Godzilla: King of the Monsters (aka Godzilla II: King of the Monsters) is a 2019 monster film co-written & directed by Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat & Krampus). It’s a sequel to 2014’s Godzilla & the 35th film in franchise. It was co-written & produced by Zach Shields (Krampus & Godzilla vs. Kong). It was produced by Thomas Tull (Kong: Skull Island, Watchmen, Jonah Hex, Superman Returns, Man of Steel, The Dark knight, & 300), Mary Parent (Role Models, Kong: Skull Island, Set It Off, Godzilla, & The Revenant), & Jon Jashni (Clash of the Titans, The Town, Sucker Punch, Ninja Assassin, & Crimson Peak). Gareth Edwards was the original director for this project. The sequel Godzilla vs. Kong was announced for 2020. The budget was estimated at $180 million & it grossed $385.9 million worldwide at the box office!!!!
Five years after the existence of giant creatures known as “Titans” was exposed to the world, Dr. Emma Russell (played by: Vera Farmiga from Bates Motel, The Conjuring franchise, The Departed, & Running Scared) & her daughter Madison (played by: Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things) witness the birth of a larva dubbed Mothra. Emma calms Mothra down with the “Orca”, a device capable of emitting frequencies that can attract Titans or alter their behavior. A group of eco-terrorists led by Alan Jonah (played by: Charles Dance from Game of Thrones, Alien 3, Last Action Hero, & Underworld: Blood Wars), suddenly attack the base & kidnaps them. Monarch scientists Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (played by: Ken Watanabe from Godzilla, Transformers franchise, Batman Begins, & Inception) & Dr. Vivienne Graham (played by: Sally Hawkins from Godzilla, The Shape of Water, Cassandra’s Dream, & The Killing Gene) approach former employee Dr. Mark Russell (played by: Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights, Argo, King Kong, & The Wolf of Wall Street) to help track them down. The rest of the staff that includes Dr. Rick Stanton (played by: Bradley Whitford from Get Out, The West Wing, The Cabin in the Woods, & Billy Madison) & Dr. Houston Brooks (played by: Joe Morton from Justice League, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Speed 1/2, & Executive Decision) try to find a solution for this disastrous problem.
The Monarch team follows Godzilla to Antarctica, where Jonah intends to free a three-headed Titan codenamed “Monster Zero”. Godzilla & the monster have a battle after Zero wrecked havoc on the helpless crew. Monarch is told that the Titans must be awakened in order to heal the Earth from the damages that humans have caused. Monster Zero gets distracted by Rodan, Godzilla joins in on the fight. Dr. Ilene Chen (played by: Ziyi Zhang from Godzilla vs. Kong, Rush Hour 2, Memoirs of a Geisha, & Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) discovers Monster Zero’s true identity, Ghidorah is an ancient alien seeking to transform the Earth to his own liking. Madison escapes & tries to save the world by herself. Mothra arrives to help Godzilla but is intercepted by Rodan. Ghidorah overpowers Godzilla so Mothra tries to help. Military forces which includes Admiral William Stenz (played by: David Strathairn from Godzilla, L.A. Confidential, Bourne franchise, & The Firm) & Chief Warrant Officer Barnes (played by: O’Shea Jackson Jr. from Straight Outta Compton, Den of Thieves, Long Shot, & Ingrid Goes West) try their best to assist the King of Monsters face off against these dangerous creatures trying to take over the world. Can the humans & Godzilla work together to bring all this chaos to an end????
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is exactly what the other two American remakes should have been! I actually thought the previous Godzilla film was solid but it did have it’s fair share of issues but it was a step in the right direction especially compared to 1998 version. When Michael Dougherty was announced as the director, I got even more excited about this sequel because I loved his last two films. The visual style he brought to this made it stand out from those last few entries. This one is action packed, there’s not a dull moment in this feature so it has a nice pace & flow to it. The visual fx are amazing in this, some of the best that I’ve ever seen in cinema. You finally get what you have been waiting for after all these years, Godzilla actually fighting other monsters! They are not some half assed creatures, they brought back some classic characters in this follow up. It’s definitely the best & most talented cast in the entire Godzilla franchise so far. Vera Farmiga in one of her most conflicted & complex roles shines here. The popular Millie Bobby Brown makes her feature film debut in this & she holds her own with all the talent around her, she proves that she can do more than Netflix shows. Charles Dance is one of the best villains you can get today, if you don’t believe me check out Game of Thrones or Last Action Hero sometime. He always brings a dark charm to every character he portrays on the screen & this role is no different. The rest of the supporting cast kinda blows your mind that they got all these actors in the same production which includes Ziyi Zhang, David Strathairn, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Bradley Whitford, Joe Morton, Kyle Chandler, CCH Pounder (The Shield), & Aisha Hinds (9-1-1) boosted the overall quality of the whole production. I love monster movies & this one delivered in every possible way. It’s one of my personal favorites from 2019, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with Dolby Vision & HDR10+ is top notch & one of the best looking films in 4K for 2019. Visually, it’s reference quality & it’s why we love this UHD format because something like deserves to shown at it’s highest quality. It’s stylized, the cinematography shines here & I hope it wins some Oscars for it’s very impressive fx. It has a variety of different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, & Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 for this 4K release. The dialogue is crystal clear, all the monster action has a killer boost to it, & the music is elevated on these tracks. This is one to test out your home set up & speakers on, it feels like being in the theaters again. It also has various subtitles on the UHD which includes English SDH, French, French SDH, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), & Mandarin (Traditional). Both picture & sound are at the highest level on this release. If you are going to watch a few films this year, make this is one of them!!!!
