I was recommended Monarch. Wanted to start from the beginning. So I watched Godzilla (2014). Guess my hesitation was from my exposure to the Roland Emmerich movie as a child (I did like the animated sequel series), and the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. I have no familiarity with the IP outside this.

This was unexpectedly very enjoyable. Not a lot actually occurs by way of the plot but the moments we get of Godzilla and the mutos just look so cool. I was cheering when the last muto got fire breath directly down their mouth. Definitely going to watch Kong: Skull Island.

On a more serious note: what was the response from the Japanese audience? This was just three years after the Fukushima meltdown. Knowing the original 1954 movie was commentary on Hiroshima, makes me wonder how such a audience felt in 2014, not just with the timing but also the fact it was a American franchise bringing back the IP.