Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Director: Michael Dougherty
Writer: Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields
Cast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, Zhang Ziyi
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13 | Minutes: 132
Release Date: May 31, 2019
No matter how many times Godzilla is rebooted, the Kaiju is revered as one of the most iconic cinematic characters in history. And despite his lack of presence in the 2014 westernized telling, his fame remained as powerful as ever. Mostly because Godzilla is much more than a giant reptile destroying cities with his giant footsteps and atomic flames, but he serves as a reminder of the dangers of what could happen should human arrogance transcend nature. It’s a theme that continues to echo in each new telling, no matter the generation.
Now those themes come into the picture once more in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, in which man’s arrogance and inability to comprehend what they are unleashing is a reflection of the times that we live in today. And yet, even with those dark and very human themes, the sequel still remembers that it is a giant monster movie that sees Godzilla clash with rivals and nemeses like Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. Check out my full review below.
Warner Bros. Pictures has released the final trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters ahead of its release next month.
The movie is the latest in Legendary and WB’s shared cinematic universe called the MonsterVerse, which began with 2014’s Godzilla and continued with 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. In it, the title titan will face off against formidable foes such as Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah.
You can find a lengthy synopsis for Godzilla: King of the Monsters along with the final trailer and a recently released poster below.
Godzilla Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Max Borenstein (screenplay), Dave Callaham (story)
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn Legendary Pictures | Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13 | 123 Minutes
Release Date: May 16, 2013
“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”
– J. Robert Oppenheimer
In 1954, IshirÅ Honda transformed the trauma of war into art with Godzilla, a science fiction film about a gigantic radioactive beast that rises from the depths of Tokyo Bay. The primordial force of nature firebombs Tokyo with its atomic breath, leveling the city and killing thousands. Honda created a walking metaphor for the nuclear devastation of World War II – a fantastic, out of this world creation that could embody the fears of an entire nation.
Godzilla is the granddaddy of kaiju cinema, but it’s also a very poignant and mournful drama – a Japanese film made at a time when the country was still reeling from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Since then, Godzilla has become an international icon of devastation, spawning nearly thirty sequels. The King of Monsters endures because he is the perfect conduit through which to exorcise the predominant fears of our time.
In less than three weeks the long-in-the-works Americanized reboot of Godzilla helmed by Gareth Edwards will arise to stomp a new mud hole in the summer box office…hopefully. Since the anticipation for its release has not surpassed our stratosphere (though it’s pretty close), Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released an astounding new poster for the scaly blockbuster hopeful’s IMAX 3D theatrical release.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press