Written By: Dan Geer

Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) was a valiant effort to revive the famous Kaiju as an American studio production, and it by far exceeded what Roland Emmerich did with the genre back in the late 90s. While Emmerich’s take veered far too much from the source material, Edwards really brought it back home by bringing the monster back to resembling the classic Godzilla of old (instead of a giant iguana), and honoring the spirit of what Toho did for the Japanese market for decades by having Godzilla stay true to its roots in terms of story and character, and giving it the top-notch special effects and story treatment the lovable giant monster had always deserved.

Sure, Edwards only had so much he could work with on the limited budget he was given, which lead the story to be crafted in such a way where there was tremendous buildup to the appearance of Godzilla, focusing much more on the human characters in the interim. Of course, this upset some fans since the famed monster wasn’t on screen as much as they had hoped he would be (although when he was, it was spectacular to say the least). However, fans should be grateful, because this paved the way for this year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters to really bring on the mayhem they were expecting with that first film, showing not only Godzilla much more, but other classic Kaiju from past Toho films as well. Director Michael Dougherty shows he knows the genre, and executes it with class.

Make no mistake – Doughtery’s film is a direct sequel to the 2014 Godzilla film, and not a reboot of any kind. It immediately starts off five years ago during Godzilla’s epic “night on the town” in San Francisco, introducing us to another family trying to survive those same events. Fast forward to the present, we then learn that their son was lost during the incident, leaving only Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), her estranged husband Mark (Kyle Chandler), and their daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) behind in a world now made very aware of the fact that they are no longer the dominant species on this planet.

After living through this experience, Dr. Russell believes that, through a device called the ORCA she co-created with Mark, she can awaken and control these titans of ancient history to restore balance to a world devastated by the sins and wars of mankind. Her hope is that we can live side by side with the Kaiju after they restore order, but Mark feels much differently and just wants the beasts destroyed. Of course, when her plan backfires after she and her daughter are kidnapped by an eco-terrorist (Charles Dance) who wants the device for more sinister purposes, the organization Monarch (still kicking around and butting heads with the military after the events of the last film) enlists the reluctant Mark Russell to help retrieve the ORCA from Emma so that they can summon Godzilla to destroy King Ghidorah, a three-headed alien dragon menace that has risen from dormancy as well as other titans that threaten our extinction.

This film is a work of art. From a special effects standpoint, this is one of the most beautiful giant monster films this writer has ever laid his eyes upon (the bigger budget this time around definitely shows). The scale of this is immense, and the only way to truly experience this is on the big screen with top-notch surround sound. Every monster fight completely fulfills every fan’s dreams. They will lose their minds over seeing this film’s interpretation of Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan, etc., remembering this film for decades to come. Believe me, this is the American-made Godzilla film that finally does it all, and does it right.

Not only do the characters of King of the Monsters set out to restore balance to planet Earth, but the story actually achieves a better balance between the human characters and the monsters than Edwards’ 2014 film. Again, Edwards probably did the very best he could given what he had to work with (although Bryan Cranston’s character should’ve never been killed off so early in the film), but Dougherty’s film is really able to avoid the epic build up, given the fact that the world was already set up in the first film. And even though we have much more screen time for the monster battles in this film that leave us breathless, he still manages to not forget the human aspect of all of this along the way, creating strong (and even funny) characters we care about that play a vital part in the story.

Aside from the fact that this is a movie about giant monsters, it never forgets to make sure the audience knows to not take this thing too seriously and have fun, by keeping the human element in tact with both drama and humor, and not letting it overshadow what we all came to see a Godzilla movie for in the first place. While human characters have a big role in this, they’re not nearly as big as Godzilla himself, and the giant fights that ensue. Godzilla > Humans = Balance.

Every true fan of Godzilla should be ecstatic and grateful that this film exists, and will probably suffer facial pains from smiling ear to ear for two hours straight. Not only does this film provide delights that meet fan expectation for Kaiju fights, but it also gives us plenty of Easter Eggs to look for throughout (yes, there’s even a wink and a nod to the Mothra Shobijin twins here), and sets up next year’s Godzilla vs. Kong quite well. Also, just as in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, be sure to stay until after the end credits.

If any person thinks this film is anything less than good popcorn fun (if not a monster masterpiece), I hesitate to say they are true fans of the genre. Maybe they are, but I just don’t see it. This movie worked on all levels, for what kind of movie this is. Don’t take it too seriously. It’s Godzilla, folks, and it is far better than audiences should ever expect this kind of film to be.

Rating:  (out of four).