Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter in my Godzilla Series Discussion Page! I know that it has been awhile. But, as promised I am finally going to talk about Godzilla King of the Monsters. This has been a long time coming and I have a lot to say. Ever since Godzilla 2014 was released I was eagerly anticipating this movie. Sure, I had Kong Skull Island and several other Godzilla movies in between to help Then after we got that first trailer my jaw hit the floor. I mean the trailers for this movie were absolutely breathtaking, incorporating classical music such as Claire De Lune and they even included somewhere over the rainbow. Pairing classical music with giant monsters is an absolutely genius and beautiful combination and only further fueled my hype for this film. Then I finally saw the film and I just have to say right away that I love this movie. From start to finish this is a fantastic Godzilla movie. It's clear that director Mike Dougherty absolutely loves Godzilla. The love and passion behind this movie are on full fledged display here. This is a movie made for hardcore Godzilla fans. It is filled with so many references that it requires multiple viewings to catch them all. I watched this movie over 20 times this year alone and I see myself getting several more viewings in this year before it ends. I was very happy with this movie. So with that said lets dive into the plot. Talk some pros, cons, the monsters etc. You name it.

Plot:
I just went ahead and copied the official synopsis from Legendary and WB. It was much easier to do. "Following the global success of "Godzilla" and "Kong: Skull Island" comes the next chapter in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' cinematic MonsterVerse, an epic action adventure that pits Godzilla against some of the most popular monsters in pop culture history. The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance." Oh and you also have a device known as the Orca that can communicate with the Titans by analyzing their bioacoustics. There are also ecoterrorists in the movie too.

The Good:
There is so much that is good in this movie that I had to categorize it into several subcategories. So lets get started.

The Visuals:
Ok first off, this movie has some absolutely breathtaking visuals. Every shot of the monsters is a work of art. Every time I watch the movie, I am in complete aww of how beautiful this movie looks. Every Monsterverse movie so far has had some breathtaking cinematography. But, in terms of the best shot I think this one takes the cake.

The Music:
Next up is the Music. Bear McCreary did the score for this movie and he delivered one of the best Godzilla soundtracks of all time. The way he managed to update/incorporate the classic Akira Ifukube themes for Mothra and Godzilla while also producing a lot of great new themes and original music. Hearing the classic Mothra and Godzilla themes on the big screen made me smile and cheer. I love his new theme for Rodan. The track Goodbye old friend nearly brought a tear to my eyes and lastly, they gave us a fantastic update to the Blue Oyster Cult song Godzilla! Making it the first time that song has ever appeared in a Godzilla movie. It's that damn good.

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The Monsters:

The big draw to this movie were the Titans themselves. Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah were all portrayed fantastically in this film. Plus, this movie even gave us some new original monsters that can appear in future Monsterverse films.

Mothra:

The Queen of the Monsters. Mothra was a creature of beauty. In this film she starts out in her larvae form before appearing in her adult form. Emerging from a waterfall in a very beautiful scene. Her new design is the most different of the group from her original counterpart. But, still clearly Mothra. She has her god rays that showcase her bioluminescence, she is able to go toe to toe with Rodan with her mantis like pincers and stinger. She also shares a special symbiotic relationship with Godzilla. (Something that has led to a lot of Godzilla x Mothra aka Mothzilla shipping artwork). Anyways, Now, normally when Mothra appears the twin fairies are close by. The movie did a nice job updating them and carefully weaving them into the movie. I didn't realize that they were the Mothra twins until my second viewing and I got very excited. I like coming to new realizations whenever I see movies. It makes repeat viewings more fun. Lastly, Mothra continues to show why she is the most noble monster when she sacrifices her life to save Godzilla. But, don't worry everyone. She managed to lay an egg and will be back someday. Hopefully in Godzilla vs Kong.

Rodan:

Rodan was done perfectly this time around. Well I do kind of wish they had his classic roar in there. But, other than that this Rodan was perfect. His design is great, and I love the magma that flows from his body why he flies. He was unpredictable and a real asshole. That's what I love about him. I think that my favorite action sequence in the film was when Rodan first appears. It is shot in the day. Rodan wipes out an entire city with ease. There is some breathtaking cinematography and you really get a feel for Rodan's personality. I especially love the part when Rodan is chasing the planes and smirks before doing a barrel roll to take down the planes. It's great.

