My Thoughts on the Monsterverse

Since the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, U.S. fans have begun to to heavily assess the Monsterverse considering we are one movie away from it coming to a likely conclusion.

Most of the assessments I’ve seen range from being lukewarm to not enjoying it much. While everyone has their own tastes, I find such a mostly negative response to be harsh and a bit puzzling. Harsh in that the Monsterverse is no different from most of what we’ve seen out of Toho in the past and considering, too, most fans dislike the philosophical trilogy of the anime Godzilla; where the main complaint was “not enough kaiju action.” The quality of the films, too, is really good when you consider the large body of work within the Godzilla franchise. Not everything is perfect, of course, but these are, arguably, some of the best-produced films the genre has seen to date. Puzzling, in that most of these films deliver on what most fans want: Kaiju action. Sure, Godzilla was a slow build-up to that, but it was a film in the vain of Jaws and Alien–two films that have big followings. I will always be dumbfounded why most fans aren’t embracing this universe.

Nevertheless, I think the Monsterverse has been a success. Not everything has been stellar, but, again, when compared to what we’ve gotten over the years, getting multiple, big budget Hollywood kaiju films should be something every single one of us should be beyond happy with. With kaiju being such a niche genre, I’m shocked we’ve gotten two films beyond Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island.

The films have looked good and realize the kaiju in a way that is respectful to their roots while giving them a bit of a face-lift at the same time. The acting is always ebbing and flowing from great to subpar, but, again, the genre has never been consistent with that either. Personally, I think the acting within these films is in the upper half of the genre.

Let’s look at the individual films thus far:

Godzilla

At the moment, my personal favorite of the series. Gareth Edwards delivered one of the more competent kaiju films in a while. He brought forth the slow build-up (something most fans dislike) that makes the finale entertaining and introducing unique, new kaiju in the MUTOs. Aaron Taylor Johnson’s acting isn’t the greatest, but the more I watch it, the more it comes off as being serviceable.

A lot of fans hate the fact Bryan Cranston was killed. No doubt, it left a whole in the movie (and maybe the franchise), but his death told me these filmmakers had cajones. No one was safe. So many moviegoers complain that movies play it safe with a lot of their characters and well-known actors. Yet, when they do, they complain like they did here. It’s too bad, because we now know that these filmmakers wouldn’t do such a thing again–which hurts a lot of potential emotional storytelling. The only exception to this is the death of Serizawa in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

The final battle is filmed well and the destruction satisfying. Seeing Godzilla in pain and exhausted during the battle connects us with our favorite reptilian kaiju.

Alexandre Desplat’s score may not be rousing, like we’ve been used to over the decades, but it’s appropriate for the film. Two of my favorite pieces come during the end: Where Ford is floating out to the Pacific and Godzilla’s triumphant march to the ocean to close out the movie.

It’s a really great movie that has become one of my favorites of the genre.

Final Grade: A

Kong: Skull Island

While excited to get a new Kong film, I was initially reserved as well thinking we were going to get, yet, another telling of the same Kong story. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

The retelling of Kong’s story is refreshing and breathes new life into a character who, by this point, should have a larger mythos. Setting the film in the 1970s was a good touch and helps to move things in a more appropriate direction with Kong as we get ready for Godzilla vs. Kong.

The cast is most likely going to be the best assembled of the Monsterverse. We have great talent in the likes of John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, Tom Hiddleston, and Brie Larson.

The layout of Skull Island continues the tradition of constructing an island that time has forgotten while also incorporating a menagerie of strange beasts. One nitpick: I walk away thinking this Skull Island is more limited in its animal diversity. Although nowhere near is pathetic as 1976’s King Kong, there were plenty of missed opportunities to show-off the islands inhabitants more; perhaps, include a battle between Kong and another creature.

Speaking of creatures, the new Skullcrawlers are amazing! They are wonderfully weird, yet absolutely menacing. The generations-long conflict between Kongs and the Skullcrawlers is interesting and something I wish we would have been able to see more of in something like an extensive flashback. The prequel graphic novel, though, does cover this part more extensively.

It’s fun, well-told story that I have a few nitpicks with, but it’s a solid film as well.

Final Grade: A

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Out of the films, thus far, I’m most disappointed in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Michael Dougherty threw out the window the artistic aspects that made Godzilla unique and other storytelling devices that would’ve taken the series in a more original direction as well.

As it stands, the movie is nothing more than a giant pandering film to long-time fans who complained that the 2014 film wasn’t “Godzilla enough.” Everything from the out-of-nowhere mention of the Oxygen Destroyer, to the redoing of Godzilla’s dorsal spines (while beautiful, it wasn’t necessary), to the film’s soundtrack, to the handling of the story itself, it was as if Dougherty saw what the fans had been saying about Godzilla over the previous five years and said, “Here you go! It’s the same thing you’ve watched numerous times over, but here it is! I am not going to take risks for fear of being smeared like Edwards, so here is more of a Toho-esque film.” There are few original ideas here, and that’s the most disappointing aspect of this film. Fans, too, are always clamoring for new ideas in the franchise, and when they’re faced with something like Godzilla, they complain they want more of the same. I don’t get it. The only way this franchise will endure the test of time is to do something new every so often (i.e. the animae trilogy). Not everything will work, but at least they tried.

I must admit, however, despite my numerous issues with the movie, it is entertaining and includes my favorite incarnation of King Ghidorah to date.

The kaiju continue to look good here. Despite the pandering move to change Godzilla’s spines, he looks incredible. The look of Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah are my favorite. I will also say I find this version of Ghidorah to be the best yet. Not only does he look imposing, menacing, and merciless, he IS all of those. For the first time in its long career, Ghidorah is a badass. He doesn’t hike it out when things aren’t going his way. Even then, there are few moments when he isn’t losing, because he is so powerful. This was the Ghidorah I’ve long waited for!

The settings are beautiful and the battles fun and well-shot. The final battle in Boston is incredible, although I could’ve gone without Burning Godzilla (even though it was a nice surprise) as I saw it, again, as nothing more than a means to pander to longtime fans.

While Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a more Western take on Toho has done many times over in the past, it is a fun film to throw on and turn your brain off to enjoy for a couple of hours.

Final Grade: B-

In conclusion, the Monsterverse hasn’t been perfect, but it certainly has provided more kaiju content (the most important thing!) with some unique takes and a Hollywood budget and touch that Toho isn’t willing to take chances with. (Yes, I understand their way of budgeting films is completely different than Hollywood’s, but they’ve, on occasion, shown the willingness to throw a bit more money at some projects.) The Monsterverse, even if you truly don’t enjoy it, should be celebrated for bringing more kaiju content and bringing them to the big screen to Western audiences. The fandom will grow as a result and that’s another thing to celebrate. Each film has brought its own unique style and take on the subject matter and the genre is better off for it. They’ve provided us a badass Ghidorah, a cool Godzilla, larger settings with the ability to see consequences across the globe, and a remake of the clash between the genre’s biggest icons! I’ve enjoyed every entry and believe I’ll also enjoy Godzilla vs. Kong as well. It’s been a fun experiment that the genre is better off for and has been more enjoyable than anything Toho has churned out in years (not including the anime trilogy).

We also get more kaiju, and that, more than anything else, is why the Monsterverse has been so fun and successful in my opinion.