For fans of Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters must mirror that same excitement of watching your longtime favorite sports club win their first championship. See, the Godzilla world is a rich one that spans generations and more importantly, monsters. Never in an American Godzilla movie has some of the iconic character come face-to-face with so many fellow Titans in such a glorious spectacle as is achieved in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The second Godzilla flick from Warner Bros. (that follows up the monster’s 2014 titular Hollywood studio re-introduction) is out now on Blu-Ray. For appreciators of all things that involve the Japanese created monster, this is a must own. After all, many of the big guy’s friends and foes are all here and ready for their close-up. For example, there’s King Ghidorah, Mothra, Anguirus, Baragon, Kamacuras, Rodan and Spiga.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters picks up soon after Godzilla and finds that crypto-zoological organization, Monarch, heroically doing their best to keep up with the seemingly never-ending legion of titans that are emerging from the earth like never before. Where’s our good buddy Godzilla, who arrived just in time in the first film to save us from Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism—better known as MUTO? Much like our canine friends, these monsters seem to be ruled by that old pack, alpha mentality and us humans, as mass destruction terrifies the world, or stuck in the middle witnessing our landscape get decimated.
As was so eloquently portrayed in that first Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer, it is decided that we would coax Godzilla into fighting for us once again—sure, that’s oversimplifying it, but you get it. “He’d by like our pet,” one clueless government official states. To which, Ken Watanabe’s Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, replies, “No, we would be his.” Cue the swelling music!
A fascinating aspect of this latest monster movie from Warner Bros. arrives in the form of Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) and Vera Farmiga’s Dr. Emma Russell (who works with Monarch). They have found that a bond can be achieved between monster and human that is reflected in that alpha/pack theory/mentality. Thing is, with time of the essence, it is an all out battle to use the weaponized forces of the United States and our friends across the planet to put down those Titans that wish us ill. But, thankfully, Godzilla has other plans and the question that remains is which of these mega-beasts are friendly to the big guy and which seek to destroy him—and the rest of us in the process?
Director Michael Dougherty (Krampus), who also co-wrote the screenplay, does a stellar job at capturing the epic scope of these larger-than-life monsters as they fight to the death. After all, that is what we want most out of a film like this … but, a little character development goes a long way and there is little of that, to say the least. Then again, it’s not about those humans (that truly come off like ants in the shadow of the Titans). It’s about Godzilla, Mothra and everyone else. To witness them, especially Ghidorah with its three-headed horror, clash is some of the most grandiose fight sequences you will see in a film all year. That is not quite enough to satisfy this movie fanatic, but it is on the verge of being awesome.
The cast is stellar, especially Brown (is there nothing this kid can’t do?!) and Farmiga. Joining them in the incredible effort they undertook making a subpar script (in terms of human character presence) is one of my favorite actors, Kyle Chandler, Bradley Whitford, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (for The Shape of Water), Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr. (of Straight Outta Compton fame), David Strathairn (also an Oscar nominee), Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers) and Aisha Hinds.
Evolution of the Titans leads our look at the Godzilla: King of the Monsters Blu-Ray review. It is just short of a half-hour and runs the gamut in terms of its look at visual effects and what went into developing the Titan characters. It is equally as informative as it is insightful and above all else, entertaining. For fans of the big guy, this is a true treat. For everyone else, well … it still is a treat!
Then, there’s Monsters 101, which is a terrific featurette that introduces audiences (at least those who are not aware of the Godzilla monster-verse) to the four main Titans. Each monster gets its own featurette with Nature’s Fearsome Guardian looking at Godzilla, Queen of the Monsters of course shines a light on Mothra, The Living Extinction Machine could not have a better moniker for Ghidorah and Rodan’s featurette is entitled, Airborne God of Fire. These are great, particularly for those not so familiar with this world. But some may find that they are too short with the entire thing clocking in at five-and-a-half-minutes.
The break-out human star of Godzilla: King of the Monsters is clearly Brown (we certainly have waxed poetic about her in this review!). Millie Bobby Brown: Force of Nature is another finely labeled featurette that will only enhance fans’ appreciation of her pure, raw and innate talent.
Monarch in Action is a 33-minute treat that gazes at the quintet of locales from the flick. We get looks at Castle Bravo, Yunnan Temple, the Antarctic base, the Isla de Maro volcano and Godzilla’s undersea crib. In a stroke of behind-the-scenes genius, storyboards are included, fully enhancing the movie magic of witnessing dream turn into reality.
Two monstrous-centric featurettes will conclude with you likely wanting to watch this monster mash all over again, armed with a whole lot of monster knowledge. Monsters Are Real is just under 15 minutes that finds several pros who could not do a better job of synching long standing myths and what is occurring in real life. Then, there’s Monster Tech: Monarch Joins the Fight. The eight-and-a-half minute featurette looks at the military tech utilized in the film … some real, some fantastical—all supremely awesome.
Welcome to the Monsterverse goes back, in order to look forward. It explores Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island. It’s definitely important, due to the fact that these two monsters are on a collision course that will unfurl in theaters. Godzilla vs. Kong is set to drop in March of 2020.
There’s a few deleted and extended scenes, as well as those theatrical trailers that for those of us who treasure teasers—are always enjoyable…particularly the Under the Rainbow trailer.
Then, there’s the audio commentary track that adds layers of insight from director Dougherty, producer Zack Shields and Jackson. After all the featurette ingesting is done and it’s time to witness Godzilla: King of the Monsters once again, I highly recommend turning on the audio commentary as it adds insight into what it took to bring this film to the big screen as well as where it fits in the entire Godzilla scheme of things, cinematically. Some Easter Eggs are illustrated, as are each commentator offering their favorite film moments that will make you smile and think.
Film Grade: B-
Bonus Features: B+