Tssk, tssk, tssk. Godzilla, Godzilla. Why do you always break my heart? This is one of the most epic creations in movie history. Godzilla, like King Kong, and the dinosaurs for the Jurassic Park movies, are incredible beasts that deserve to be brought to life in the most magnificent ways on the big screen. The Jurassic Park franchise, however, is the only franchise who seems to handle the story surrounding these ancient creatures in an enjoyable way.
Five years ago my family and I went to see Godzilla. We were royally disappointed. I mean just absolutely livid at how terrible the film was. I didn’t think I would fall for the trap again. And then, with every special IMAX viewing of Godzilla: King of the Monsters I wanted to see the movie more and more. I saw the 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes. I ignored it. I figured people hated Transformers: Age of Extinction (it has an 18% Rotten Tomatoes score) but I LOVED it. I loved it so much I went and saw it three times at the movie theaters. Maybe this film would be better than the critics said it was. It wasn’t.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is an impressive spectacle no doubt that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible but unfortunately no matter how AMAZING the action scenes can be at times it wasn’t able to outweigh the dreadfully boring, terribly corny, super annoying storyline surrounding the humans.
Unnecessary family drama riddles the movie all the way until the film’s conclusion, making for an exasperating experience.
Milly Bobby Brown’s character, Maddison, is the invincible teenager who can stand in the middle of a raging battle between Godzilla and King Ghidorah without dying. *rolling my eyes*
In fact, I don’t know how many instances there were where the main characters of the film would just stand around basically beneath the monsters’ feet watching the fighting while everything around them is being blown up or destroyed. It was truly ridiculous.
And let me tell you, the death scenes for a couple of characters that I won’t mention because this is a spoiler-free review were way too drawn out. I get it. Emotional depth to a movie is key to making a good film. But these characters aren’t like Tony Stark. When he had his long, drawn-out, emotional death and funeral in Avengers: Endgame we were crying because we had watched his character evolve over eleven years. We didn’t care about these characters in Godzilla: King of the Monsters so why were they trying so hard to make us care?
My Conclusion of the Film
I went to see this movie on the biggest, loudest format; IMAX. And it was definitely LOUD. Geez, I still have a headache from the eye-widening action scenes. I honestly wish I could say I had one of the best movie experiences in my life but unfortunately Godzilla has failed again. Will I be tricked again and drag myself to see Godzilla vs. King Kong next year only to be disappointed once more? I hope not. Maybe I’ve finally learned my lesson. 😒
I’m giving this 81 out of 100 and 3 out of 5 stars. The score would be lower if the action wasn’t so impressive. Now I will say, it was better than Godzilla, which is a relief, but I definitely will not be watching it a second time.
(Two years later, not only have I seen the movie several times since on HBO but I will definitely be watching Godzilla vs. Kong…just not in theaters.)
I thank you for reading and I hope you have an amazing day.
Annlyel Online 
Yeah. I liked it for what it was, but it wasn’t exactly the deepest movie. In some ways though, most Godzilla movies have always been that way, so it kind of requires grading on a curve. They’re about the spectacular monster battles, and the humans are just there to be plastic mannequins reacting to what’s going on. Jurassic Park does probably do it better, for the most part, but it is what it is. I will admit to looking forward to Godzilla v Kong some time next week, but I’m not expecting it to be a great top to bottom movie. Call it damning with faint expectations, but if it’s even as good as Rise of Skywalker I’ll be ok with it. I just expect more out of Star Wars than I do out of Godzilla from a story depth standpoint.
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Oh, the Godzilla vs. Kong showdown will surely not disappoint.
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I saw this in 4DX and it was absolutely one of the best 4DX experiences ever. When Rodan raided that village and created the hurricane, the wind and water and shaking made you feel like you were in the middle of it. I feel like the humans were too in control in the movie like you said, but the monsters had enough time to shine and create some impressive scenes of awe and dread. Certain shots I’ll never forget, like the one where King Ghidorah grows his missing head back. Ultimately, I think this movie was more clever than Godzilla vs. Kong. I wish the director had been able to continue on to do that one.
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Exactly! I’ve seen this movie about four times all the way through but the Rodan-village sequence is absolutely FANTASTIC! I’ve seen that scene a bunch of times alone and get goosebumps every time.
I watched the film in IMAX and I remember being absolutely blown away by the massiveness of Rodan. And then when King Ghidorah shows up with all of that lightning?! It’s incredible how they really made the monsters feel like monsters in that movie.
And the fact that Godzilla beat King Ghidorah was the reason why I knew Godzilla was going to defeat Kong easily.
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Have you heard of 4DX theaters? There are a couple at Regal in my area. They’re not too common, but worth a try if you can get to one. I’m hearing Shang-Chi is really good in 4DX, again, it seems, because there are scenes with a lot of wind and water. I haven’t seen it yet, but am going to try and check it out there before it leaves premium screens.
The director on King of the Monsters had previously done Krampus and Trick ‘R’ Treat. I saw Krampus, and I think both those horror movies have a reputation for putting more intelligence into their scripts than average. I feel like he put more thought into the plot of King of the Monsters than the next director did in K vs. G, where the connective tissue between the action scenes was more simplistic. It’s also undeniably clever how in the closing credits of KOTM he turns the villain of the movie into the hero, but still not sure I agree with his message there. XD
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I have. I almost went to a 4DX screening of Shang-Chi last week but chose to watch it in IMAX again instead.
I’m one of those people who love the massive sound, clarity, and the larger screen ratio.
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I used to see everything in IMAX, but I’m a 4DX convert now. But I’m also a 3D fan, which I realize not everybody is. And since IMAX has stopped using 3D, I was tempted away elsewhere. But if you haven’t tried 4DX, it would definitely be a great way to see a movie a second time and see how you like it. I do love getting rocked around in my seat. Favorite 4DX effect, getting spritzed with water when Thor “goes for the head” in Endgame.
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Yeesh. Lol, that’s cool.
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Haha, yeah that got a very audible reaction from the audience. Like a collective “eww” followed by laughter.
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