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After taking down the fighter jets Rodan comes face to face with Ghidorah and although he puts up a good fight Ghidorah kicks his ass and Rodan submits to him as the new alpha. Afterwards Rodan basically becomes Ghidorah's lackey doing his bidding. He knows he can't beat Ghidorah. So he is going to do what he can to survive. At the end of the film he battles Mothra and puts up a good fight. But, ends up getting stabbed by Mothra's stinger.

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Not going to lie I did laugh a bit when Rodan fell. Once Godzilla defeats Ghidorah and becomes the new Alpha Rodan shows up and while it looks like he is going to challenge Godzilla. He is given this dirty look from Godzilla and Rodan is like "we cool bro"
and becomes the first titan to bow to Godzilla. Knowing that he is outmatched by the king. As a big Rodan fan I was very happy with the way he was in this movie. He was the wildcard of the movie and it made for some great entertainment because you never knew where his allegiance lies.

Ghidorah:

I'm just going to come out and say it. This was the best version of King Ghidorah of all time. No questions asked. From a design standpoint he looked perfect. I love the fact that each of his heads had their own personality. The middle head is the leader, the right head is the most focused and the left head (named Kevin) was well kind of the dumb/curious one. Watching the 3 heads was like watching 3 brothers bicker with one another. It was great. Ghidorah moves the way that I always wanted to see him move. He walks on his wings and moves a lot like a snake. In terms of abilities he has a lot of them. He can fly, drain energy, he of course has his gravity beams, he creates his own storm systems with him when he travels, he can fire out the tips of his wings and he also can regenerate his cells. I was shocked in the theater when he grew back his head after getting it ripped off. The movie also establishes early on that Ghidorah and Godzilla had an ancient rivalry with one another that goes back thousands of years. The movie establishes that Ghidorah is an invasive species to planet earth meaning that he remains an alien which opens the door up to a lot of possibilities in the future. Ghidorah is the ultimate big bad. Think about all that Ghidorah does in this movie. He kicks Rodan's ass, he makes his alpha call to control all the titans destroying everything in his path. At one point he even drops Godzilla from the sky nearly killing him. He would have too if not for Mothra coming in to sacrifice herself so that Godzilla can get the strength he needs to achieve his burning form in order to stop him. Even his demise was pretty hardcore. Godzilla goes full nuclear pulse mode and destroys all of Ghidorah's body and then eats him. Godzilla didn't just want to beat Ghidorah. He wanted to humiliate him while doing so.

New Titans:
One thing that I appreciate about the Monsterverse is that they manage to incorporate old and new monsters to create this universe. In Godzilla 2014 we had the MUTOS and in Kong Skull Island we had the Skullcrawlers while in King of the Monsters there were cameos from several new Titans with others being mentioned. These Titans Include:

A New MUTO

Methuselah

Scylla

Behemoth

Out of all of them my favorite is Behemoth. I like the fact that we got a Mammalian Kaiju. Outside of Kong most of the Titans are either insect or reptile like. So, it is nice to see a mammalian monster on the big screen. Yes, the new titans don't appear much on screen, but I am happy to see that they exist and I look forward to seeing them appear in future Monsterverse movies.

Godzilla:

Finally, we have the big guy. The king of the monsters himself. Godzilla. The reason I made this Discussion page in the first place is because of how much I love Godzilla, and, in this movie, he is once again amazing. His design has been slightly tweaked from his 2014 appearance and on top of that he goes through his own heroes' journey throughout the film in his path to ascend to the throne and bring balance to the planet while also learning to once again coexist with humans. There's a lot of great Godzilla stuff in this movie. They got his personality down. From the way he moves and behaves. The CGI used to bring him to life helps to showcase a lot of the emotion in his face.

There are so many great Godzilla moments in this movie. When Godzilla first emerges from the arctic and you hear some of that Akira Ifukube music playing it gets you amped up. It made me cheer for sure. Then they fight and it is awesome. From the shots to Ghidorah dodging the atomic breath and then firing his gravity beams. It is all great stuff.
But, the most powerful scene in the movie has got to be "Goodbye Old Friend" when Dr. Serizawa must sacrifice himself to save Godzilla. After Godzilla was hurt by the Oxygen Destroyer Serizawa and Monarch travel into the hollow earth and try to revive him when they end up in Godzilla's underwater lair. This is the first time we got to see Godzilla's lair in a movie. We also learn about the existence of an ancient civilization where man and Monster once lived in harmony with the titans. It is a wonderful scene that got me choked up the first time I saw it. In terms of human drama, it is the strongest part of the film by far. Giving us a beautiful moment between man and monster. It was also a nice role reversal from the 1954 film because instead of Serizawa sacrificing himself to kill Godzilla. This time he is sacrificing himself to save Godzilla. The journey has now come full circle.

