Godzilla: King of the Monsters

RATING: B-

Out of the various "cinematic universes" these studios have attempted to kickstart, the "MonsterVerse" is one of the only non-superhero ones that has lasted more than one or two movies. This is the third installment and a fourth one is on the way. It may not get much further than that, but that'll still be better than the *other* "monster universe" that they tried to start with The Mummy two years ago. Anyway, thus far this series is certainly not as loaded as, say, Marvel--it mostly exists to put Godzilla (and the other "Titans") and King Kong in the same universe.

We've gotten a movie for both Godzilla and Kong, starring primarily them. Now in the new Godzilla movie, we get for the first time in a Hollywood Godzilla production the *other* Titans. Mothra, the three-headed King Ghidorah (the main antagonist monster), and Rodan (a pterodactyl-like "fire demon," if you're not familiar) are the main other players here, but there's a bunch of others to be seen briefly.

While 2014's Godzilla movie was fairly good, it was often criticized for not actually having that much Godzilla being onscreen. It kind of got away with that because, despite some forgettable characters, the rest of the movie didn't totally suck and Godzilla made the most of his screen time (and then some). But that's the big draw here--there's a lot more Godzilla this time, and there's a lot more of him fighting other monsters (or other monsters fighting each other), so this time you certainly get your money's worth.

And that aspect of the movie absolutely works. The monster fights in this movie are pretty awesome. And it helps that there's a lot of great visuals and special effects to go along with them; Mothra in particular looks majestic. And Ghidorah is definitely a worthy opponent for Godzilla. In general, almost every part of the "monster" side of this movie is super fun to watch, and will be doubly so for actual fans of the Godzilla mythos.

The problems in this movie come elsewhere--particularly via the ludicrous plot backdrop/catalyst which gets this movie going. You see, humans are destroying the planet. And therefore, according to Vera Farmiga's character, we must set the Titans free to restore balance to nature. In other words... destroy the world in order to save it! And cut down on the overpopulation as collateral in the process! Thanos would be proud!

(Minor spoiler alert for this paragraph--not regarding the monsters or human characters.) What's truly bizarre is that the aftermath of the monster war here suggests that this theory/plan actually works--a notion I reject completely, particularly given that the apocalyptic level of destruction we see in this movie suggests the planet would be pretty decimated.

Beyond that, a lot of this movie just isn't particularly well written. Besides how bonkers the catalyst for the plot discussed earlier is, there's a fair amount of silly/lame dialogue and once again the characters aren't that interesting. And despite having a fairly decent cast that includes Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, David Straithairn, and the aforementioned Vera Farmiga, they aren't really given much to work with and thus don't stand out as much as they should (except *maybe* Watanabe). That said, Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven from Stranger Things) stands out in her first non-TV role.

So while Godzilla: King of the Monsters certainly surpasses its predecessor in terms of monster action, it falls short as an all-around product. Still, it's absolutely worth a watch if you're a fan of the genre. It's definitely a popcorn action film, and it may end up being one of the best non-superhero ones you'll see all year. I'm a bit skeptical for Godzilla vs. Kong, but so far these MonsterVerse movies have thoroughly entertained on the action front, if not a whole lot else.