Recommendation: 3/5 Stars, STREAM

Plot: “The crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.” -IMDB

Review: Every studio in Hollywood is in search of a universe that can rival that of Disney and Marvel’s cinematic universe. Instead of developing new content, this means scouring every available source for characters who are known entities. Unfortunately, this means we are treated to films short on story, countless iterations of a story already told, and grown-ups wearing spandex. Godzilla and his monsters isn’t a story needing to be retold, yet here we are with another entry in the franchise. As you can imagine, this is once again a story about a group of people’s inabilities to control a monster less than keen on being controlled.

The plot of “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is a bit sloppy (kind of like it was made of ground beef and Manwich). In an effort to simplify things for you, I will do my best to summarize this beast for you. Humans are terrible to the planet. A group of monsters acts as the Earth’s protector. Godzilla is on the side of humans. An evil organization is awakening these monsters to relegate the human species to the history books. Using Godzilla to keep this from happening, an all-out war erupts, and you are left to decide way too early in the film if you are on the side of humanity or the planet we call home. Phew! Told you, sloppy.

The war that comes to dominate the second half of the film is all about restoring balance. It also gives birth to some really dark cinematography. For all its faults, this film is a beautiful thing to behold, if you like staring into the abyss. It also leaves you guessing about a secret alien race, which makes no sense in the grand scheme of things and feels as if it were added to fill a plot hole.

As the final battle begins on top of Boston (good riddance), this film becomes spoon-fed cinema hell-bent on delivering more destruction porn in fifteen minutes than Michael Bay could ever muster in one lifetime. As this film comes to a close, you will be left feeling less than satisfied. Visually, it is a thing of beauty. Story-wise, it is a monster.