Godzilla: King of the Monsters Review

"Our world is changing. The mass extinction we feared has already begun, and we are the cause, we are the infection"

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was directed by Michael Dougherty and is the sequel and follow up to Godzilla which was released in 2014. The film stars the likes of Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Ziya Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins and Charles Dance. The film follows the crypto-zoological agency Monarch who face off against a battery of god-sized  monsters including the likes of Godzilla, who collides with the likes of Mothra, Rodan and Godzillas arch nemesis King Ghidorah. Who will remain the alpha titan?... well you will just have to watch the film and find out. 

As a fan of the 2014 film directed by Gareth Edwards, I was highly looking forward to the sequel and had high expectations of what would happen during the film, whilst I can honestly say much of that expectations where met during the film, there are some elements which weigh down the film from truly reaching its true potential. Whist the original film in what is being dubbed as Warner Bros Monsterverse was shy and held off from showing the main character and surrounded his appearance during the film with mystery, the sequel forgets all that and puts Godzilla front and centre in the spotlight and truly allows him to shine. If you are going into this film with the intention to watch some great monster vs monster action set pieces destroying cities like a tower of Lego then this is the film for you. There are some truly great and breath taking action set pieces throughout the entire film, and this is down to the films stunning visuals which allow Godzilla and the films other titans including the likes of King Ghidorah to truly shine and when they clash they truly clash and it is a spectacle that truly must be seen on the biggest screens. These type of action sequences are just meant to be viewed on the big screen. The other huge achievement in this film is the way the filmmakers manage to capture the sheer scale of these titans and the global devastation that is caused by awakening these creatures, and as an audience member you are truly transported to a world on the brink of collapse as these titans battle for control of their home world. 

Whilst there are loads of great action set pieces that really sell the film, but the film in itself is often let down by its slower story beats which is possibly down to its human characters, now for me personally all the cast give good performances but overall there is not a lot of substance going on that really makes you feel for these characters in any way, and I mean come on there are trying to compete for screen time when the king of monsters is battling for dominance. My other main issue with the film is the overall pace of the film. This film includes so many titans that the film really does feel rushed at times as we jump from action sequence to action sequence, resulting in a very fast paced and often chaotic film, this also doesn't help the human characters shine as there are thrown around between action sequences and scenes of explanatory set up to help the audience keep track of what these human characters are actually trying to do in the film. Whilst it doesn't ruin the film as a whole, but it is something worth mentioning if you are looking for characters to relate to in the film.

Overall if you are a Godzilla fan then I am certain you will love seeing the king of monsters back on the big screen again, and will be thrilled with the action set pieces but don't go in expected something special from the human characters that populate this narrative that is so heavily fixed on the battling titans.

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars