The “Godzilla” franchise has an inherent flaw in its DNA. It’s just really difficult to build a film around a skyscraper-sized lizard that can’t speak and destroys everything in its path. Therefore, filmmakers feel like they have to include human characters to give the film a basic plot, and hopefully, if done right, provide some much needed emotional stakes so that there’s more on the line when you watch the lizard inevitably destroy a city. It’s a balance that has yet to be mastered by Hollywood in its various attempts over the years. And in “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” it’s clear that Legendary Entertainment still hasn’t figured it out.
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In 2014, Legendary decided to reboot the “Godzilla” franchise, and build out a new cinematic universe called the Monsterverse. Mostly known for its man-in-rubber-suit charm and unique (some might say ridiculous) monsters, the franchise has survived for decades based on a dedicated cult following. The problem is cult followings don’t pay the bills. So, the Gareth Edwards-directed “Godzilla” reboot ditched the goofy charm, and replaced it with grim seriousness and CGI. 2014’s film hid the titular character, “Jaws“-like until the third act, and relied on the charisma of Aaron Taylor-Johnson to carry the load. No offense to the “Kick-Ass” star, but Mr. Taylor-Johnson is no Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, despite the similar surnames.
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‘King of the Monsters’ decides to right the wrongs of the last film, replacing the primary cast and the director, with Michael Dougherty taking the helm, in an attempt to make a “Godzilla” film that can convince audiences this whole Monsterverse is worth their time. The problem with the sequel, however, is that aforementioned balance. By switching from human drama with a monster fight at the end to a series of monster battles peppered with only a bit of human drama throws the pendulum completely in the other direction, leading to one of the most bonkers, ludicrously over-the-top action films you’ll see all year.
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This is normally the point in a review where the plot of the film is dissected and critiqued. Sadly, the plot in ‘King of the Monsters’ is so convoluted and ridiculous, it’s almost not even worth mentioning. Monarch is the secret government-funded corporation that studies Godzilla and other Titans in hidden bunkers all around the world. Well, through some shenanigans that don’t entirely make sense, and will leave your brain the moment you walk out of the theater, Godzilla is here to save the world from the three-headed dragon, King Ghidorah, an apex predator that threatens to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. All this, while characters you won’t remember try to locate some soundwave machine and talk about things like “oxygen killer” missiles, hollow Earth tunnels, and ancient mythology.
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Directed by Dougherty (“Krampus” and “Trick ‘r Treat“), ‘King of the Monsters’ goes all-in on the monster action, ensuring that this sequel is bigger in scale, more action-packed, and most definitely sillier than the previous film. Non-stop action and fun aren’t bad attributes for a film about fighting monsters, but the folks behind ‘King of the Monsters’ forgot that there has to be likable, relatable, and interesting characters to keep audiences invested while you gear up for the next action set piece.
And when you have actors like Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, O’Shea Jackson, Jr, Charles Dance, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Thomas Middleditch, and Ken Watanabe, it’s a shame that the film doesn’t even bother to use most of them in any meaningful way. Characters exist. They have clear motivations. Some live. Some die. You won’t remember who’s who and you definitely won’t care what happens. Most of the actors listed above turn into exposition machines that yell out facts about monsters at crucial moments. The closest attempt at any sort of emotional arc is with a half-baked family drama that, through the actions of the characters involved, leaves you wishing that they’d all die in the end.
Of course, when the film ditches the pretense of a story, and sidelines the all-star cast in favor of the CGI lizard, Dougherty does a great job of making the fighting feel epic. When the Titans show up and battle each other, you never lose grasp of just how much of a destructive force they truly are. The action scenes are beautifully shot. There’s no doubt that Dougherty was born to do this sort of film. But after the fourth or fifth Titan action scene, you’ll likely feel exhausted from the explosions, screeching, screaming, and constant scientific nonsense being yelled by humans. It’s just...a lot.
So, do you choose to make ‘Godzilla’ a human story, using the monsters sparingly, and perhaps, boring the target audience in the process, such as the 2014 reboot? Or do you focus on the screeching, personality-less, massive lizard in the title, forgoing the human element in favor of loud explosions and immense destruction? For “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” the answer is clearly the latter. And believe it or not, the end result might make you pine for the days of Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Sure, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” fulfills its promise of Titans and destruction, but at the cost of the plot, characters, and emotional investment. You know, the things that actually make a film good. And even though the promise of King Kong in next year’s sequel is sure to excite some, ‘King of the Monsters’ does little to prove that this franchise deserves the chance to fight another day. [C-]