Godzilla: King of the Monsters is here and oh boy is it a doozy.
The long-awaited monster slamjam is the direct sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, therefore it kicks off in real time 5 years after the events of that movie. The world is still in mourning but also chaos because there’s a giant irradiated dinosaur hanging around somewhere out there. And now there are seventeen other known creatures, all under quarantine. But for how long, I ask you?! How long will science hold these ancient beasts back!
As it turns out, not very long because as sci-fi films have taught us, humans are utterly trash at keeping secrets and keeping our ambitions to ourselves. All hell breaks lose when the mysterious Monster Zero—AKA Ghidorah—is freed, and Godzilla is the only one that can stop him!
Except, if you’re a fan of the kaiju genre and Godzilla in particular, you know that Ghidorah habitually whoops Godzilla like Mohammed Ali on anyone.
Looks like humanity is in screwed.
For Godzilla aficionados, this plotline is nothing new. We first saw it in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster way back in 1964. But make no mistake, this is no remake. Godzilla: KOTM is a fun romp that tries to improve upon some of the criticisms from its predecessor. However, ultimately it falls into some very American traps in the conversion process.
First is the idea that there can only be one good guy. The reason Ghidorah works so well as a Godzilla villain is the original series gave plenty of time to set him up as bigger and badder than Godzilla. After years of seeing Godzilla wreck Tokyo, when Ghidorah comes and wrecks him it’s a wake-up call to humanity (and the viewer) about how serious the threat is. Driving the point home, antisocial loner Godzilla has to team up with Mothra and Rodan to have a chance against Ghidorah. For KOTM, there aren’t any movies in the interim to help set Ghidorah up as the Final Boss of the Godzilla universe. All we get are insinuations of an epic, ancient rivalry with Godzilla. Don’t get me wrong, his absolutely epic theme goes a long way towards letting you know that Ghidorah is the daikaiju Antichrist. But with very little set up for Mothra or Rodan to solidify why Ghidorah is so scary, the golden dragon still comes off as a lowly villain of the week. A pretty potent one, but a trope none the less.
Speaking of Rodan, can we give it up for the VIP of the movie? This new incarnation of Rodan looks nasty, like something that sprang up out of a volcano and it’s pissed… which is exactly what Rodan is. Gone are his more romantic anti-hero origins, this Rodan is the Starscream of the group. Clearly only in it for himself and a total coward in contrast to Mothra’s selfless heroism and Godzilla… well, Godzilla is just minding his own business.
The new kaiju introduced in this movie was a great touch, too. We get our own little Monster Island at last, which feels like a great set up for the next and final movie, Godzilla vs. Kong. The new kaiju aren’t formally named yet (except for one, spoiler alert) but I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up being reimaginings of some throwback Godzilla allies and foes like the popular Anguirus.
The second and most important pitfall that Godzilla: KOTM slides into is villain motivation. Look, let’s not act like the original series non-kaiju villains weren’t campy as all get out in the best ‘60s-’70s style. We started seeing a bit of villain decay in the ‘90s, going into the ‘00s series. The decay meant generic motives in comparison to the more fantastical space conquering ambitions of earlier movies. Here is not completely different. With Ghidorah’s backstory getting a little tweak, we’ve lost the option for mind control and Venusian interference. Instead, we get… ecological terrorism. With kaiju? To be fair, this theme isn’t unheard of in the Godzilla ‘verse. But the exposition dump in the middle feels like a stumble in the process of just getting to what we really came for:
BIG. OL’. MONSTER. FIGHTS.
Michael Dougherty heard the people loud and clear when it came to the lack of monster action in 2014. Personally, I enjoyed the artfully shot battles under Gareth Edwards but I’m never going to turn down some down ‘n dirty sluggin’ and brawlin’. And this movie delivers in spades. Have you ever wanted to see Ghidorah get his head bitten clean off? Ah, the wonders of CGI! Don’t worry, he’s like the Hydra.
So what we have here is a movie that excels in plenty of places but also lacks in some others. In taking some of the criticisms of the previous movie in account, it would have been best to weld the both of both worlds similar to King Kong: Skull Island. Thoughtful human interaction is something the Godzilla franchise has historically struggled with because, well, we’re not here for the people. But the humanity is especially important in the American films, which don’t have the context of nuclear war trauma to feed into the narrative of the movies. Or rather, we do, but not as the victims because… you know.
Is Godzilla: King of the Monsters worth seeing? Of course. A good guilt-free summer flick not to take too seriously and perfect for those of us that just wanted some kaiju battle action. Next year’s Godzilla vs. Kong looks to be even better and I can’t wait to see the conclusion for this trilogy. Long live the king, long may he reign.