TALKBACK: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) - SPOILERS -

[Benjamin Haines]

Now that the first showings have begun, here's a fresh discussion thread for folks who have seen the movie.


I'll be seeing it Friday night.

[Stadawim]

Well....

It was good.

[angilas]

I liked it. Action packed after the first 14 minutes or so. Great rodan and mothra. Ghidorah has a very different feel to him what with the head banter and lowness to the ground. A lot of fan service in this one. I can see why critics would prefer G14 but fans this. Hoping it surprises at the box office. Those rotten tomato critic reviews are probably hurting it though...

[Ultraseven]

[canofhumdingers]

I enjoyed it. Rodan was easily the best thing about the movie. Loved every moment he was on screen. I'm not in love with this portrayal of Ghidorah. I didn't dislike it so much as I just didn't really connect with it. Godzilla and Mothra were both good with some really great moments here and there.

The pacing of the film felt like it was on warp speed. It moved through plot points as fast as Godzilla plowing through kaiju in Final Wars. At least, that's how it felt the first time through. And it was pretty wacky and kinda all over the place.

Serizawa was done very well. I liked his character in the previous film but felt he was underutilized. This time I thought he was given the opportunity to really shine and his character's sacrifice was a touching inversion (i.e. He died to save Godzilla rather than kill him) of his namesake's self-sacrifice. The rest of the characters left me pretty cold. They did their jobs but rarely (if ever) rose above the role of plot device.

I did not find any of the humor funny. None of it was so bad that it took me out of the movie, but none of it even got a smirk out of me. Would've been nice to have one or two well placed laughs (something in the spirit of Chewbacca roaring at and scaring off the little mouse droid in the Star Wars. That kind of situational humor). As it was, the only smiles came during the high points of the kaiju action or when certain classic music themes cued up. But those were some big smiles for sure!

I have to say I'm kinda pissed at my theater. I've been going to this cinemark for about 6 years and not once has the actual film started at the posted time. That's usually when the previews start. My show was at 4:30. I went to the restroom and walked into the theater at 4:31 and the movie was already underway! I missed the whole opening flashback apparently. Thankfully my wife made it to her seat just before it started and she was able to catch me up but it really put a damper on the experience. I was so pissed it was hard for me to let it go and just enjoy the movie.

[goji4ever]

Just watched it..... it really misses the "eye" of cinematography from the last one.... the musical score suffers as well outside of the reworked original themes

-Mothra and Rodan mostly lacked their personalities and were there mostly to check the box....as was Ghidorah
-Apparently they ran out of budget and abruptly just ended the final fight (even Mothras sacrifice is not allowed to be its moment).. why burning godzilla if he was just going to use a "Doomsday" style nuclear pulse?
-the "money shot" at the end was a misfire
-trying to "top" the fatality of the 2014 movie didnt work out
-no truly "amazing" shot was left after all was shown in trailers.
-the post credit scene maybe leaves a window for a mecha?
-I didnt find the human story boring or obnoxious....it fulfilled its duty better than anything Ford did in the previous film
-for myself the true highlights were all the little homages and easter eggs
-musical cues for Goji and Mothra theme were great but where was Rodan theme?
-Rodan beaten BLASPHEMY
-Rodan clashing into Ghidorah was a no show...it led to nothing of significance, Rodan bent the knee to Ghidorah..

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

Don't care if I get hate or not. I thought that movie was shockingly scatter brained and did not enjoy it at all. The only stuff I enjoyed was Rodan on his own. I felt the fights had awful camera work and the CGI was a big step down from the last movie. They were nauseating to watch. I don't care what anybody says, this action scenes almost made me appreciate Bayformers. Something about them really rubbed me the wrong way, which is all I was looking for from this movie in the first place. The movie made me tired and that is coming from someone who likes Man of Steel. I don't think I will watch this movie again in a long time.

I can't wrap my head around this movie. To be completely honest, I am not even mad. I am in more amazement that a movie like this exists.

I gave G'14 a 7/10

I give KoTM a 2/10.

Moving on with life. The End.

Can someone tell me what the end credits scene was? I didn't feel like waiting around.

[canofhumdingers]

[lhb412]

The movie... I thought it was fine.

Thing is, I've seen it before. It's the solid but unspectacular patented Godzilla movie that Toho has been largely sticking to since the 90s. It's like what Masaaki Tezuka would make with $170 million, with an added Heisei flourish. Godzilla 2014 and Shin Godzilla had new perspectives to them, honoring Godzilla while at the same time being original, personal takes by those directors. Mike Dougherty, on the other hand, has one thing on his mind: he's here to play the hits. Monarch is now G-Force. Main screen on!

