After the really good ‘Kong: Skull Island’ back in 2017, Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures went back to do another Godzilla film. This time it was a sequel to the 2014 Godzilla film that had been met with mixed reactions…most of which had leant towards the negative and were claiming that even the 1998 version of ‘Godzilla’ was better than it.
After obviously listening to the audience complaints, they made ‘King of the Monsters’…and this time round, no one was disappointed. People wanted to see giant monsters fight; they got to see giant monsters fight! None of this hiding in snoke all the time to the point where you never saw them or Godzilla himself or the scene changing before it looked like Godzilla was about to do something exciting nonsense that a LOT of people complained about on the 2014 Godzilla film.
And with good reason: no-one- and I repeat no-one- wants to see a monster film in which you hardly ever saw the monster at all and the scene changes before it looks like said monster does something exciting. That would annoy anyone.
The story starts off with a flashback to the events from the 2014 ‘Godzilla’ film as a family try to look for their son who went missing during the monster’s rampage.
The film then cuts to five years later as Dr Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) as she wakes up, recalling the Godzilla incident and the loss of her son. Meanwhile, her daughter Maddie (Millie Bobby Brown) is talking to her dad Dr Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler, who had also popped up on Peter Jackson’s 2005 ‘King Kong’ remake) via email, saying that she’s concerned for her mum because of her current work. That is until the fire alarm goes off because Maddie has forgotten about the breakfast that she was making for them.
She quickly- and sheepishly- apologizes to her mum as Emma enters the kitchen trying to switch off the alarm. That is when- what feels like- an earthquake shakes the place. Picking up a walky-talky, Emma asks if everything is alright. We soon find out that they’re at a Monarch outpost in China; the home of the beautiful moth-like creature Mothra who is at this moment in time but a pupa.
It isn’t before long before Emma and Maddie’s peaceful time watching Mothra is rudely interrupted by gunfire and explosions as Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) and his group of echo terrorists enter Mothra’s underground layer.
What follows afterwards is one big monster mash-up featuring the most popular of Godzilla’s foes.
If there’s one thing that I do enjoy about this film, it is- yup that’s right; the monster fights! I’m only familiar with some of them through name and reputation but have never seen the original Japanese Godzilla films that feature some of these monsters. So it was probably interesting for a lot of the fans to see how a Western Studio would adapt them. From the dinosaur-like Roadan, to the moth-like Mothra and to the fearsome three-headed dragon-like Ghidorah there is certainly a lot of action going on.
The only negative thing I have to say is that once again, the human storyline could’ve been better. So once again I ended up paying more attention to the monsters more than the humans.
If I had to choose which one was my favourite out of the monsters that Godzilla fights, Ghidorah would have to be my favourite since he looks like a dragon and I do love dragons quite a lot! Although I admit Mothra follows at a very close seconds as she’s rather cute…for a moth…and also very pretty (even though I’m more of a butterfly person)!
So place your bets on who will win this five star battle royal; you won’t be disappointed!
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