Matthew Phillips

For one's first glimpse into the Monsterverse, I was not disappointed. The monster fights are truly the best part of the movie, and the movie seems to know this; which is why the pacing is pretty fast, and it gets you to what you came to see. However, that's where this movie's good qualities abruptly stop. Due to its said pacing, it feels rushed and under developed. And speaking of development, the characters have their goals in mind, but very unclear character development towards said goals. Even Kong himself seems to suffer from this. And aside from all of that, it's never explained why Godzilla is seemingly "intentionally harming humans" in his attempts to fight Mechagodzilla. I mean, sure, Godzilla has killed other people, but in this universe, it's not normally and exactly intentional. Godzilla in the Monsterverse is potrayed as a benevolent creature who fights to protect creatures who can't easily defend themselves (whether it be a less significant creature or humanity; much like Kong, as suggested in Skull Island. So the fact that Godzilla is now "intentionally" harming humans without any clear explanation, other than Mechagodzilla's/King Ghidorah's presence provoked him, is really unsatisfing. But aside from all of that, I don't see much purpose in giving Kong his atomic axe, since it's too overpowered. It's kinda cheating in how it can repel Godzilla's atomic breath. Anyway, the only place where this movie succeeds is its action. If that's what you came to see (which is mostly and probably the case), then you won't be disappointed. However, if you come to see character development and mind boggling questions, then you'll be gravely disappointed. Filmmakers, if you're going to include humans in monster movies, try to actually make them interesting. But nonetheless I liked this movie, and I can't wait to see the others! #LongLiveTheKing