Admiral William Stenz. Some viewers feel he's reasonable or even in the right for a man in his position, they feel he's genuinely apologetic when a bad decision is made, they like him for not being a biased classical Commander Contrarian who refuses to hear out the experts, and they feel he's one of the most interesting human characters in the MonsterVerse. Other viewers consider him a short-sighted fool who has no respect for the Kaiju nor their greater-scope ecological importance, feeling he can often be relied on to make the wrong decisions, and noting he has a subtle Nuke 'em attitude despite all his redeeming qualities. Became even worse in King of the Monsters, when the military fires the prototype Oxygen Destroyer in an attempt to kill all the battling Titans but unwittingly enable Ghidorah to start its Apocalypse How unopposed, with many coming to the conclusion that Stenz was the one who ordered the strike.
Godzilla (2014): Ford Brody. Some felt he was the generic soldier protagonist and was so bland and lifeless that they felt it should’ve been focused on his father Joe instead, and took away from Godzilla‘s presence. Others felt he was an engaging protagonist with enough of a relatable motivation to follow note he’s trying to get back to his family after witnessing his father die at the hands of the MUTO and whose said acting was justifiable considering the character's military background and how soldiers are trained to keep calm even in the worst situations, especially those who specialize in disarming bombs.
All three of the non-posthumous members of the Russell family.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019): Emma Russell is arguably the single most intense example in the MonsterVerse, and is saved from being The Scrappy only by The Extremist Was Right and Strawman Has a Point. She's either one of the most interesting and tragic characters of the film that she appears in, with her backstory of losing her son during the first Godzilla attack in 2014 and joining an eco-terrorist group out of revenge towards mankind making her an engaging character to follow; or she's the most detestable lead in a Godzilla movie for dooming the world by freeing deadly giant monsters to destroy it for entirely unintentionally unsympathetic reasons, as well as putting the safety of her daughter at risk by forcing her to be with the eco-terrorists she's allied with, all of which was seen as hypocritical to her cause.
Mark. For some, he's one of the most interesting, well-rounded and layered characters in the MonsterVerse (especially when he's unfavorably compared to the other, blander humans), and his supporters feel that he has a well-written character arc in his debut which doesn't get enough praise as well as a good reason to be angry at Godzilla. For others, he's an insufferable jerkass and idiot whose self-centered, sanctimonious, bossy, and all-round haughty and unpleasant attitude makes him a very hard hero to like no matter his backstory, and his detractors would be happy not to have to put up with him in any MonsterVerse instalments again. Mark's Aesop Amnesia and new level in dumbassery in his second movie appearance did absolutely nothing to mend the base, giving his detractors even more reason to hate him whilst his protractors were dismayed that he didn't have more screentime.
Madison. Some see her as a More Popular Replacement compared to Ford Brody, given that she shows more emotion and personality than him. Others outright hate her, claiming she's an annoying Kid Hero and a Vanilla Protagonist who eats up the screentime and who says a lot of cringy and annoying dialogue.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019): Dr. Rick Stanton. Viewers either find him to be one of the most fun and endearing characters in the movie and were disappointed that he didn't return in the next film, or viewers find him to be one of the least likeable characters and were glad to be relieved of him in the next film. Both reactions are down to Rick's propensity for comical jibes and one-liners, which produced absolutely polarizing responses: they're either considered witty and well-written, or corny and cringe-worthy.
The way the CGI evolves over the series (from slow, weighty, more realistic movements for the monsters in Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, to faster paced, quicker movements starting with Godzilla: King of the Monsters), has been a minor point of contention for some fans, with some arguing that it takes away from the gritty, realistic feel the MonsterVerse was originally going for, while others state that it allows the fight scenes to be more dynamic.
Fans of either the Monsterverse or the Toho Godzilla movies ended up breaking the character's fanbase as a whole. After the critical and commercial success of Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One, a small subset of Godzilla fans came out against the Monsterverse, expressing their desire for more grounded and artistic films like those. Then there are some Godzilla "purists" who dismiss this universe as a pale imitation because its not made in Japan. Conversely, most fans are open to more Godzilla movies of varying tones and pointed out how the Monsterverse not only renewed interest in the Godzilla franchise but also had the personal blessings of Toho. They also pointed out that the directors of Shin and Minus One are also fans of Monsterverse given their public statements and references to the Monsterverse in their films. But there are also Toho-adjacent fans who feel the franchise has gone the wrong way since King of the Monsters, arguing that the first two films proved that the Monsterverse can combine giant monsters with human drama, and that Pandering to the Base has limited the films' audience unnecessarily.
