Godzilla: King of the Monsters is for fans who like their rock ’em, sock ’em monster movies light on fleshed-out characters but chock full of epic trailer-friendly money shots, a far-reaching plot, and a “Top that!” approach to escalating the scope and scale of the beasts that put butts in seats.
Director and co-writer Michael Dougherty (Krampus) executes impressive, manga-worthy action as King of the Monsters picks up five years after the events of 2014’s Godzilla. The world has recovered from the annihilation of San Francisco and Las Vegas when the Titan Godzilla took a punch-happy stroll through the United States, and the population has accepted that monsters do live (and occasionally walk-slash-stomp) among us.
Not doing so well is an estranged family lead by Kyle Chandler and MONARCH monster specialist Vera Farmiga. They lost their son in Godzilla‘s battle of San Francisco, and their daughter (played by Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown) gets caught up in the fallout of all that — siding with her mother in a dangerous (and improbable) plot that involves thawing out other Titans all over the world in an attempt to pull a Thanos and restore balance on Earth. Fan-favorites Rodan, Mothra (she’s the BEST!), and the three-headed King Ghidorah are unleashed in glorious CG fashion, while Chandler and a team of MONARCH soldiers and scientists attempt to save the world from the monsters (and humans) hellbent on destroying it. If the movie’s explosive trailers and inspired posters have yet to convince you to see it, here are three more reasons why you should make a trip to the theater on opening weekend.
1. Kyle Chandler
(Credit: WB)
Coach Taylor vs. monsters? Sign us up!
Kyle Chandler is that rare actor who gives the exact amount of whatever a scene needs to sell it. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the first time he has served as the lead actor in a genre movie like this where the 30-foot, nuclear-powered lizard is the star (the less you think about Chandler co-starring in 2005’s King Kong the better).
While the story largely has him alternating between hitting the same two beats — running around or reacting with various grimaces to green screen — Chandler appears more than capable of investing the chaotic spectacle with just the right amount of vulnerability and heart to give audiences something to latch onto other than the monsters.
2. Bradley Whitford’s Delivery
(Credit: WB)
While visiting the King of the Monsters set, I learned that Bradley Whitford’s scientist character is not-so-subtly modeled after everyone’s favorite surly, time-traveling, super genius Rick from Rick and Morty. From his white, vertically-styled hair to his random usage of a flask, knowing this bit of inspiration for the character makes Whitford’s scenes even more enjoyable.
Reduced to either spouting exposition or offering the snarky quip or two, Whitford commits 100 percent to satisfying whatever the limited script tasks him with. In a movie full of characters that mostly exist on the periphery of being two-dimensional, Whitford brings a significant inner life to the character — you miss his presence when he’s not on screen and can’t wait for the plot to remedy that.
3. That Final Monster Battle
(Credit: WB)
Boston is the last place one would expect to be the city-sized UFC octagon that Godzilla and his three-headed rival use for their final showdown, so it’s refreshing to see a monster movie trade the usual locales (think New York) for something a bit more out of the box. It’s even cooler to see Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah crank the destruction and monster punching up to 11 and turn the city into toothpicks. (As Whitford’s Rick says: “Sucks to be a Red Sox fan today.”)
King of the Monsters reaches Peak CG spectacle here, as the climatic sequence finds our human characters racing around and yelling while caught in the middle of Godzilla and Ghidorah wrestling and slamming into buildings. It’s truly one of the most inspired set pieces of the summer, and it scores bonus points for featuring Mothra vs. Rodan while their fellow titans stomp new craters into Boston.
This sequence — along with the sequel’s other globe-trotting set pieces — offer a sharp contrast to the days of a man in a rubber suit crushing miniatures. While the Godzilla franchise has yet to crack the calculus on the human drama equation that factors into these blockbusters, they have more than mastered the ability to put digital creations through their destructive paces.
Godzilla is now playing in theaters everywhere.
