Godzilla: King Of The Monsters IMAX Review - 7 Ups & 4 Downs

3. It Doesn't Take Itself Too Seriously (And Has Silly Charm)

There's a bit of a trend in so-called popcorn blockbusters these days to think that po-faced seriousness is the way to arrest accusations of disposable entertainment, as if that should even remotely be considered a dirty term. Mention "fun" to certain franchise fans and they'll get all red-faced and bemoan the "Disneyfication" of movies to our detriment. To that end, some movies present us with things that really ought to be self-aware enough poke a bit of fun at themselves with the idea that they're making some sort of post-modern existential drama about politics.

But we can have it both ways as King Of The Monsters proves, as long as the film-makers know that we want to have some fun but not be completely babied. This sequel has entire characters designed for levity, almost in the Ian Malcolm mold from Jurassic Park or Will Smith in Independence Day (there are way more, but those two feel somehow more appropriate here) and it has no problem throwing in some tongue-in-cheek silliness.

Of course we know that it's silly watching monsters fighting monsters, but the danger with movies like this is that they themselves miss that silliness and aim for gravitas that doesn't quite work. You really cannot accuse KIng Of The Monsters of that and it's great to see.