Kong: Skull Island, while it was met with good reviews overall, was also seen as an inferior movie, often criticized as a mindless action flick with weak characters and story, whereas audiences thought it was an fun monster movie with some good characters and some great fight scenes and effects.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) received mediocre reviews, criticizing the movie for lacking any sort of connection and development between the characters, that the monster fights took away from the story and that said story was too convenient for everything to happen, dismissing it as an overall mess. Audiences and especially fans, however, loved it for having arguably more interesting characters to follow and the ramped up Kaiju action with an orgy of classic Toho monsters; diehard Godzilla fans also said that critics don't understand that everything they complained about is also in a typical Godzilla film. Folks like Bob Chipman also point out to something akin to a Sci-Fi Ghetto mindset among critics where Godzilla can only remain a "B-movie" thing that can't be taken seriously.
Godzilla vs. Kong comes closest to averting this, garnering quite positive reception from both critics and fans alike. Many praise it for its Kaiju fight choreography, development of the two main characters, a simpler story compared to its predecessor, and the reintroduction of the infamous Mechagodzilla (with Composite Character treatment). Some still criticize it for similar reasons as King of the Monsters, namely the decreased human focus, but by this point this appears to be the Vocal Minority.
And then Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire went right back down, with many critics again bemoaning that there was far too much focus on the kaiju and their fighting, with a paper thin human element that rushed through its major story beats. Although admittedly, this may be a knock on effect of the film being released so soon after Godzilla Minus One, which is widely agreed to have one of, if not the best, human stories in the franchise; New Empire had no chance of living up to that, despite not even trying. Audiences, however, loved it for embracing the campiness and over the top fun that evoked the feel of the Godzilla Showa films.
Fan-Disliked Explanation: A number of fans don't like the addition of MUTO Prime in Godzilla: Aftershock, as it needlessly complicates the MUTO life-cycle to a nearly incomprehensible degree, due to being incredibly vague about how MUTO Prime and the other MUTOs relate to each other, suggesting that the MUTO pair in Godzilla (2014) are actually siblings, and because MUTO Prime is a very garish and over-complicated design that goes against the sleek and dark aesthetic established by the original MUTOs. It also seems to go against what is shown in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), as every other Earth kaiju is shown being naturally beneficial to the planet, while MUTO Prime is explicitly a Civilization Destroyer that will cause a mass extinction event if not killed (although the introduction of Camazotz, another malevolent kaiju, in the prequel comic to Godzilla vs Kong helped mitigate this somewhat).
Fan Nickname: The Four Heavenly Kings, for the four directors of the films up to Godzilla vs. Kongnote Gareth Edwards, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Michael Dougherty, and Adam Wingard. Started on the Japanese side of the fandom and spread back to the west. Helps that the four have drastically different personalities and directing styles that made each distinct, whilst still getting along and appearing together.
Most Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe get along very well with Monsterverse fans. It helps that they share quite a few quite notable actors such as Elizabeth Olsen in Godzilla and Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson in Skull Island, and that the Monsterverse movies are not direct genre competitors with Marvel's work, unlike with the DCEU. Plus, Marvel produced a Godzilla comic book line in the early 80's, so many consider Godzilla an honorary Marvel character. Made even better by Michael Dougherty, director of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), who tweeted a comic book cover of Marvel's Godzilla featuring the Avengers and said, "This movie would make the world a better place." Fans of both the Monsterverse and the MCU took very kindly to this tweet and expressed love for the idea of a crossover between the two.
DC Extended Universe fans are on mostly good terms with Monsterverse fans. Because both are produced by Warner Bros. and because both both were initially more grounded takes on both film genres (Kaiju and superheroes) before eventually becoming Denser and Wackier. But it could also be the fact that Legendary Pictures co-produced Man of Steel, the DCEU's first entry.
