Movie Review: All Hail ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is the sequel to the 2014 film “Godzilla” and “Kong: Skull Island” (2017). With this new installment in Legendary Entertainment’s MonsterVerse, there was no doubt in my mind when seeing it that Godzilla really is the King of the Monsters.

By Aliya Burshan

With the work of director Michael Dougherty, I truly believed that he wanted to capture the reason why all of the kaiju movies are successful. In the end, you start rooting for the monster you thought you were supposed to hate. 

The movie starts off by giving a nod to the previous Godzilla film and still follows Drs. Mark and Emma Russell with their work for Monarch. Being a millennial myself, I loved how Millie Bobby Brown (Netflix’s “Stranger Things”) was cast as the whip-smart Madison Russell, their daughter.

In the beginning, you sense that things aren’t how they should be, and realize that Monarch is on the verge of being shut down by the government.

Without spoiling too much, with the scientific work of Dr. Emma Russell, they yearn to look into the Titans to gain their help to balance life as it should be. With the film’s twist and turns, you realize that there are no sides for good and bad, there is only war – and with this war comes great responsibilities.

Minute by minute in this film, your heartstrings are pulled every which way. The advancement of CGI in the modern film industry allowed filmmakers to depict the kaiju in the film in a whole new way. When Godzilla lights up his tail and charges his enemies, you can’t help but be thankful he’s on our side… for now.

This film never once had a slow, dragging moment. Every second was jam-packed with action, emotion, and a little bit of radiation. 

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is rated PG-13 and is 2 hours and 20 minutes long, so grab some popcorn, refill that soda, and prepare to enter the layers of the kingdom of Godzilla.  

During the film and end credits, we do see references to Skull Island mentioned and newspaper articles stating many Titans have moved to different parts of the island.

The next film in the MonsterVerse, “Godzilla vs. Kong” is set to release March 13, 2020. Until then, we’ll have to wait and see what becomes of these powerful monsters.

In the parks:  

Head over to Universal’s Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort and immerse yourself in this world of monsters at the “Skull Island: Reign of Kong” attraction. This epic adventure will bring you up close and personal with the almighty Kong. Will you survive the cliffs of Skull Island, or will you fall deep into the dark legends of Kong?

Check out our videos of the attraction below: