Godzilla: King of the Monsters

This “monster” has been around since just after WWII, when the Japanese released a bigger mayhem than the Americans could conceive of, and blamed it on them for nuking them at the end of the war. The story is similar every time, with Godzilla called up out of the sea to stomp around big cities while being shot at by toy airplanes shooting firecrackers. Over time, other monsters were added for Godzilla to battle, like three headed King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra.

This incarnation of the old story opens with a Terminator-ish shot of the death and desolation wrought by Godzilla’s last appearance. Five years later a lot of people are determined to kill the Titans, though they’ve never been able to scratch one before. Humans are weirdly convinced of their ability to get something done after not being able to do it over and over. It’s crazy.

Other people are convinced that the Titans should all be woken up and unleashed on the Earth to “cure” it of humans. They have a device called the Orca that either “speaks” to the Titans or controls them, I was never entirely sure. One family in the middle of the story is split evenly down the middle by the divide, with the cute and precocious daughter caught in the middle.

So we’ve got a well-connected family, government agents, Titan bashing agents, Titan loving agents, a mysterious and powerful Titan controlling machine, flying all over the world in a ginormous stealth bomber, typhoons, cities being stomped. It’s a lot. It’s so much that the movie is super long to get all the plot stuff in, and the viewer is supposed to keep up without a real download of information until well into the film. All the characters know what’s happening, but they’re so busy looking worried that they only release information in bits and pieces in the middle of shooting and running and screaming and being squooshed.

There are some talented actors vainly trying to make always looking worried or angry or evil into some feelings that viewers can get behind, and it doesn’t quite work. The effects are gorgeous throughout, with the Titans all being cast in a softly blue light that somehow makes them look more mysterious and powerful. The destroyed cities are well done, and I appreciated the lack of Snyder-ish bashing of each other with buildings. These big guys go at it tooth, death ray and nail, kaiju a kaiju.

I’m not sure why I watched this, because I’ve never truly enjoyed a Godzilla film, yet I try again and again. It’s crazy. Of all of them, though, this is the best. For one thing you’re not going to see five minutes of pure black on the screen which might have been cool in a theater but wrecked the home viewing experience. This film is bright and beautifully rendered, even when the sets are ridiculous or in a dark place. All the cgi looks weighty and seamless. I have no complaints about how it looks, and about the action between the monsters. My biggest problems were that it’s overlong because the plot is too convoluted, the actors are not given enough to do and I continued to feel no emotional pull about anything. If you like Godzilla movies absolutely see it, just make sure you double your normal amount of snack food.

LINKS:

• Godzilla: King of the Monsters – Official Website
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters – IMDB
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters – Facebook

Godzilla: King of the Monsters – Final Trailer – Now Playing In Theaters

CFR: In Addition: NOTE: Godzilla comes up in spell check. Now THAT’s how you permeate a culture!

I like Godzilla movies but I was afraid to watch this one as I don’t like it when people are mean to Godzilla. Yes, I hate animal abuse. However, since I do like Godzilla movies, I might try this one. Thanks Mildred!

Also I really love the tagline: Long Live The King! Good job, Godzilla.