The most underrated film of the Monsterverse
How do we achieve the natural balance of order?
The world as we see is not only filled with us humans. Sure, there may be a lot of us all around the world with some fighting for their lives for survival while others fight against each other. Ultimately, we are some of the most conflicted creatures on this very planet. That however, had not stopped us from discovering something new about this world everyday. Just beyond our messy lives is an entirely new world filled with species of various types along with the wonders of life which seemed inanimate yet all the more lifelike. Plants may speak to us in ways which none understood yet only one could have felt it. Bacteria could harm or aid us in our daily lives. Creatures roaming the jungle would mind their own business as they too have a messy life like us. The creatures of the ocean would swim about their natural habitat. The world around us is vast and messy yet here we are looking at the beauty of it all. Who could deny penguins are not one of the cutest animals ever? Who could deny that Pandas are not cuddly? Who could deny that sharks are deadly?
Wait!
Sharks are deadly?
The preserverance of nature could actually kill us?
That is where the dark side of balance comes in. Not all creatures would ever be as wondrous as the other. Some may be deadlier than others. As humans, we would naturally fear such creatures to a point where we must kill them all. Sharks had been monsters in various movies so naturally our fear for this thing is cemented. It is obvious that something which brings harm to us should be killed or extinct right? If it does get extinct how would that destroy the natural balance of the ocean? So that brings us back to the start,how do we truly retain balance? Do we kill out of fear so we may have some peace or do we let the danger we know of to roam and only see its wonderful side? That is what Godzilla King of the Monster tackles on.
Godzilla King of the Monster was set to be one of the worst entries in the Monsterverse. It got so bad to a point that Legendary reiterated the entire franchise to just have Godzilla and Kong to be the protagonist instead of having a human story as seen in Godzilla VS Kong. However as I had seen the film,I do wonder why it had such hate? Why does this film which seemingly tackles a fascinating topic which no other film could do, have been hated by everyone? Well in this review, I would like to tackle on why this film is actually not bad at all and of course the controversial side of it. Naturally as a good dose of balance there were definitely issues I had so I think that will be interesting to get into as well.
Thematic Characters
To start off one of the biggest criticisms of the film resides on the characters being terrible. Now I get where this criticism may have come from, especially from the mother’s side. With that let’s start off with her.
The mother,Dr Emma Russel is a character who wants to retain the natural balance of order. For her ideal was that it was time for us to coexist with these Titans. From the very beginning we know she is very protective of this ideal. The opening shows her losing her son which causes her to be protective to her daughter. Unfortunately she does not know her protectiveness was too much. She did not agree that her daughter should be speaking to her dad as he has different ideals which may hurt her daughter’s feelings. She seemed like she was trying to protect her from getting hurt but was it truly the right thing? That is what makes her character interesting. The things she does may not seem right but you will still wonder was she truly right? Her ideals were nevermore in place when she was willing to sacrifice her own just to see if her machine works on Mothra.
Later on some bad guys came along and captured her or so we thought. It turns out she was working for the bad guys all along to reawaken all these Titans because Monarch would never release them. This again makes us wonder was she truly doing the right thing or had she fallen too deep into her own delusion? There even comes a point where she saw herself as being so right to a point where she made sure her daughter would not go with her father who came to rescue her. To make it worse her ideals ultimately risk the life of her ex-husband and yet she was still willing to let it all happen.
However, all her ideals would slowly change with the rise of Ghidorah. It called out to all these monsters to destroy everything instead of keeping order. Her witnessing the destruction caused by it was still not enough. She was thoroughly convinced that perhaps it was all part of the process. It was her daughter who had woken her up. The destruction which was single handedly caused by Emma was witnessed as an act of massacre by her daughter. She was the true monster now. Only then had she realised what she had done all this for. To create a better world which her son would have wanted. A world where humans no longer fear Titans. However the things she did only caused more pain and suffering,further deviating from the intention she had all those years ago. Losing a daughter would have meant that everything was for nothing.
Poetically her character ends with her saving humanity and helping the true king to defeat Ghidorah. This solidifies humans too have a place in the natural order and that she had pivoted the way for how humans would perceive Titans for a long time.
Her character makes us constantly wonder whether she truly has the right intentions? It makes her seem as if she were the devil and the angel but as balanced as the order should be that is what makes her so interesting. She has good intentions but being evil without knowing as if it were a balance of good and evil.
With that you have the father, Mark. Mark is in contrast with Emma. Unlike her, he hates Titans to a point where he wants to kill them all. His fear and hatred were rooted from the death of his son in the hands of Godzilla. This obviously made him to have a personal vendetta against Godzilla. So, what actually makes him special? Why is he not like the other heartless characters who only care to kill them? If Emma was a character who had a flaw she did not know of then Mark had a strength he never knew of; his heart.
