Hollywood finally gets kaiju big battles right in “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” a film whose approach is part 21st-century action franchise (kick in the action early, then keep one-upping it until the big finale) and part 1970s Irwin Allen disaster saga (fill the cast with prestigious actors and give them just enough to do so they can elevate the goofy material).
Whereas 2014’s “Godzilla” made us wait too long for the monster-movie money shots – vamping instead with uninteresting human characters – this one offers a family story made all the more heartfelt thanks to committed performances by Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler, not to mention a constant stream of the kind of rock-em-sock-em action that makes you want to see a film like this in the first place.