Let’s discuss the special features from Warner Bros! “Audio Commentary” with director/writer Michael Dougherty, actor O’Shea Jackson Jr., & writer/producer Zack Shields is the only extra that’s featured on both discs. All of the other extras are located on the blu ray disc for this release. They chat about the earlier Godzilla films from the iconic franchise. They talk about the cast, visual fx, music, & the cinematography. They go over the production & their experience on the film. They bring up some of their favorite moments, the re-shoots they did for it, & material that didn’t make it in the final cut. They bring up the previous movie & chat about just trying to expand from that for the Godzilla universe. They all have great chemistry & it’s a very fun track to listen to. “Monsters 101” is a little over 5 minutes, it’s broken down into 4 different segments which includes Godzilla (“Nature’s Fearsome Guardian”), Mothra (“Queen of the Monsters”), Ghidorah (“The Living Extinction Machine”), & Rodan (“Airborne God of Fire”). It has quick comments from director/writer Michael Dougherty, actors O’Shea Jackson Jr., Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, writer/producer Zack Shields, other cast members, & various crew from the feature. It’s a very short overview of each monster from the movie. “Evolution of the Titans” is a little over 27 minutes, it’s divided in multiple parts which includes Godzilla 2.0, Making Mothra, Creating Ghidorah, & Re-imaging Rodan. It has interviews with director/writer Michael Dougherty, actors O’Shea Jackson Jr., Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, writer/producer Zack Shields, & various crew from the feature. They chat about each monster & what makes them different. They talk about paying homage to the originals. It tells a little history about them. It has behind the scenes footage & pre-visual fx moments. It shows how they created the sound for some of them. “Monarch in Action” is almost 33 minutes, it’s broken down in 5 different segments which includes the Yunnan Temple, Castle Bravo, the Antarctic base, the Isla de Maro volcano, & the Undersea Lair. It has interviews with director/writer Michael Dougherty, writer/producer Zack Shields, cast members, & crew from the production. They go over some of the main locations from the feature. They chat about some of the most important events during the story. It has all kinds of behind the scenes footage. They talk about their experiences on the set for King of Monsters. “Millie Bobby Brown: Force of Nature” is a little over 4 minutes. It has interviews with director/writer Michael Dougherty, actors O’Shea Jackson Jr., Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, & writer/producer Zack Shields. It has some behind the scenes footage. They bring up that she was the first choice for the role. They all chat about the actress & their experience with her. They joke around about her, they say she loved doing pranks on the set. “Monster Tech: Monarch Joins the Fight” is a little over 8 minutes. It has interviews with director/writer Michael Dougherty, writer/producer Zack Shields, cast members, & crew from the production. They chat about the various technology used in this film. They talk about weapons & vehicles are very important to story & certain situations. “Godzilla’Monsters Are Real” is a little over 14 minutes. It has interviews with a variety of experts. They break down the history of monsters & give some theories about the creatures. “Welcome to the Monsterverse” is almost 4 minutes. It has interviews with various members of the crew. This is a short feature hyping up the upcoming Godzilla VS. Kong production. They chat about the iconic characters. They talk about some connections between them. They bring up them finally meeting together in these new reboots for both franchises. “Deleted and Extended Scenes” is a little 5 minutes, it includes “Mark’s Flashback” (extended version) & “Boxing Practice, Argument, and Radio Room”. It has 4 different “Trailers” for the film which includes “Life”, “Supremacy”, “Over the Rainbow”, & “Wonder Rumble”. It also includes a slipcover, a digital code, & a blu ray copy of the release. It was released in various formats including blu ray, digital, & DVD plus it had several store exclusives. Every Godzilla fan needs this in their collection ASAP! It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
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