Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Released 13th May 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows multinational coalition Monarch as it tries to prevent a mass-awakening of the Titans. Thankfully, the monsters show up more frequently and are generally visible when they do show throughout this film which enables a sustained engagement in the film. Due to this, the themes of nature and co-existence are supercharged and in the forefront of this narrative which makes the story more resonant. That said, these improvements are flushed away instantaneously by the sheer amount of characters, exposition and poor humour. While receiving new lore for a world is great, this film tells far too much despite showing plenty; the film feels like it is talking down to you at times which really sucks you out of it.

As stated, the humour is also abysmal. Thomas Middleditch’s Sam Coleman is perhaps the unfunniest character I have ever seen in a film (minus any James Cordon roles) and every time he opens his mouth you roll your eyes. On the flip-side, the other one-liner character is Bradley Whitford’s Rick Stanley; his delivery is great and he is the true comic relief. That said, the rest of the cast is fine and do enough with what (little) they are written; Kyle Chandler, Vera Farminga and Millie Bobby Brown are fine as Mark, Emma and Maddison Russel, Sally Hawkins is fine as returning face Dr Vivienne Graham and Charles Dance is fine as Alan Jonah (the human antagonist). While Ken Watanabe is generally okay in his return to Dr Ishirō Serizawa, however, he is able to infuse so much emotion during one scene in the third act that does wonders for the film.

The success of the scene I am referring to is also attributed to Bear McCreary’s phenomenal soundtrack. Every single group or monster has their own leitmotif which is retooled depending on the context with every track being memorable (there is a reason I mentioned it in my attempt at album reviews last year!). Once again the visual effects are also great and, while still semi-obscured, convey the realism of these creatures as they interact with their environments; this improvement over the 2014 film also stretches to the cinematography which is truly extraordinary and a sight to behold. At the end of the day, Godzilla: King of the Monsters presents plenty of monster fights full of character, striking visuals and sound; but maybe a few too many humans getting in the way.