As the first film in the “Monsterverse” franchise from Warner Brothers Pictures and Legendary, Godzilla explores the emergence of the monstrous apex predators known as a “MUTO” (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). In a callback to the original Godzilla film from 1954, the film explores how Godzilla was trapped in the Bikini Atoll coral reef and nearly destroyed by nuclear weapons. Godzilla’s reemergence sparks seismic activity in Japan in 1999 that kills the researcher Dr. Sandra Brody (Juliette Binoche). Sandra’s husband, the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant engineer Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), becomes obsessed with finding the creature. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the U.S. Army Lieutenant Ford Brody, who joins his father in searching for Godzilla. Although the two men have been at odds with each other since the accident, their shared interest in finding Godzilla allows them to bond.

Brody is skeptical of his father’s intentions and has only reluctantly agrees to help him search through Japan’s quarantine zones for the origins of the meltdown. However, Brody is motivated to put an end to a potentially disastrous threat to humanity because of his desire to protect his family. Olsen co-stars as Brody’s wife, Elle, who serves as a nurse at the San Francisco General Hospital. Elle is put in danger once two winged MUTO creatures emerge from a massive chrysalis in the nuclear plant, prompting Godzilla to go on a rampage across the world in order to engage them in combat. Brody’s desire to ensure his family’s safety is what leads him to join a mission initiated by Admiral William Stenz (David Strathairn) to contain the threat. It’s certainly one of the more fleshed-out human storylines in any Godzilla movie.

Despite the strong chemistry that they have during Avengers: Age of Ultron, Taylor-Johnson and Olsen actually have relatively few scenes together in Godzilla. There are a few expositional moments at the beginning in which Elle and Brody discuss his upcoming assignment and details of Joe’s status and the couple eventually reunites at the film’s conclusion once the Battle in San Francisco is over. Nonetheless, both characters play an important role in the story. Brody’s experiences with his father makes him well-suited for an assignment to join a HALO strike team that disarms a warhead in San Francisco, and Elle’s role helping victims means she’s always very close to the action. While the film could be accused of not having enough kaiju fights, Elle and Brody are interesting characters in their own right.

‘Godzilla’ Puts an Emphasis on Human CharactersImage via Warner Bros.

Unlike other American films within the franchise, 2014’s Godzilla features realistic human characters and compelling emotional drama. Rather than serving as merely background characters, Brody and Elle are hardworking, selfless heroes who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way in order to protect humanity. While it’s ultimately Godzilla who fights the MUTOs, earning the title of “King of the Monsters,” Brody and Elle are essential in preventing collateral damage and protecting human infrastructure.

Olsen and Taylor-Johnson’s performances are critical to Godzilla because of the film’s slow pacing, as director Gareth Edwards opted for an approach similar to Jaws where the titular creature is not shown until the very end. While this could have potentially made for a very dull movie that ignores the success of previous installments in the franchise, the emotional bond between Elle and Brody creates dramatic tension that raises the stakes ahead of the final battle. While audiences don’t necessarily go to a Godzilla movie to see poignant moments between a loving couple, the emotional depth certainly distinguishes Edward’s film within the franchise. Given that Cranston’s character is killed very early on in the story, the connection between Elle and Brody becomes the film’s most important human relationship.

With five movies and two TV series, the MonsterVerse is getting nearly as big as Godzilla himself!The Monsterverse Could Learn From ‘Godzilla’

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Although it set the groundwork for a cinematic universe, the Monsterverse has adopted a very different tone compared to 2014’s Godzilla. Both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong dropped any notion of dramatic realism in favor of a broadly comic tone with self-referential humor, over-the-top action sequences, and extensive collateral damage with little humanity to it. While this may have endeared the series to a wider audience, the success of Godzilla: Minus One indicates that kaiju movies can succeed by taking themselves seriously.

Olsen and Taylor-Johnson’s performances stand out in particular, as the Monsterverse has failed to introduce compelling human characters. Compared to the emotional authenticity of Brody and Elle’s relationship, the bond between Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) and his daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) feels forced and forgettable. Characters like the villainous Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) and Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) are complete caricatures. Considering that the Monsterverse itself is showing no signs of slowing down with the impending release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it hopefully won’t be the last time that Taylor-Johnson and Olsen get to make an appearance in the series.

Godzilla is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.