Throughout the film it was his kindness which led to the most lives being saved. When he was brought on to the mission it was his idea to not have guns to aim at Godzilla. He knows that being threatened creates fear and fear causes us to act irrationally. By giving kindness, it was only then would one be comfortable. That is how the team discovered the rise of Ghidorah. It was his heart which led him to risk his life to save his daughter. It was also his heart which made him give up chasing her back just so he could go back and save the injured soldiers. Mark has a good heart and his change of heart to Godzilla seemed to solidify this. Godzilla was the one who had saved them from the attack on Mexico. It was Godzilla who sacrificed itself for humanity. So, does that mean Godzilla was still a monster? Maybe? Perhaps that was why he was willing to dump his mission to save his daughter to save Godzilla instead. Godzilla brought hope to the destruction caused and even hope to save his daughter. He saw how the most evil thing in the world could actually be good. He sees that perhaps there is good in even the worst of humanity.
Poetically his character ends up working with his direct contrast, Emma. But now he sees the goodness in her. He knows that humanity is inherently good even if it were stained by acts of evil.
Mark is a character who we slowly get to know more of. His core traits of hating Titans was just a cover up for his real strength which the film wants us to discover.
If Emma represented evil and Mark represented good then Madison, their daughter would be the balance of them both. The one being in between good and evil.
\From the start we know that she is the representation of innocence and easy going. She tries to cook breakfast only to find it difficult as she never truly faces the challenges laid. She never knew that whatever she had believed her mother to do and would require so much sacrifice. The world was not an easy place, but she hadn’t realized that. She didn’t realize that reality was terrible. Her innocence allowed to believe in her mother even if it was wrong. Her innocence was also what made her see the truth. The truth is that her mother may not have been the best. The truth that maybe the world was becoming even more terrible because of her mother. Her determination set her out to do what she believes is right even if it is tough. In the end, it was her who lured the Titans. It was her who was willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good.
Poetically it was also her to finally see that the world is not all happy as someone being her mother had to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
What makes her character what she represented for the other people. She is essentially like the central point if the entire theme as in she represents the viewer as to how they are going to choose between accepting nature or fear and kill it.
The Titans
The monsters in the film for the first time represent something instead of just being a plain monster in action.
Godzilla here is viewed as the king of the Titans. The one who could balance the natural order. It also represents both fear and optimism of humanity. Through different characters with each of them having a different view on it. Emma views it as a God while Mark views it as a creature of pure evil. When it sacrificed itself for humanity, it was only then do we see what he truly represents; balance and humanity, both which are lost. The sacrifice of the doctor shows how both humans and Titans can coexist as one cannot survive without the other. Only through humans and Titans can the world we live in truly strive. Godzilla being overpowered in the end was the fulfilment of humans seeing Godzilla as a hero. A friend to coexist with. It was only then the true potential of humanity was reached.
Ghidorah on the other hand is a false king. It seemed to be the most powerful creature of them all whilst it can even call upon all the Titans to worship him as if he were a king. However, Godzilla represents humanity whilst Ghidorah represents inhumane. It does not belong to humanity which makes it a being only with the intent of pure destruction.
In the end, humanity always strives against alienation. Even if we all have conflict amongst ourselves nothing can truly destroy the natural balance except for a being which does not belong to it in the first place. All of us would unite in some ways as we belong to nature. We are part of humanity.
Visuals
A final compensation for this film would be its visuals. Unlike most movies or even the latest Monsterverse movies, this film manages to instill some of the most gorgeous cinematography I have seen in a monster movie. The imagery is beautiful and one would even be astonished by it. Here are some of the most beautiful shots of the film.
Now there are unfortunately a few flaws throughout the film. For one the villain is completely underdeveloped. While he does get mentioned as a guy who wants to retain the natural order, we never really know much about him beyond that line of expository dialogue. I get that he represents the humanized version of Ghidorah as a character who says he is doing it for humanity only to be causing more pain and destruction as if he were an alien. It's a great foundation but it lacks any development at all.
Another issue is regarding the side characters. In the film particularly through Mark’s plotline, the film lacks any compelling characters except for having actors standing there and speaking their lines of dialogue. The doctor has some development through the beginning as he is established to be this guy who sees Titans as beings which are part of humanity. He sees Titans as if they were God to worship by. However, despite the nice introduction the film never develops on his character further. His sacrifice later on was not necessary. I don't mean by way of the plot or even the theme as it coheres nicely with it but rather through the character’s thematic purpose. It is not like his character's sacrifice fulfilled some sort of character arc he had. It is not like he is actually giving something up thematically. Then every other character barely had or no development at all. They are just actors saying out their lines because they are here for a paycheck.
Then of course there is the one action sequence which may have caused everyone to hate the film. The scene happens during the Mexico attack by Rodan. The problem with this whole sequence is that our protagonist Mark was not involved. It's like having a John Wick action without John Wick being in action instead is about planes and soldiers and stuff. That is what makes this whole sequence boring. Visually is amazing but without an emotional anchor we don't care about anything that happens. It is not like the last sequence where all of our characters are actually involved in some way. Here the sequence is about soldiers and random civilians then finally Godzilla and Ghidorah which was actually pretty good. Ensure an action scene actually has characters that we care for instead of random visual shots.
In conclusion Godzilla King of the Monster is a film which is overhated by many. The film has what most movies do not; a thematic purpose. The question of balancing our natural order is constantly in play here which allows us to question and ponder on along with characters who are thematically compelling. There are definitely flaws but the film is strong enough to be its own thing.
Godzilla King of the Monsters is now streaming on Max and available to rent
