It’s pretty much confirmed with “King of the Monsters” that the producers are going for a monster universe fitted for the more general audience. Director Michael Dougherty is back in this sequel to 2014’s bold “Godzilla” that pretty much establishes the kaiju movie universe for this era. Established as “Titans” the movie monsters from the classic Godzilla movie series all make appearances in some form or another, and boy are they terrifying. While the original monsters were all pretty scary, the way that director Dougherty visualizes them is just downright mind blowing. The monsters are all specters and reapers of the apocalypse, all unmatched in their power that are back to basically reclaim the planet for themselves.
Five years after the end of “Godzilla,” the crypto-zoological agency Monarch and its scientists face off against even more giant monsters like Godzilla, including the mysterious Mothra, and the powerful three-headed behemoth known as Ghidorah. After a great loss five years earlier in the first attacks, Dr Emma Russell has dedicated her life to attempting to understand the nature of the monster who killed her son. On the other side of the world, her husband Mark is also working to understand the monsters, while also working to fix his fractured relationship with his teenage daughter Madison. Emma and Madison are suddenly taken hostage by a group of eco-terrorists headed by Jonah Alan, as Mark must locate his family and retrieve the Orca, a scientific gadget created by Emma which could help stop the impending monster Armageddon.
Dougherty and co. spend a lot of time establishing the entire motivation behind the monsters, as well as exploring interesting methods for integrating all of these monsters for one big throwdown. Shockingly the monster that is depicted as one of the most destructive is Rodan. I never thought Rodan would be so imposing on screen, but the moment it awakens and begins unleashing a whirlwind of terror across the country, it’s pretty incredible. The way the movie envisions all of these monsters, makes them absolutely relentless forces of nature that basically serve their purpose. Mothra in particular is depicted as a beneficial being meant to keep the Titans in line, while Godzilla is something of a savior that is neither a friend nor a foe to mankind.
For the most part I enjoyed the world building as Legendary studios props up so much meta-mythology around the monsters involving organizations researching the Titans, and prophecies about the end of the world, as well as the ultimate battles of the gargantuan beasts. Dougherty really should be commended for great direction and staging of some wonderful action sequences. He has a clear love for the Kaiju gallery Toho conceived, even if the movie suffers in other respects. “Godzilla King of the Monsters” tends to go on way too long in the tooth and spends too much time with human characters that aren’t really as engaging as I hoped they’d be.
Even with Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, and Millie Bobby Brown leading the pack, the massive group of humans working to battle the giant monsters never garnered any of my interest, nor did their sub-plots about a family death, and divorce, et al. It’s by no means the fault of the aforementioned cast members (and the other impressive supporting players like Bradley Whitford, Ken Watanabe, Charles Dance, and Zhang Ziyi respectively) as they trot out impressive performances in anything they’re in. I just wish we’d been given more appealing protagonists with better motivations.
Nevertheless, “King of the Monsters” is a blast that works on its own, and as a chapter in a larger movie universe (Titanverse?) that pays off quite well.