Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Dir Michael Dougherty, 2h 12m)

There are few characters as iconic as Godzilla. Two syllables that summon up everything from a terrifying manifestation of the psyche of a battered Japan still reeling from nuclear attack let loose across Tokyo, to an enjoyably cheesy run of ever more heroic bouts against a rogue's gallery of rivals in the 60s and 70s, before a return to villainy in the 1980s and 90s, and a more nuanced anti-hero in the late 90 and early 2000s. No creature, no character, with the possible exception of James Bond, has enjoyed such a career, nor acted as a zeitgeist of his native Japan as much as this 65-year old star of over thirty films.

Overseas, however, Godzilla has enjoyed less of a reign-aside from poorly dubbed pale imitations of the Japanese originals, most glaringly the addition of Raymond Burr as a palatable audience surrogate in the recut King of the Monsters (1956), and Godzilla 1985, with Burr returning to his role, Godzilla has endured the cack-handed Emmerich (1998) and saw a return to form in the enjoyable if overly-human focused Godzilla (2014), the start of Legendary's ongoing MonsterVerse. Its sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters seems, at third time of asking, to have nailed the colossal king of tokusatsu (Japanese special effects movies, essentially started by the 1954 original), once and for all in a spectacle where familiar friends and foes do battle, in a thunderous showdown that has something for fans and newcomers alike.

Wasting no time in introducing Godzilla himself, we begin with a recap of San Francisco's destruction from the previous film, and introducing our key characters for this film, the Russells: Mark, played by Kyle Chandler, a animal behaviourologist, his former wife Emma, (Vera Farmiga), a bio-acoustics expert, who has built an invaluable tool to communicate and placate the dozen or so titans that cover the planet, and their daughter  Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) who finds herself in the middle of the titanic battle between both colossal monsters, and the forces that aim to control them.

When Emma and Madison are kidnapped by Alan Jonah (an enjoyably hammy Charles Dance), a soldier turned ecoterrorist, and just as compelling and calculating as the monsters he unleashes, so he, with an unexpected ally, attempts to bring the world back into balance, using the menagerie of monsters to destroy and remake the world as he sees fit. However, when the terrifying Monster Zero, an ancient rival of Godzilla is set loose, gathering the other monsters across the world to him as their "Alpha", so protecting the world falls upon the colossal shoulders of Godzilla, with the monster studying organisation, Monarch following and aiding him.

The undoubted masterstroke of this whole film is being as close as damnit to a western Toho Godzilla film, from the appearance of classic villains, the three headed, lightning spewing, dragonish Ghidorah and the pteradon-like Rodan, and classic ally, Mothra, all realised, in a hightech version of the man-in-rubber-suit classics, via motion capture, to the use of classic Akira Ifukube cues, whose reimagingings by Bear McCreary are spectacular, and perfectly timed throughout the film. But perhaps, more than that, King of the Monsters captures the soul of what makes the Japanese originals work.

Part of this is, to be blunt, down to the film's focus. For all Gareth Edwards' skill in revitalising and reintroducing us to him, Godzilla'14  features too many humans and not enough monsters-it is, without doubt, the film's fatal flaw, typified in the sudden cutaways to boring overwrought character nothingnesses the moment a monster fight gets good. King of the Monsters has no such issue-whilst King of the Monsters is altogether more B-Movieish that Edwards' rendition was, it focuses on Godzilla, on what Godzilla is doing, be it fighting or merely moving about-the plot is driven by and focuses entirely upon, all two hundred plus feet of him. Whilst there are, of course, character arcs for his human co-stars, they are entirely dependent, with the possible exception of Dance's Jonah, on Godzilla emerging victorious, from Madison's survival and growth as a young woman to the reunion of Mark and Emma, to the continued survival of humanity.

Moreover it perfectly captures the tried and tested formula of Godzilla, and indeed, all dai-kaiji (giant monster) adventures-in a strange way, one cannot help but compare Godzilla's many outings to colossal scale versions of the Rocky series-a foe or foes for Godzilla (and his allies) are introduced, usually terrorising humanity and destroying large amounts of Tokyo (and/or other cities), Godzilla fights them, loses, gains new powers, fights and then defeats them-Ghidorah and his ilk, quite literally, are dragons for Godzilla to best and slay. Doughtery gets this perfectly, understands what makes Godzilla Godzilla, understands what underpins his longevity-this film loves its monsters and places them pride of place as not mere special effects but stars.

We see this from the very beginning to the very last frame, from its tokusatsu style wrestling matches where Godzilla and Monster Zero crash across skylines, to its tenderness in a scene where one of our human heroes finally come face to face with an injured Godzilla, and for a moment, there is such a sense of wonder, the same wonder that underpins Jurassic Park and so many imitators, where a hand stretches out and-for a moment-touches our downed hero. There is such care in this film, from sound effects to music, to the movement and personalities of its four monsters, in making this as feel as Godzilla as possible.

The other thing that this film neatly captures is the spirit of Godzilla's stories-of, in the background, these battles representing something more, from the original's fiercely anti-nuclear message, reflected in Hideaki Anno's horrifying Shin Godzilla, made in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and reactor leak, to fears about pollution (Hedorah), interfering with nature (many, but best seen in Biolante), and even Japanese nationalism (supported in VS King Ghidorah (1991), and critiqued in GMK (2001)). King of the Monsters is no different, with a strong environmental message, of humanity having bespoiled the world, and the Titans, including Godzilla, reawoken to bring the world back into balance-this comes after the messy plot of Godzilla'14 which only vaguely felt like anything other than a good monster romp, and Godzilla'98 managed to be both anti-nuclear and pro-American, and honestly, is as much a part of what makes Godzilla, as the titanic monster battle themselves.

All that is added is spectacle, from memorable introductions of all four, with Godzilla getting a spine-tingling suspenseful "threat display", to Monster Zero as a huge, and instantly recognisable silhouette, frozen in ice, and later unleashed to appear from the Antarctic ice, heads first, to the scale and majesty of the monster battles, and the destruction they wreak. But among the carnage are moments of beauty, and King of the Monsters may have some of the most beautiful shots in a major blockbuster since 2017's The Last Jedi, and it is heartening that the film never falls back upon the lunk-headedness of disaster movies, allows itself to breathe occasionally.


Godzilla's 65th year is here, and with it, one of his best outings yet. This, in short, is the Godzilla film that so many fans, and, one can only imagine, many film goers have dreamed of-a nigh perfect melding of the soul of Godzilla, with impressive, and spellbinding visuals, of capturing what made these films so charming, despite their technical limitations, and giving Godzilla and his allies and enemies the visual spendor they deserve. Never has Godzilla looked this good, never has he felt more alive. Not since Pacific Rim have huge creatures beating twelve rounds out of each other felt so bloody fun, nor captured what we love so far about the monsters of cinema.

We root for him, cheer him on. Go Go Godzilla! We, like any plucky underdog, want him to win, want him to best his adversary, and never have the stakes felt higher, never has he faced a foe like this. And yet, when he rises from the ashes, dusts himself down, and looks out on the world he rules, we rise with him, this battered sextgenarian titan of cinema, and revel in his victory. All hail the king. Long live the king.

Rating: Highly Recommended.