4. The MonsterVerse
For a long time, Kaiju monster movies were incredibly niche. Then along came 1998’s Godzilla to bring the idea back to the modern big screen (even if it wasn’t a particularly good movie). Fast forward to 2014 and along comes Godzilla to give its titular giant lizard a more faithful adaptation, spawning a franchise in the process.
Followed up by Kong: Skull Island in 2017, Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019, and Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021, Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse is alive and well, with a number of high-profile stars having appeared across the four existing entries into the franchise.
Despite considerable buzz around each new release, the MonsterVerse is often dismissed as little more than another series of reboots, remakes, and revivals, with very little to offer in the way of original storytelling.
This stance, taken by many, couldn’t be more wrong: the MonsterVerse is all about using modern technology to give its characters realistic makeovers, allowing them to fulfill their potential as convincingly awesome visual spectacles. When considered on par with disaster or action movies, the MonsterVerse franchise holds up incredibly well. Its films might be far from perfect, but they deserve far more respect than they receive – after all, they’ve revived monster movies for a new generation and kept the spirit of Kaiju films alive.