Benz Eye View: Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Pros: 

1.) Godzilla and the monsters look amazing (for the most part).  With some redesigning, the Titans look like their original Japanese counterparts (though I see why the Japanese are not a fan of how fat Godzilla looked).

Their designs alone are intimidating, but their sizes just make them even more frightening.  From a three-headed lighting dragon to a moth-like butterfly, the filmmakers took advantage of using these beasts to their fullest (especially considering they get more screen time compared to the last film).

2.) The fights between these monsters are clearly the stand-out sequences in the movie.  The pure destruction in the cities and the people experiencing the carnage is a sight to behold.  You get a sense of dread, because there is a lingering possibility that the people in the city are not going to survive something so destructive…

3.) …Speaking of destruction, the production and cinematography deserve credit.  For the production, it looks great when the human characters have to go through so many areas involving nature (i.e. snow, wind, rain).  It makes the situation more dire for the humans who are running away from these Titans while dealing with debris and nature.  As for the cinematography, it helps set the scale of these Titans compared to the humans.  They are like ants compared to them.  These two film elements just make these Titans look better than they can possibly be.

 

Cons: 

1.) The Titans do not look perfect.  There are certain moments where the visual effects do not look exactly finished.  When they move slowly, they look great, but when they move quickly, it seemed off.  The last scene with all the Titans looked like they belong in a PS4 game.  Given a little more time, they should look fine, but as it stands, it still seems off from time to time.

2.) If you thought the human character from the last Godzilla film were boring, wait till you meet these characters.  Not only are they not interesting, they are also pretty stupid.  The humans from the last film can be dumb, but these humans make the last ones look like a slightly dumber Sherlock Holmes (not a great comparison I will admit).  To put it simply, these characters make some choices that will make you wonder why they consider the top people in their fields.  It is not a good thing when characters are written to be smart yet they make stupid decisions constantly.

3.) Another thing about a few of the human characters are their motivations.  The antagonists have the worst motivations of them all.  Colonel Alan Jonah wants to have these Titans released, because of natural selection.  That is the most cliched villain motivation I have ever heard.  As for Dr. Emma Russel, she pretty much wants the same thing as Col. Jonah, but it makes even less sense since she got the idea from her dead son who died during the events of the first film.  I hated her more than Col. Jonah, but the last act did something to her that made me slightly like her a little more.  The protagonists have similar problems with their characters, but at least their motivations make slightly more sense than the antagonists’.  Still, when two of the major characters were killed, I did not feel anything since they are barely fleshed out (the good sad music had no effect on making me feel something).  All-in-all, the humans are nowhere as interesting as the Titans, and all they do is fight each other.

 

Overall: 

With the next addition of the MonsterVerse (you forgot there is another cinematic universe, but with kaijus, didn’t you?), Warner Bros. seems desperate trying to make another cinematic universe alongside the DC Extended Universe.  As for the MonsterVerse, I have a soft spot for the first two films despite its flaws.  Does the next addition of this cinematic universe do just as well?  For one thing, I would not be surprised if anyone only remembers the Titans instead of the humans.  They are boring, stupid, and are just cannon fodder for the Titans to fight each other.  The story can be pretty stupid, and the characters’ motivations are cliched at best or idiotic at worst.  This movie is tremendously flawed…and I still like it anyway.  There is only one reason for it: the fights are awesome.  It does not really hold the movie, but it is the only reason why I do not give this movie a lower grade.  If you are going to watch it, the fights are the best parts.  Otherwise, I recommend just skip watching this movie in theaters, and just wait for it to be released on Blu-Ray or digital, so you can just skip the poor human elements and go straight onto the battle between monsters.

4/10