5 years ago in 2014, Godzilla came back to the big screen in a smart, enjoyable thriller that surpassed all my expectations.
This summer sees the legendary, titan monster back for more in GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS, a movie that is bigger, louder and much dumber than its predecessor.
In the past half decade, a government agency has overseen Godzilla, tracking him as he's remained out of sight after saving the planet.
Vera Farmiga is a scientist who thinks she's found a way to control the monster and Kyle Chandler is good as her husband, whose had enough of the monsters and has retired to the wild to track wolves. You have to give him credit for resorting back to creatures his own size.
Their daughter is caught in the middle and played by Millie Bobbie Brown (Stranger Things) in an annoying performance that feels a lot like Kristy McNicol in a 70's Afterschool Special.
It's not really her fault. The script has both her and her mother making decisions that make virtually no sense, rendering them cardboard characters against the admittedly colorful background.
Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) directed the last Godzilla film with intelligence and style, making you feel for the people in it. It was a surprisingly good film. He must have read the script and passed on this one (wisely). He's been replaced by Michael Dougherty in his first big budget film. Oops.
There are a few moments that rise above, including some nice references to "Aliens" when the team arrives in Antarctica. Some of the monsters are undeniably cool and a hell of a lot of fun to look at, but after awhile...meh.
This is one of the loudest movies I've ever seen. Anyone that knows me, KNOWS I love loud. if I cant feel a movie, I'm not watching it.
But after an hour or so, it's like Phil Spector is in the control room, throwing up a wall of noise so deafening that your senses just grow numb.
Charles Dance (Alien 3, Game of Thrones) has some good moments as our villain, Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) provides well timed comic relief, but Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) is completely wasted, as are O'Shea Jackson Jr. and David Strathairn.
The three-headed King Ghidorah is pretty awesome, but when a major plot device seems way too similar to Slim Whitman records in "Mars Attacks" and the fate of the world is put on hold for personal problems, the stupidity grows as loud as the battle grunts of all SEVENTEEN monsters. You read that right, 17 monsters. Too much, too dumb.
I love a good B movie, but alas, GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS only gets a C-.
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