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After Serizawa's sacrifice we see Godzilla reemerges from the ocean fully charged with his classic theme blasting in all its glory for the first time. There is also a nice moment where Godzilla comes face to face with the other Monarch members and they have a stare down. Godzilla could have killed them. But he chooses not to. Instead electing to swim away to Boston in pursuit of Ghidorah.

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Then Godzilla emerges in Boston in epic fashion. We get a great final battle that ends with Godzilla entering his burning form. Which as fans know first appeared in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. It was an epic moment, that I honestly can't believe I got to see in an American Godzilla movie.

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Finally, in one last glorious moment of the movie after finally defeating King Ghidorah all the Titans show up in Boston and start bowing to Godzilla and the movie ends on one final glorious shot that ends the movie on an epic high note with Godzilla having become the true King of the Monsters.

Easter Eggs:

There are so many Easter eggs in this movie. It is impossible to catch all of them in one viewing. Hell, I'm still finding out new ones whenever I see them. There are nods to previous Godzilla films. You see the Oxygen Destroyer appear. The credits tease monsters such as Mechagodzilla and Biollante. Hell, there is even an Easter egg for Raymond Burr's character Steve Martin from the original Godzilla King of the Monsters. I even caught references to other movies such as the Thing and even the movie Jaws. The device that Monarch uses to communicate with the Titans is called the Orca which is a reference to the ship that the three main characters from Jaws were on when they hunted the shark. I really dug all these references and it was fun for me at least to go back and point them out on repeat viewings.

The Monsterverse:

There is a lot of world building in this movie. More so than the other 2 Monsterverse movies. Not only does this movie have to follow up the previous entries in the Monsterverse. But it also sets up the next entry in Godzilla vs. Kong. It is a lot to juggle. But thankfully the movie does a good job with it. It expands on the mythology and opens the doors up for the future of the universe. There are the end credits that not only are filled with some great Easter eggs and if you pause the movie there is some redacted text that tells its own story. Finally, the credits also give us hints of Godzilla vs Kong and what is to come with that movie.

There is even a post credit scene that has Alan Jonah purchasing the head of King Ghidorah which I'm certain will either lead to a Ghidorah resurrection or the creation of a new monster. I'm not entirely sure. Anything is possible. But all I know is that I am excited to see all the possibilities that come from this.

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The Bad:
Now, as much as I love this movie there are some parts that could have used some improvement. The first time I saw this movie I felt like the pacing was really rushed. The movie has so much happening that it really could have benefited a little by slowing down in the early part of the film. Next  issue I have is that the human characters could use some more work and development. There are just too many characters to follow that some end up getting lost in the shuffle. None of the acting is bad per say. In fact, I think that it is fine all around. I just think that some of the characters just end up getting lost in the movie. For instance, Charles Dance's Alan Jonah, I felt was completely underutilized. I wanted to get to spend more time with his character. Learn more about how he came to be. He kind of disappears right before the Boston fight. You probably could have cut some of these other people out and make Jonah more of the focus. Other minor issues that I have are that I feel like the Rodan vs. Ghidorah fight was a bit short and that we could have gotten perhaps some day battles. I also wish that they would have throttled back a bit on Mark Russel being able to seemingly do everything. He just sort of comes in and tells everyone what to do and always is the one who seems to solve all the problems. If they just throttled him back a bit, then I think it would be fine. It isn't the actor's fault. I think Kyle Chandler is a good actor. I just wish he wasn't so much of a Gary Stu. But, other than really that I was very satisfied with the movie.

Final Thoughts:
Whew that was a lot of writing lol. I feel like I got my thoughts out pretty clear this time around. I'm sure that there are more parts that I could talk about. But I feel like I covered all that I waned to say. In conclusion Godzilla King of the Monsters is a fantastic Godzilla movie. It is clear that the people who made it love Godzilla and show the franchise all the respect in the world. There's just so much passion oozing through every frame that I commend the film makers for what they have accomplished here. I'm just so happy this movie exists the way it does and I'm looking forward to what the future of the Monsterverse has to offer and with that said the time has finally come for me to wrap this up. I want to thank you all for your patience and for reading this. Please be sure to let me know your thoughts on this movie down below so that we can continue to discuss it further and as always thank you all for reading this and I hope that you all have a wonderful day! Go Go Godzilla!

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