A factor that is obviously present and will be present as it goes on, but also probably a reason that impacts the above relationships as well. A portion of this franchise's audience is only really going to care about monster attacks and monster battles.
Alternatively, some people see the movies because of the human cast. In fact, some people who went to see Skull Island because the movie has big-name actors like Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson.
Like You Would Really Do It: Most times when it looks like they're going to actually kill off Godzilla this is the reaction.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters, is the keeper of balance and the mighty beast who first hunts down the MUTO duo across the world to prevent them from damaging the biosphere irreparably. Showing his intellect by baiting the male into a trap to finish him with a strike of his tail and cornering the female before beheading her by a blast of atomic breath into her mouth, Godzilla returns later to face his ages-old foe King Ghidorah whom he attempts to bring into the water where he is stronger. Defeating Ghidorah and reasserting himself as king of the Titans, Godzilla later begins to strike at Apex facilities when they attempt to experiment with Ghidorah. Upon the entrance of King Kong, Godzilla wastes no time in pragmatically attempting to drown his rival, later facing Kong in Hong Kong and besting him before acknowledging him as a worthy opponent and departing in peace after the fall of Mechagodzilla. Later sensing the return of his ancient enemy, the Skar King, Godzilla seeks out sources of power to strengthen himself for the coming conflict and allies with Kong and Mothra to put an end to the False King.
King Kong, ruler of Skull Island, is an intelligent and dangerous ape who responds to threats with brutal attacks, wiping out a contingent of trespassing soldiers in Skull Island. Facing the Skullcrawlers, Kong kills the Alpha with a combination of brains and nearby weaponry, before resuming his kingship over Skull Island. Later brought in to face Godzilla, Kong proves a Worthy Opponent for the Titan Alpha, resorting to his wits in the face of Godzilla's overwhelming might and utilizing an ax from materials in the Hollow Earth to counter Godzilla's atomic breath. Kong is the one to destroy Mechagodzilla himself, wielding his empowered ax and his own might, before making peace with Godzilla and returning to the Hollow Earth in peace. Delving deeper into Hollow Earth in search of his people, Kong bonds with the young ape Suko before confronting the tyrannical Skar King. Injured by the King’s abused pet Shimo, Kong uses various traps to defeat the Skar King’s minions before teaming up with Godzilla, Mothra, and Suko to stop the King’s conquest of the surface. With the help of his allies Kong is able to free Shimo from the Skar King’s control and kill him before taking his place as king of the Apes with Shimo and Suko by his side.
"Will Godzilla forgive us?"ExplanationA popular Twitter video that circulated shortly after the release of King of the Monsters, mixing footage of the MonsterVerse films (and Shin Godzilla) into the trailer for First Reformed as a mashup of their respective Gaia's Vengeance themes.
Only the Creator Does It Right: Toho-Godzilla "purists" are not as accepting of this universe's take on the character despite Toho's full endorsement of it.
Popular with Furries: Particularly with the macro crowd. Inevitable with a franchise based around very lovable, giant animal based characters.
As epic and iconic as Dr. Serizawa's "arrogance of man, let them fight" Wham Line in the Godzilla (2014) was and still is, there were those who felt like his advocation of letting the Kaiju fight so that Godzilla can save the world was a Broken Aesop; because the MUTOs which were decisively the real threat to the world at large were beating Godzilla, until human intervention (the very thing Serizawa advocated against) turned the battle's tide back in Godzilla's favor twofold by distracting the MUTOs. In both of Serizawa's subsequent and final appearances in Godzilla: Aftershock and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) respectively, Serizawa is forced to break his own rule against human intervention; when he advocates for human intervention on Godzilla's behalf to ensure Jinshin-Mushi's tactics can't guarantee his fall (with the suicidally-idiotic U.N. Security Council even throwing Serizawa's original wham line back in his face when they refute him), and when Serizawa detonates a nuke to revive a near-dead Godzilla so the latter can prevent King Ghidorah's otherwise-certain victory.
