King of The Monsters is the third film in a good-standing franchise of monster films. I am very fond of Kong: Skull Island, to which gets referenced but is barely connected. That sense of disconnection allows it to focus on Godzilla, but painstakingly bright is its errors in all the brilliant monster action.
King of The Monsters is told mainly through the perspective of the humans, which lies the film’s clear problem, they are all shallow and lifeless. Barring Millie Bobby Brown’s few scenes, she is really underused. However, the poor is overweighed by the brilliance and sheer epic-feel of the kaiju battles that ensue.
Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) are stationed in a forest facility, home to a Titan waiting to be hatched. Madison’s father (Kyle Chandler) is still shaken and remains isolated after the loss of his son. The Titans are monitored and kept by Monarch, they have 17 cocooned and plan to keep them that way. Meanwhile, the Orca device is introduced, a technology capable of communicating with the Titans. Radical environmentalist Jonah Alan (Charles Dance) abducts Madison, Emma and ‘steals’ the Orca.
The kaiju battles between Godzilla and the Titans are grand, with a stylish look that is refreshingly ravishing to peer at, compared to the ever-shaking incoherent focus on the humans. Godzilla’s fights with King Ghidorah are explosively exciting, with the two opposing forces representing a clash of the ages. A battle that was always meant to be. Shot in a loose manner, the use of zooms heighten the sense of fiery destruction and pure hatred between the ‘alien’ dragon and Earth’s rightful king of the monsters.
There are some strikingly beautiful shots that shine light on the outstanding VFX work, creating monsters so real – you can’t help but desire more. The use of colour symbolises the opposing forces, with yellow being representive of Ghidorah and blue being the newly-friendly Godzilla. Michael Dougherty’s direction is fine, the kaiju fights is clear evidence that he can direct. However, he fails to excel on the human side. Showing a completely separate side, a side that is incoherent and bland.
Almost like dolls, the humans are uninteresting archetypal figures with no real relivence. All the cliche lines in the book are delivered, creating a strong disconnect between the magnificence of the action and staleness of the interactions. Chandler does the same shocked reaction face throughout the entirety of the run time, whilst the ensemble is just as irrelevant. They are literal toys, saying stock lines and doing the upmost stupid actions waiting for death. The humans literally die and fight for nothing, they are consistently smacked around and are near-death, yet the film insists they stick around. The only saving grace of the human’s is Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison, who is critically underused and Ken Watanabe’s final scene.
The mythology is fascinating, the reasons link to ancient myths and legends that mesmorise. ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ is one to look forward to, hopefully focusing on what works and getting rid of what clearly doesn’t. The franchise started strong with ‘Godzilla’, followed by ‘Kong: Skull Island’, a mesmorising gem. The latest, ‘Godzilla: King of The Monsters’ holds up for the most part, but not as well as the others.
Godzilla: King of The Monsters serves the pure monster extravaganza promised, whilst failing on the human side. The greatness does make mostly up for the poor.
3.5/5 Stars
Ben Rolph
GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS is out in UK Cinemas TOMORROW
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