The next entry into Legendary & WB’s Godzilla franchise is here and this time there’s tons of kaiju to gawk at. As the aforementioned studios prepare for their next major entry in Godzilla vs Kong for next year, here in ‘King of Monsters’ the film acts as a world building device for WB’s Godzillaverse and it does so fairly well.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 kaiju film and the sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, it is produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is currently in theaters now. 

Editor’s Note: This review contains near complete to complete spoilers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

It’s been five years Warner Bros. initial efforts to bring back Godzilla to the west (with Japan having their own attempt around the same time). In the sequel they want to go bigger, stronger, and better. For the most part ‘King of the Monsters’ does just that. But with the end game for the proposed trilogy with King Kong the former does have some issues. 

THE GOOD: If you were left disappointed in the lack of kaiju action from 2014’s Godzilla then the good news is Legendary had you covered this time around. With some form of giant monster scenery every twenty or so minutes the spectacle that most older Godzilla fans know the franchise to be comes through on that end. Featuring classic creatures such as Mothra, Ghidorah, and Rodan Godzilla: King of the Monsters throws as much monster screen time as you can handle within it’s 2+ hour run time. The CG effects editors did a damn fine job of showcasing the giants and creating each with a modernized look that doesn’t border too much on the ridiculous like most often the case with some CG-filled remakes. 

If there’s one thing Godzilla: King of the Monsters does excellent it’s the world building Legendary has laid out for the universe. We get some decent and detailed history on the monsters, their backgrounds, where they come from, etc. And while he’s only present in the film as a sort of “hey remember this?” bit with sprinkled in snippets there is some foundation in place for Kong’s existence within the Godzillaverse. With that being said the writers were careful to let us know that this was ultimately Godzilla’s film. so any outside forces are very limited in use. I enjoyed the writers using nods instead of blowing their wads before we get the sequel.

THE BAD: Odd scene cuts during monster battles take away from the action sequences. Most of the human characters end up being annoying and just frustrating at the end of the film. For example, Vera Farmiga’s character sacrificing herself for her family never feels earned because she comes off as a complete and total unlikable heel throughout the entirety of the film.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Godzilla: King of the Monsters while a nice improvement on 2014’s iffy initial entry still finds it’s own struggles with human characters, as far as the leads are concerned feeling a bit nonsensical. The monster fights are fun (until the camera randomly cuts), and the story-driven world crafted for Godzilla and his fellow kaiju leaves room for potential to a massive universe well beyond the upcoming fight with Kong. Otaku Dome gives Godzilla: King of the Monsters a 75 out of 100.