The plotline at the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters that Emma was right about releasing the Titans bringing more solutions than problems to the world wasn't very well-received. Aside from old-generation Godzilla purists feeling that the mere concept contradicted Godzilla's original spirit as an embodiment of the atomic bombings, and aside from Emma being considered a very poorly-written and much-abhorred character; the way the film portrayed and paced the chain of events made it seem to many that the film was saying Ghidorah was the only Titan who was a threat to the world (in contradiction of the preceding movies and graphic novels), and that the film was saying it's ugly but ultimately in the right for a severely-unstable woman to willingly sacrifice billions of lives while meddling with titanic forces she doesn't yet fully understand based on incomplete evidence, and that the heroes' warnings to the contrary only have marginal merit. The graphic novel Kingdom Kong indirectly amends this: Camazotz, one of the many Titans who's only awoken because of Emma's previous actions, not only brings more harm than good with his presence, he causes the extinction of Skull Island's entire unique ecosystem; reinforcing how wrong Emma was to not discriminate which Titans she wanted to release based on their temperaments, and showing how the outcome of her plan wasn't all hunky-dory for the world's ecosystems at large because of the deranged way that she conducted it.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong and Skull Island all have individual examples. See here, here and here for details.
Squick: Though the Squick never really goes higher than a 12 rating, this franchise isn't afraid to be a bit gross and have a bit of Kaiju blood and guts, especially when it comes to Kaiju that aren't the only ones of their kind onscreen and In-Universe.
In all threeGodzillamovies, the misguided or straight-up antagonistic humans do unintentionally make a slight point or two in viewers' eyes, even if they're overall in the wrong.
Godzilla: Awakening tries to paint the U.S. military's decision to nuke Godzilla and Shinomura in the 1950s as a very dangerous and unwise action that will do more harm than good and which showcases man's folly in believing we can trump nature. The problem is, the nuke actually succeeds where Godzilla was failing at permanently killing Shinomura before the creature could have become an even bigger threat, whereas Godzilla hadn't managed to do anything better than temporarily chasing Shinomura off for the preceding nine years; plus Godzilla wasn't lastingly harmed by the blast like Shinomura was. The military deploying a nuke in this instance, instead of being the travesty that the graphic novel hypes it up to be, overall brings about the best possible outcome for everyone all-round.
Sally Hawkins' character Vivienne Graham has shades of "They Wasted a Perfectly Good Actress," since she doesn't have much to do in both her appearances except help Serizawa with plot exposition, and most of her characterization is only given in the spin-offs and supplementary materials. The criticism became even worse when she was killed off in her second movie appearance, as viewers considered it too out-of-the-blue and an unjust or too-unceremonious end for her; decrying, "Sally Hawkins deserved better".
Also Dr. Ishirō Serizawa. While he's certainly no less developed than the average human Godzilla character (which isn't saying much), Ken Watanabe's Serizawa was considered on the release of Godzilla (2014) a pretty pale imitation of Akihiko Hirata's Daisuke Serizawa, lacking the emotional conflicts and the meaningful death (initially) that made the original character so memorable. This version turns Serizawa from a tortured, self-loathing stoic genius... to a generic Smart Guy who just exists to spout technobabble and the occasional word of wisdom. And he doesn't have a cool eyepatch. This trope didn't leave the character upon his next and last appearance in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) either, even if the handling of Serizawa's death in itself was very well-received (see below).
There are some who complain that Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) severed the MonsterVerse's remaining ties to the 2014 film whilst eliminating the most interesting human characters before they were fully fleshed out; referring to how the film saw the above-mentioned Dr. Serizawa, and also Admiral William Stenz (possibly), killed off.
Ren Serizawa and a good few other characters in Godzilla vs. Kong. See here for details.
Visual Effects of Awesome: While ToHo has stuck firmly with the Man in a Rubber Suit approach ever since the first Godzilla movie, the 1998 film by TriStar ended up being a flop due to it's drastically different concepts and unfaithfulness to the original, though some of the visuals were praised. The MonsterVerse, however is heads and shoulders above both the TriStar film and most of Toho's work, with Godzilla alone both being much more faithful and much more believable as a living creature. It says a lot that out of all the films in the Godzilla franchise, the only film that even comes close to rivaling the MonsterVerse is Godzilla Minus One, and even then the MonsterVerse still updates it's visuals whenever possible.
a comic book cover of Marvel's Godzilla featuring the Avengers and said, "This movie would make the world a better place." Fans of both the Monsterverse and the MCU took very kindly to this tweet and expressed love for the idea of a crossover between the two.