The characters have some great actors behind them, but largely exist to accomplish tasks and keep the plot going and we never truly invest in them like we do the hapless soldiers in Skull Island, or even the much-maligned Ford Brody, who was a solid audience surrogate even if he was a somewhat passive presence.

The CGI is not as solid or present as either 2014 or Skull Island (I can believe it's cheaper), but there are still some great wow moments. Honestly, the first appearance of Rodan might be my favorite. Just simple monster attack stuff done well. Mothra has a great mystical presence, but mostly serves as backup. King Ghidorah is very entertaining to watch, although he feels demoted from his position as ultimate evil into something more akin to Ultraman's Red King: it feels like he's just kind of a dick! Honestly, that's rather fun.

I don't mean to say it's bad! It isn't. It's a decent, meat-and-potatoes Godzilla movie like the two Kiryu films (which I warmed up to a bit during my re-watch of the series).

Honestly, the best thing about the movie was the very end, and I'm not just talking about the Blue Oyster Cult cover and the wonderful tribute to Nakajima in the credits. The movie ends with Godzilla victorious and the characters portentously musing about what would happen if he turned on humanity. We then have all the other Kaiju bowing to Godzilla, the king of the monsters, and suddenly the framing of him turns from heroic, which he's been for the entire rest of the movie, to something more ambivalent. Then we have an end credit sequence which shows the monsters thoroughly changing the Earth's environment, and undoubtedly human society as well. It was like a much more interesting Godzilla film just started, but only in the final moments! It'll be very interesting to see how this pans out.

[goji4ever]

the major callbacks and references had good intentions but mostly missed the mark...

the nuclear pulse..ugh... though respect for having Mothras wings be in the pulse itself..

[lhb412]

Oh, but I'd like to add maybe the most important thing:

The theater was full, and there were tons of kids. I might prefer a more substantial, more different kind of Godzilla movie, but when I say that this is a simple "play the hits" type film I, we, have to remember that a lot of people don't know the hits! Kids today need to be taught that there is a good monster called Mothra, and that Godzilla often fights a mean, three headed bad guy! If you're 7 years old this is the greatest film ever made.

In the end, I can see it serving a very similar role to the 70s films, which were so appealing to children. I'm guessing the vast majority of Godzilla fans became fans because they watch these movies as children, and nothing hooks a kid like those 70s movies! It was certainly the case with me.

[goji4ever]

this being a Thursday my theater was barely 20% full....but im in a less populated area...

as far as die hards vs casuals... my wife who is not a fan by any means enjoyed it immensely... im gong back and explaining the references

[GFan]

I loved the sh*t out of this movie. The 70's Godzilla films have always been held in high regard in my book, I enjoy them far more than most of the lackluster or retread 90's and 2000's films, so this was a wonderful experience for me. It delivers a big-budget monster smack-down, which is EXACTLY what the movie was going for. My inner child couldn't be happier.

I have no complaints about the human story portion of the film... they get the job done. Serizawa's sacrifice was touching (sad we lost Sally Hawkin's character too). SOOO glad I avoided spoilers to this!!!

King Ghidorah, Rodan were both phenomenal. I got choked up when Mothra crawled up on Godzilla during her last moments. And the Big G himself was a force to be reckoned with!!!

The monsters bowing to Godzilla at the end was probably my favorite ending scene of the series. Like some cut scene from a Showa-era film.

I am happy.

[Moonlight SY-3]

Just got back from seeing it with a bunch of my Japanese staff. We all loved it! Just about as perfect as a Godzilla movie could ever be. Theater was about 3/4 full on a Friday night, but it was the biggest theater in the multiplex.

[O.Supreme]

This was not plsnned, but I got off work early because I am switching to a new position on Monday. So I was able to grab my son and make a matinee. The film was great. I'm usually easy to please and the film delivered what I wanted and expected, a nice change from what many other franchises are offering. I feel some of the marketing was off, but it's nitpicky. I will no doubt see it again with another friend who is currently on vacation. I can't wait to get this one on home media and analyze the other titans and the many screens of information that were too fast to read.

The worst part was probably sitting through that awful new rendition of the BOC classic which was ruined during the end Credits. Thankfully it doesn't last long

[battrafan]

I couldn't be happier..

