As many who know me already should know, I am a fan of all things Godzilla & giant monster related. I wrote an entire article on the accidental genius of the Showa Era Godzilla films (as seen here); I listen to Ifukebe’s music every day; OG Serizawa is one of my favorite characters of all time; My Discord PFP & name for a while was Jet Jaguar; ETC. So, when I first heard about Godzilla: King of The Monsters, and how it would be a re-interpretation of Ghidrah: The Three Headed Monster, you could guess that I was very excited.
For months on end, I absorbed as much new content I could; From Con panels, to interviews with Director Michael Dougherty, I ate it up. I was so committed to seeing this movie that I, along with two of my best friends, got off my bus at 3 PM, then fast-walked to the theatre to see the 3:20 showing. I then bought my ticket & Popcorn, then sat down to watch the movie. When it ended, I wasn’t that satisfied. In fact, when I left the theatre I was thoroughly disappointed. Sure, I had alotta fun watching some of my favorite monsters, but it still was lackluster. I can say it’s the single most fun disappointment I’ve ever experienced. Though before I complain, it’s only appropriate to first talk about the things I feel worked.
The Good
– Some of the cinematography is phenomenal, capturing the size & scale of the Kaiju. Most every step made by these Behemoths can be felt, and that was cool.
– Bear McCreary’s score is wonderfully composed, and a real treat for any Ifukube fan. If anyone walks away from this movie as MVP, it’s McCreary!
– Mothra is an absolute treat whenever she appears. I expect her to be the stand out for audiences new to the franchise.
– Ghidrah’s differing personalities for each head is an inspired choice, adding a sense of character which helps him stand-out.
– Serizawa’s Sacrifice scene is an absolute masterpiece, with the best piece of SFX in the entire film in my personal opinion.
Now that we’ve covered the good to great elements of the movie; It’s time to talk about the disappointing elements.
The Disappointing
The Disappointing– Some of the cinematography I felt was a bit dull or lazy
– The Sound-Mixing muffles alot of McCreary’s score, essential turning background noise at points.
– The Sound-Mixing muffles alot of McCreary’s score, essential turning background noise at points.
– Mothra, The Queen of the Monsters, gets barely any screen time, which robs her death scene of much of its power.
– The Characterization of the Monsters is lacking outside the Ghidrah department, with the other monsters having little to no real characterization, besides being pissed.
– The Human’s are given very little actual personality, besides Serizawa, who gets a little bit more characterization, though nothing much.
Other Personal Thoughts on King of The Monsters…
With a few tweaks, this movie would be so much better than it currently is. Keep in mind that I don’t hate the film, I just am disappointed that it wasn’t better. I’m not one of those guys who get angry at the film because of its lack of human’s, in fact, this film has a great balance of Kaiju & Human’s (screentime wise), the problem I have with the Humans is that they are not memorable. Say what you will about the Showa Era, but at times they had some memorable characters at points.
Honestly, I would’ve been fine if the Monster Characterization was better; because then we could have a movie where the Kaiju are able to show enough character to carry the movie themselves. People seem to think that movies need humans to be relatable, I beg to disagree. What a film needs is Character, as in personality and emotion. This film is lacking that, and that is what disappoints me the most.
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https://www.tohokingdom.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChH6zoUkmvV45v7Bf-HSKUQ
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