migratory lanes! -- and a ship called the Argos that enables Chandler and a bunch of fun supporting players like Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch and O'Shea Jackson Jr. to keep up with the tussling giant monsters as they crisscross the globe.
This leads to one particularly thrilling sequence which pits the winged Rodan in a high-speed chase against the Argo and a bunch of other military aircraft. But really, the monster action in this movie is top-notch across the board, whether it’s creatures being born, creatures battling humans, or creatures battling other creatures. The visual effects are key here not just in the state of the art, epic set pieces, but also in how each monster feels like they have their own, distinct personality. Even Ghidorah’s three heads have their own temperaments!
Where King of the Monster does stumble, unfortunately, is in how needlessly convoluted its script can be at times. When, in the middle of dire emergency circumstances, Farmiga’s character lays out a plan that somehow includes spur-of-the-moment video montages and infographics of what she’s talking about, monstrous giggles from the audience would be excused. That also goes for Chandler’s so very serious main character, who apparently knows better than the generals, scientists and other experts around him at every clutch moment. And then there’s Game of Thrones’ Charles Dance, who’s one of the film’s villains but who ultimately has almost no bearing on the story for some reason.
But hey, this is a Godzilla movie, and what we’re really here for is to see him kick some serious monster butt. And King of the Monsters pays off in that regard time and again, including an explosive, extended final battle royale between all the monsters. But the film also finds it in its monstrous heart to provide some fairly… dare we say it… contemplative bits as well. Ken Watanabe, back from the first film as a Monarch scientist and ultimate Godzilla fanboy, gets a particularly beautiful moment. Indeed, the movie manages to also pay homage to the Godzilla films of yesteryear with lots of little nerdy Easter eggs that will make fans quite happy, while also, of course, threading the needle of Legendary’s shared MonsterVerse past and future with just enough references.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a fun exercise in giant monster madness that indulges in all the kaiju fights fans and even casual viewers could hope for. It looks amazing while also giving its human characters a chance to stay interesting amid all the battling beasties by providing them with some really cool tech -- and some great one-liners amo...
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is in 3D - Death, Destruction and Decibels - but has a certain kind of cheesy appeal. Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 31, 2021
May 28, 2019 · Movie Reviews. ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’: Film Review. Legendary Pictures' "MonsterVerse" hits its stride in Michael Dougherty's sequel 'Godzilla: King of the...
May 28, 2019 · Science people Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga use their daughter Millie Bobby Brown as an emotional Ping-Pong ball while government agencies and eco-terrorists contend with the awakening of a...
May 31, 2019 · But Godzilla, King of the Monsters has more monsters and less dramatic logic. It also has an opening reminiscent of Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which a San Francisco mom and dad blame ...
