Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is a 2017 Japanese computer-animated science fiction kaiju film Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita, starring Chris Niosi, Lucien Dodge, Edward Bosco, Jamieson Price, Cristina Vee, and Ray Chase. In the future, the human race has been defeated several times by the new ruling force of the planet, Godzilla, The King of the Monsters. After years of exile in space, humanity decides to defeat Godzilla and take back the planet.

Plot: The story is pretty damn interesting. Having a Godzilla story that takes place in the future is a step in a different direction. But ultimately, as appreciated as the setting is, the story is pretty damn boring. For a majority of the film, nothing really happens. This is a Godzilla movie so you’re hoping to see either man on monster action or monster on monster action and we really don’t get that. Character arcs? What are those? No character develops, not in the slightest. No issues are resolved or hardly addressed. The story is there but it lacks depth on nearly every level. The film does have a satisfying climatic battle that is probably one of the best man on monster fights in the franchise. There’s a lot of area that the story could’ve gone in but unfortunately it doesn’t which takes away the emotional depth that could’ve developed. (2 out of 5)

Characters: Unfortunately, one of the biggest missteps of this film are the poorly written characters. They’re the typical anime characters with little to no deviation. Most of them are hardly indistinguishable from the others, lacking any kind of personality, motivation, or backstory. The main protagonist is Captain Haruo Sakaki, the stereotypical anime protagonist. If you’ve watched Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho or Ichigo in Bleach, you’ve seen this character done before and done better. Other standout characters are Exif priest Metphies,
environmental biologist Martin Lazzari, Eliott Leland, and the Bilusaludo military instructor Rilu-elu Belu-be. There may be a few others but they’re ultimately forgettable. If you’re going to have a Godzilla movie with Godzilla not being in a good portion of the movie, at least get the damn characters right. Hell, even Godzilla is shitty. He literally does nothing for the majority of the film. (2 out of 5)

Cast: The voice performances are actually pretty good for the English dub. The English voice cast includes Chris Niosi (Haruo), Lucien Dodge (Metphies), Edward Bosco (Martin Lazzari), Jamieson Price (Mulu), Rich Brown (Rilu), Cristina Vee (Yuko), Robbie Daymond (Adam), Ray Chase (Eliott), Keith Silverstein (Unberto), Doug Stone (Halu), and Joe Ochman (Endurphe). (3 out of 5)

Visuals: I’ve always enjoyed the blend of anime and CGI and for the most part it works. The setting, characters, technology, and action sequences look great and utilizes the best of the animation. My biggest problem is the overall design of Godzilla and the Servums creatures. The creatures look like moving rocks, golems would be a more accurate definition. There are no unique features at all and what could’ve been used to give Godzilla a creative look just misses the mark completely. (3 out of 5)

Score: This is a surprisingly decent sounding film. The sound design are pretty on point with a good feel for the setting. If you like the traditional Godzilla roar, it’s in here too. You’re not going to get the top-of-the-line quality music but for what is presented, Takayuki Hattori does a decent enough job. (3 out of 5)

Writing: The direction and writing could use a lot of work, despite it being an interesting premise. The writing isn’t just poor in terms of a Godzilla film but it’s poor in terms of a film overall. The characters are poorly written, hands down. We don’t know what their motivations are, what their relationships are, what their backstories are. There are no moments in the film that are emotionally powerful with any of the characters. The dialogue isn’t all that good. Characters ask questions and make statements that are dumb or try to be all philosophical in the worst way.

The setting is decent. This futuristic Earth is kind of cool but that title, Planet of the Monsters, is definitely bullshit. There are hardly any monsters worth a nickel. It’s like watching that movie After Earth where it’s established that Earth animals are hostile to humans and when you see it, the creatures aren’t. The moment where the humans got to the planets’ surface should’ve been a fight for survival against MULTIPLE creatures. The whole story behind the two Godzillas and how Godzilla influences the animals and environment was just stupid. Hell, Godzilla doesn’t do much and when he does, it’s lazy; spamming it’s heat ray like newbie.

Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita direct the film and honestly they’re direction is as good as it is bad. On one hand, the film can be entertaining when it comes to the way the film looks and the action, but in terms of actual depth they miss the mark. Shizuno is best known for his work with the Detective Conan film series and honestly that same talent did not translate well into a Godzilla film. Seshita directed the film Blame! which it’s a film I liked but suffers from many of the same problems including the poorly written characters. The writing and direction is just disappointing but it can be enjoyable. (2 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters had some shoes to fill, and unfortunately it doesn’t live up to the hype. The film’s appealing to the eyes and ears but not enough to feed the soul. The characters are forgettable, dialogue poor, story is boring, and the writing and direction are poor. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters gets 3 out of 5.