While I’m aware of the fact that there is an extensive mythos surrounding the “MonsterVerse”, as Warner Brothers likes to call it, I myself am not very well-versed in the lore. Thankfully, then, this trailer does a very good job of reaching out to people – such as me – who don’t really know much about creatures like Ghidorah, Rodan or Mothra (well, actually, I know a little bit about Mothra). These monsters might seem outdated and even silly to some, but this movie is clearly doing its best to sell them to mainstream audiences, and – in my opinion – they’ve succeeded with this latest trailer.
So the general premise is that these monsters – or Titans – are waking from slumber to threaten the earth, and the only way to stop them and their three-headed dragon leader Ghidorah is to team up with one of the other Titans: Godzilla himself. Sounds pretty interesting already, right? It gets better when you throw in all the other great monsters – especially, in my opinion, Mothra, who looks incredible, particularly in one shot of the trailer, at 0:13, as her wings unfold across the sky in a dazzling, neon blue display. Rodan is, to me, the least interesting of the group – though he certainly has an impressive wingspan, best demonstrated at 0:19 as he rises from a volcano. The monsters look epic and terrifying, but also somewhat beautiful, in a weird way – which is a more effective approach than previous iterations of the creatures.
Their beauty is not lost on the human characters in the film, especially fourteen-year-old Madison Russell, played by Millie Bobby Brown: Russell has a connection to Mothra, as we can see when she and her mother are face-to-face with the enormous monster. Personally, I would be a bit more terrified if I were that close to something that big, but Brown does a good job of conveying naive wonder and excitement at the sight.
However, the monsters aren’t here just to look impressive: they’re “hunting”, apparently. We’re treated to glimpses of the destruction that they cause across the world: Rodan’s wings leveling a city within a few seconds; storms and volcanic eruptions; and, in one of my favorite shots, Ghidorah rising behind the silhouette of a cross, wings outstretched in full Satanic glory, like an Antichrist come to destroy the planet and all of human civilization. The music in this trailer could so easily be loud and brash, designed to make us bloodthirsty, to fill our ears with calamitous noises and discord – but, in a genius move, all of these scenes of devastation play out to the tune of “Over The Rainbow”.
Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a monster movie without calamity and discord – there’s plenty of that. Once Godzilla shows up, things go crazy: you’ve got your puny humans going up against the majesty of monsters – jet-fighters, bombs, and even lightly-armed soldiers doing their best to join in the fight. The big fight between Godzilla and Ghidorah will obviously be the crown jewel of this movie’s action sequences, but the fight scenes with Mothra and Rodan look to be pretty monumental as well, even if they are entirely CGI.
In a clever play on a Lord of the Rings quote, the movie’s slogan is “One King To Rule Them All”. Personally, I’m not so sure about that: Ghidorah looks to be a huge and terrifying enemy, and even if Godzilla does win the fight, will there be anything left of the earth to rule? Does that even matter in a monster movie like this? Probably not, considering that the trailer shows us cities being wiped out in a few moments. And Godzilla, despite apparently being on our side, isn’t too worried about crushing a few skyscrapers as he charges towards Ghidorah at high speeds.
Well, whether or not the movie turns out to be just a hollow action movie with impressive special effects, their trailer certainly won me over.
Trailer Rating: 9/10