[tbeasley]

I liked it, about as much as I liked G14 upon first viewing, but for different reasons of course, as the films couldn’t compare and contrast more in terms of tone, scale and overall approach to the material. KOTM definitely makes G14 look and feel like the calm, restrained and reserved movie it is. To use previous Godzilla films as a parameter…

If G14 was going for the somber tone of the original, or the suspense of Return of Godzilla, or even the ‘back to basics with a monster fight thrown in’ of Godzilla 2000, KOTM definitely takes its cues from more outlandish, fantastical entries like Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster and GMK with completely unapologetic, all-out monster melees on full display.

If G14 was ‘grounded’, KOTM appears to exist in more of a heightened, pulpy reality, with an overtly fantasy based mythology regarding the monsters, a super science group studying and tracking them (while traveling in an anti-monster airship – a genre tradition) and bad guys trying to control and take over (another tradition).

The film is very fast paced, with human scenes as action packed as the monster ones, sometimes so that plot and story moments go by with little importance or set up (Oxygen Destroyer missile, Ghidorah is an alien, etc.), but the sense of wonder and spectacle on display is admirable and nearly supersedes any missteps along the way.

So it was a lot like Pacific Rim for me, a film I never thought I’d live to see, with a big, earnest heart for the material, where you feel like you’re watching the real deal, only pumped up with Hollywood visual effects, which I think is great.

Other thoughts and concerns -
- I can already see certain members of the community taking major issue with the admittedly glib use of the Oxygen Destroyer, and the use of a nuke by the heroes to reawaken/save Godzilla.
- The film has a really strong cast with fun supporting characters. I’ve always liked Kyle Chandler, so it was nice to see him in a starring role. However, killing off Sally Hawkins in such a way was disappointing – I guess she wasn’t available for long? Charles Dance is great as always, but doesn’t get much to do as the human villain. Zhang Ziyi is adorable and I love that her character(s) is a nod to the Shobijin.
- As for the monsters, Godzilla and Ghidorah are the main stars here, Godzilla receiving way more focus than last time. The changes to his design (mainly the fins) are excellent, and he even has more of a classic roar in areas (not to mention the theme!). Ghidorah is a great, sinister villain, the most impressive incarnation (in design and function) of the character in quite some time. Same could almost be said for Mothra and Rodan, but they ultimately play second fiddle to the main two, and are a tad underwhelming in function. But hey, Rodan lives and Mothra apparently laid an egg, so cool!
- The new monsters don't do much, but they do feature some funky designs, and there is a nice, unbelievable moment at the end between them and Godzilla.

No way I could get to everything, but with all that said for now, I'll definitely be seeing it again.

[Dai]

[GFan]

[Outkaster]

I can't stand that whole family arc, it was way to Jurassic Park for me. All of a sudden that b-tch of a lady that releases Ghidorah is supposed to be some heroine driving in Boston in a Humvee? Like she supposedly redeemed her self? Sorry I don't buy it daughter or not. Ever try driving in Boston and then with the city in ruins to boot? Even her speech in beginning was terrible about mankind ruining the planet The character wasn't believable. The military wouldn't have done certain things in the movie either. It got boring after awhile.

Ghidorah was very well done, so was the rest of the monster. I wish Godzilla was a little more slimmed down but I can handle the design for these movies. The set up for the 2020 was done well. You can almost guess the plot. Seeing it in Imax wasn't that big of a deal. Its very loud but was cool. I liked the free posters they gave away.

[Jinzo Ningen]

Some more rambling takeaway thoughts...

I dearly wish that modern sound designers would learn that less is more. There is so much noise in this movie that it hurts. The monster cries are so overprocessed that you can't really get a singular voice for any of them, outside of Godzilla. The three pretty much had just generic roars that were loud but woefully indistinct. Maybe if I had heard them without the deafening soundscape of storms roaring planes gunfire shouting people, etc. As is, it's hard to even remember what they sounded like.

As I griped about before, pacing is nonexistent. Dougherty said that to compare the two MonsterVerse films: G'14 is ALIEN while his is ALIENS. I'd modify that and say his is more ALIENS played on fast forward. LOL. I complain only in that there are so few personal moments here, and exchanges with any emotional gravity lose 90% of their impact when they're blown through so quickly with essentially zero time to give them any weight whatsoever. That's one thing I really appreciated about ENDGAME; it gave the characters sufficient on-screen time to reflect and/or feel the gravity of what had happened, or might happen. KotM defines the phrase 'breakneck' 110%. Also, there are so many sacrifices that it sucked the importance out of them. It was like "well... who's gonna die/sacrifice themselves now?" I felt that Emma should have been killed by Ghidorah, intently or by collateral damage. The sacrifice from her felt obligatory and touched zero emotional cords with me. After what she'd done I was glad she took herself out. Hardly the tone they were probably going for though, huh?

