Godzilla King of the Monsters movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) (4K Ultra HD)

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours, 12 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

“Long live the king!” This is a sequel to the 2014 Godzilla (2014) and it even has reference to the 2017 Kong: Skull Island . A stand-off featuring Godzilla and King Kong is currently being filmed and will be released in 2020. Are three movies enough to call this a Monster Cinematic Universe?

This movie is receiving mixed reviews. Some say it’s the greatest Godzilla movie ever while others have been extremely critical of it, saying it feels like the creators just created a bunch of fight sequences and then tried to build a plot around them. I’m certainly no expert on the legends of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) (4K Ultra HD) but I got a kick out of it. If you want to see monsters battle each other, you won’t be disappointed.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some profanity, most of it by a teenage girl. 2 F-bombs and an obscene hand gesture.
Talk of monsters mating
Violence – mostly monster-on-monster fighting
LOTS of destruction and explosions
A pretty high body count, although bloodless
Talk of a son who died in the last movie’s destruction

THEMES:

Good vs. Evil
People doing bad things with good intentions, and good people doing bad things
Strength
Redemption
The value of humanity
Environmentalism and co-existence
Sacrifice

THINGS I LIKED:

The monster sequences are stunning. They look amazing. You get to see a LOT of the Titans. Yay. One of the criticisms of the 2014 Godzilla movie was that there were only 12 minutes of screentime for Godzilla. The amount of time Godzilla is on the screen feels like great respect to the fans.
The cast includes is led by Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights, Vera Farmiga (The Commuter), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things),Ken Watanabe (Inception), and Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
I get a kick out of Bradley Whitford. This is not his finest work, but he provides the comic relief and is entertaining.
Those who are experiencing withdrawal pains from Game of Thrones: Season 8 will love the dragon-looking monster in this movie called Ghidorah. You’ll also enjoy seeing Charles Dance.
Because I’m a twin, I loved the twin mythology in the story!
Mothra was beautiful and deadly at the same time. I thought it was cool that Mothra’s eye-spots on its wings were designed to look like Godzilla’s eyes to show the symbiotic connection between the two monsters.
Stay in your theater seats for an end-credit scene. It’s a bit weak, but still…

Check out this movie trailer that already has over 17 million views!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

This movie takes itself way too seriously. There is some humor, but not nearly enough for my taste.
There aren’t enough wide angle fight scenes. Most of the fights show close-up action.
Lots of shaky cam to illustrate heavy movements in the space where people are. That always makes me so dizzy.
The people seem to only exist to provide exposition in scenes and there is a lot of time spent looking at computer screens in command centers or cockpits.
Kyle Chandler whispers a lot in this movie. He also seems to have all of the answers and know how to do everything. For no apparent reason, everyone seems to do what he says.
Lots of close-ups of people looking amazed or horrified. ha ha
It seemed like the writer were in such a hurry to get the monsters out.
A bit more humor would have been nice.
It takes itself too seriously.
The teenager drove me nuts with all of her flip-flopping between the parents and constant screaming.
The bowing at the end was super hokey. I won’t say anything more. No spoiler.
Some of the lines are super cheesy. Are they supposed to be?

FUNNY LINES:

“Mother of God!” – soldier “She had nothing to do with this.” – Jonah Alan (Charles Dance)
“I would still like to have kids one day, preferably without flippers.” – Dr. Rick Stanton (Bradley Whitford)
“Is it just me or has he been working out?” – Sam Coleman (Thomas Middleditch)
“Serizawa’s got that lizard juiced.” – Dr. Rick Stanton
“In about 12 minutes, it’s going to be a bad day to be a Redsox fan.” – Dr. Rick Stanton

INTERESTING LINES:

“I admire all forms of life.” – Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe)
“We are the infection.” – Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga)
“Slaying dragons is a Western concept. In the East, they’re sacred. Divine creatures brought wisdom, strength, even redemption.” – Dr. Ilene Chen (Ziyi Zhang)
“Sometimes the only way to heal our wounds is to make peace with the demons who created them.” Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
“There are some things beyond our understanding, Mark. We must accept them and learn from them because moments of crisis are also potential moments of fate.” – Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
“We will either come together or fall apart.” – Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
“Nature always has a way of balancing itself. The only question is “With what?” – Dr. Ishiro Serizawa

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

Godzilla (2014)