Godzilla: Planet of Monsters mini review

     When it was announced that there was going to be a Netflix exclusive Godzilla movie, I was confused yet excited. To my knowledge Toho couldn't make any more Godzilla movies until Legendary finished the Monsterverse they were working on in 2020. Thanks to the subtle nuances of finding loopholes in contracts I guess while they can't make a live action Godzilla film, animation is fine. Honestly I don't know the exact how or why behind the conception and production but nonetheless, I was happy.
     After seeing the first trailer, my excitement and enjoy moved to cautious optimism. The movie looked very different from any other Godzilla film in the past. That didn't phase me that much since most Godzilla movies have something unique that really sets them apart from the crowd. The thing that did set off some red flags was the big G's design. I can't say I hated it but something was certainly off-putting about the "Grandpazilla". I moved past that pretty quick since other Godzilla films had an odd Godzilla design but were still great, namely Shin Godzilla. So I kept my cautious optimism, excitedly watched the movie and....that certainly was a thing.
     There was nothing about this movie that I particularly hated, but it is hard for me to say this is a great movie or even a good one. Honestly I can think of no word other than "okay" to describe this as a whole.
     I won't talk of the movie in great detail for two reasons. Firstly without watching and really analyzing stuff again there is not a lot I want to say about it. Secondly, I am trying to view this as part 1 of a whole so it seems more fitting to give my initial thoughts then do a full review later on. I couldn't justify this move as much if the movie itself didn't feel like an episode of a show instead of a movie.
     I do want to make clear that there is plenty of good things in this movie. without a doubt the best part of this movie is the unique and interesting ecosystem of the planet and Godzilla himself. An environment that evolved around Godzilla for thousands of years to be wholly dangerous and toxic in every sense of the word is a fascinating concept and while we don't get a truly in depth look at the world and how it works we get enough of a glimpse to peak our curiosity and satisfy us just enough. It seems a more in-depth look will be provided in the second movie, considering where we left off, so the small look we got is fine. Again, the environment is very unique and kudos to the creative team for just little simple touches and how many ideas went into an ecosystem that evolved around a giant radioactive death dinosaur.
     Speaking of Granpazilla, what is it with recent Godzilla films and having a Godzilla capable of making me almost wet my pants. Shin Godzilla did it and now this did it. I was not expecting a whole lot from this Godzilla. I just wanted him to be Godzilla and I would have been fine with the bare minimum. This movie went the extra mile and gave us a reason why this Godzilla was a threat, or at least more of a threat than Godzilla already is. His minimal movements and fantastic presence in the film make him seem like this wall that can't be torn down, which in turn makes the climax that much more devastating. As we all know, though, Godzilla doesn't win by slowly meandering around.

     The atomic breath in this Godzilla movie is probably the scariest atomic breath I have seen from a Godzilla. While it does not have the horrifying visuals that Shin Godzilla has, what with fire-bombing symbolism and such, it has so much destructive force and buildup to make up for it. Godzilla's atomic breath in this movie is more akin to a laser than a breath attack. Unlike the focused laser of Shin Godzilla, this one is instant and requires very little effort from Godzilla. Every time Godzilla uses his atomic breath all he does is slightly open his jaw, and unlike Shin, he can keep firing. All of the destructive force of Shin Godzilla but without the limitations of having to cool down. I remember during the flashback when Godzilla made its way towards the airport they were fleeing to space at. I saw the charge up for the atomic breath and in my head got as far as "this is gonna be a.." before that instant death laser took out so much in such a short time. It wasn't just awesome, it was terrifying. Not even going to mention that tail whip though. You guys know what I am talking about.
     I know it sounds like I am giving the movie glowing reviews all of a sudden but I had to talk about the good before I talk about the rest of the movie. Anybody who has seen the trailer knows that the people in this movie are just as big a part of this movie, if not bigger than, Godzilla himself. Unfortunately everything about the human characters is one of three things; passably basic and by the books, annoying, or most of the time underwhelming. This really is a shame considering the concept of the movie is so interesting and engaging
     With some very notable exceptions in the first third, particularly with the main character Haruo Sakaki, the voice acting is pretty by the book. No character aside from Haruo truly stood out to me, but that's not entirely for a good reason. Haruo sticks out because of how much of a prideful idiot he can be. I can't completely hate him since when push comes to shove he can be calm, collected and think things through, but most of the movie he is fueled by pride, revenge and just a pinch of ego. It is rather annoying to know that so many bad things could be avoided if a) Haruo didn't use his revenge-fueled pride to coerce the leaders into making a massive landing party and b) he LISTENED to his commander when they landed and just decided, after suffering a devastating attack, to make the base on the moon or in orbit and just make trips away from Godzilla for resources to keep their people alive while they study the ecosystem and make a plan. Of course they wouldn't do that, that would make sense and not be good for drama.
     I also said that the humans were pretty underwhelming. I feel like I need to clarify that since there are two things in particular. the voice acting is pretty average but couple that with minimal character development and exposure, and aside from Haruo, nobody sticks out or leaves any form of impact. More so than that, technology is a huge part of the human side of things. Every piece of technology is disappointing in some way, be it design, function or showcase. How the movie handles warp speed is a great example. The giant colony ship makes a huge jump towards earth and the music plays as it prepares for the people to see the earth again, or for some the first time. The jump happens. There is no noise, no enhancement and if you blink you will likely miss it and be confused be the new setting as you think you missed something. Everything feels underdesigned. or just poorly designed I wish I could have seen more of their colony ship aside from a hallway, the control room, the brig and the docking bay. As I write this I just thought of a good way to describe the human role in this movie. You have the main character Haruo and a bunch of cliffnotes that take up the majority of the movie.
     I can't say this movie is good, but I also can't say it's bad. The good things, as few as they are, really shine. I believe fans of Godzilla will see a very surprisingly effective Godzilla in this movie. So, despite the bad press, I recommend everybody watches this at least once. There is good in this movie. There is nothing more to say than, I didn't hate it.