So I was simultaneously intrigued and rolled my eyes at the home base / temple of Godzilla. I instantly thought "Atlantis?" Then... "no, this is a Toho-ey movie, so Seatopia?" (Forgot all about Mu ) I also found the 'bow to the king' scene at the end stupid. Not kitschy or wacky, just stupid. I was glad to see that Rodan survived and thought the end headline scrawls interesting. Like someone else here wrote, it was like that was the start of another, far more interesting film, but sadly it was just a few seconds' of wrap up. I hope they expand on those tantalizing tidbits in GvK. Also, I got the feeling now that in this universe Skull Island will become Monster Island, which makes sense in a way I suppose. Wondering too if the Oxygen Destroyer detonation won't give us a Destroyah for G & K to battle?? I doubt it, but who knows? I still feel it'd be cool if they threw everyone a curveball and leapfrogged MechaGodzilla and went right to MechaniKong. LOL. Given that Dougherty threw all 'real world' convention out the widow in this film it's more likely (or at least possible) than I'd ever previously have imagined. Oh yes, thought that post-credits scene was kinda silly. So... a genetically reconstituted Ghidorah? MechaGhidorah? Throwaway scene with no meaning? More ??? than !!! for me.

Still hate that they shrouded most all of the fights in rain and darkness. In this day and age it isn't a stylistic choice - it's a practical cheat to hide rushed or crap CGI, I don't care what they tell you. Skull Island was such a breath of fresh air in this respect. At last, terrific fights and all in broad daylight! YES! Now we get yet another murky monster mash. Ugh. At least when this comes out on Blu-ray I'll be able to cheat at home by dialing up the brightness and fiddling with the contrast a bit so that I can more clearly see what the heck's going on.

Human aspect so flat. The awful writing amplified it, but what a waste. I kept waiting for Dance to yell at Emma "Well, that's another project you've bungled!!" Egad. Had they kept everything else in the film the exact same but had better, sharper writing and left the 3rd grade humor at home I would've loved this movie so much more. Still would've been stunned by it's relentless pace yes but really loved it - at least worlds more than what we ended up getting. For me this film is squarely in the middle to bottom third of G's filmography. I'd honestly rather watch most of the old stuff than this, even with the beauty & dazzle of modern F/X, it's just too much of a mess. Too much FINAL WARS and not enough golden Showa-ness. IMHO/YMMV.

I'd already bought tickets to take my cousin and his wife & son to the film tomorrow (Sunday) before I had watched this the 1st time, so perhaps a 2nd viewing will temper my feelings a tad

[kiryugoji04]

I hated it. :\

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I went and saw this with friends for a second time last night and thought it was much better the second viewing as I got to analyze more of the film where as my Thursday night show I was just so damn giddy seeing my "hero" on the big screen again.

Once I have time to post an articulate response I'll edit this with my final thoughts on the movie.

I do want to end though with the end credit scene I see it going one of four ways:

One- KG regenerates into a full monster again that way KG is still in the MonsterVerse should they choose to continue after Godzilla vs Kong next year.

Two- KG partially regenerates so the eco terrorist group Charles Dance's character runs fits him with cyborg enhancements and we have Mecha-King Ghidorah for the MonsterVerse.

Three- Somehow KG becomes the catalyst for Destoroyah due to the fact that they used the Oxygen Destroyer during that scene; maybe crabs or something crawled into the head and they get mutated by the micro oxygen?

Four- We know said terrorist group is collecting DNA samples of monsters and he already has Godzilla DNA so what certain video game monster and monster in generally that fans have been wanting to make a big screen debut has an origin where they combine Godzilla DNA and KG DNA to create a new monster? Well the video game does that not sure what the proposed movie version would have. That's right Bagan.


Of the four possible outcomes for the post screen I see option 4 as the most likely. KG regenerating into another full monster either itself or getting the MKG treatment would just seem so obvious. The Destoroyah thing is a bit of a stretch and takes cues from Batman v Superman where they use Zod's body to make Doomsday. So I can see the final outcome of the KG head being Bagan.

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

[Gojira07]

I really enjoyed myself, good movie going experience - especially in IMAX. I was a bit underwhelmed overall on the movie itself. I'm not sure how they managed to do it, and I haven't seen this talked about a whole lot in reviews - but I don't think the balance of People time vs actual Monster Action is THAT much different than G14, which is super perplexing. I think the best scene of the movie was Rodan's introduction - if anything because we finally get to see something happen during the day and not in a storm.

I need to see it again to really wrap my head around it and get a real opinion, I found myself mostly exhausted by it. The movie was worth it alone to hear the classic showa roar and themes on the big screen.