It was announced this January that Legendary Studios and Apple TV+ are teaming up for an original series surrounding Legendary’s expanding monster-verse. While people love Kaiju films, watching more than a few will reveal some familiar plot points.
From Cloverfield to Rampage there are monster moments that find their way into just about every one of these films. For better or worse, the constraints of making a movie that centers on a Kaiju lead to noticeable cliches that appear in every movie. And the upcoming live-action show is bound to include more than a few.
10 Bland Man Lead
He’s not the most exciting or charismatic guy around, and he might not even be the best actor in the film but he’s the star. Charlie Hunnam in Pacific Rim and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Godzilla are both fine actors who don’t have much to work with.
The bland male lead is often an intentional tool of the script, a vehicle for exposition dumps and eyes for the audience to view the gigantic monsters through. These characters allow the script to push through boring explanations and get to the battles that put people in seats. Guillermo Del Toro said in Collider of his Pacific Rim lead, “I thought he had an earnest, really honest nature.” A nice sentiment for a person but it’s not particularly flavorful for the main character.
9 Scales Bad, Fur Good
In a vote between snakes and dogs as a favorite pet, dogs are going to win every time. So it should come as no surprise that when a Kaiju movie needs a monstrous hero, the filmmakers will be pointing to the fluffier choice. In Rampage, George the Ape may spend some of the film being a nuisance, but when Lizzie the Crocodile shows up, George takes the hero role.
The original Godzilla did not even treat the title character as a hero until much later in the series after enough uglier monsters were introduced. Audiences have difficulty connecting with frightening and scary Kaiju. It’s much easier to make a bond with a monster who looks closer to a pet than one that is someone’s phobia.
8 The Jerk Who Gets The Bad End
Most Kaiju films avoid the gory kills usually found in other kinds of horror. But plenty still manage to supply a good dose of violence. Rainn Wilson’s character in The Meg or Kate McGrath’s in Jurassic World. Both meet their ends in similar bloody ways.
It’s not hard to figure out who is going to meet their grisly fate. Whoever has been the biggest scumbag through the film is usually heading toward the worst death. Now they are not necessarily the big bad, more likely a mean-spirited side character who has had it coming. The longer a Kaiju film continues to showcase this character’s creepy nature, the more the audience wants to see them killed in the worst possible way.
7 Final Smash
Kaiju movies aren’t usually based on video games but they do have a lot of the familiar cliches. One is the final move. The finishing attack that the Kaiju is saving for just when it appears all hope is lost. Ralph in Rampage shoots spikes out of his fur, Mothra heals Godzilla, and what would that Kaiju be without the tail-to-mouth charge of its atomic breath?
The giant monsters kick, punch, bite, and snap but there still needs to be one hidden move in reserve. And rarely does the final smash disappoint. The original King Kong thrilled audiences by flipping a Tyrannosaurus and following films made a point of saving a jaw-dropping crescendo for the end of the film so audiences go home buzzing.
6 Wait Don’t Kill It!
There is always going to be someone in this film who doesn’t want the Kaiju defeated even though nuking the monster would make the most sense. It can be for profit like in King Kong or environmental reasons like the radical ecoterrorists in Godzilla: King of theMonsters.
In Kaiju films, the monsters often represent a force of nature. Unstoppable and animalistic. These films need to have a human antagonist ready to muddy the altruistic or just survivalist goals of the lead characters. It’s why so often it takes two monster takedowns before the film ends: one for the goals of the villain; the second, for the hero.
5 The Overqualified Actor
Kaiju movies need a veteran actor for at least one role. Fortunately, this actor is usually more than happy to chew the scenery to a pulp. Charles Dance leading the environmental terrorist group in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Samuel L. Jackson brought his brand to Kong: Skull Island.
After years of Kaiju films being a niche for Japanese audiences and monster-obsessed Americans, these films have become huge box office draws in the last two decades. With that, comes star-power and the budgets to pay them. Tom Hiddleston said in Collider that when he’s working with a real actor like Sam Jackson it’s like playing tennis with Novak Djokovic. Meaning, one legendary actor ups the game of everyone around them.
4 It’s The Kaiju!… But Tiny!
Every good monster movie needs a mini version to bring the action to ground level. In Cloverfield, the action goes to the street when mini crab/nightmares start dropping from the eponymous Kaiju. In Pacific Rim a literal baby Kaiju suddenly appears to avenge its mother.
The protagonists need to show their capability but that isn’t always easy in a Kaiju movie where the conflict is in the form of a mile-high monster. In order to prove what kind of heroes these are, a smaller Kaiju appears as a test. This also provides that face-to-face moment where both actor and Kaiju are on screen at the same time. A nearly impossible task with the full-sized creature.
3 Sound Comes In, Sound Goes Out, Sound Comes In
Metal is screeching, monsters are roaring, and then one Kaiju grabs the other by the throat and the film goes silent for a moment as they grapple and then returns in a flood of noise. It happens every time but it never fails to give the audience chills.
One of the unrecognized heroes of Kaiju moves are the sound designers and mixers. These are the people who create the soundscape of a giant lizard smashing its way through Los Angeles with all the cacophony of a hurricane. And with that loud destruction, you can always count on a moment late in the film when the sound cuts out, and comes roaring back to remind the viewers how big these Kaiju are.
2 The Kaiju Spots A Tiny Human
It usually starts with a zoom in to the person on the street and another zoom to the monster’s face and finally an eye squint as the Kaiju zeroes in on the hapless civilian. In Pacific Rim, a rampaging crab monster manages to spy a little girl among the twisted cars and gives chase. In Kong: Skull Island the title monkey and Sam Jackson have a stare down.
Kaiju can be up to 1000 feet tall. So how then do these monsters always seem to spot our protagonists amongst the rubble in the street? This has become something of an eye-rolling cliché to try and add an emotional beat between the character and the monster. But there are certainly effective examples. Adam Wingard in Slash Film stated, “Sometimes I get teary-eyed”, in reference to a scene in Godzilla vs. Kong where Kong shares a long look with a young girl in the rain.
1 There’s Always A Bigger Fish
No matter how big the Kaiju is, if the movie isn’t over, get ready to see something even grander. In King Kong (2004), Kong wrestles gradually larger foes. In Pacific Rim the Kaiju grow throughout the movie from category 1 for the smallest to category 5, true colossuses.
As Michael Dougherty found out while directing the final monster ceremony in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, these movies need to save their best designs for the stars, to raise the stakes for the other creatures, one trick is to boost the height. Every villain needs to be just that much more dangerous to allow the full power of the Kaiju to be showcased. Increasing the size of each successive opponent lets the audience know exactly how strong the characters or “good” Kaiju really are.
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