Review - Godzilla Evolved (Movie Monster Series)

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, the latest Godzilla entry, recently became the highest grossing Godzilla film of all time - crazy, right? - and I'm so here for it. This year's previous Godzilla flick, the Japan-grown masterpiece, Godzilla Minus One, was a beautiful, moving piece of art... but, in the best way possible, Hollywood's Godzilla X Kong is the complete and total opposite - hyper, unrelenting schlock that's nothing but popcorn-munching fun. Very much in the vein of Godzilla's stupider classics, such as Godzilla Vs Megalon or Godzilla: Final Wars. It's awesome to be a fan during a time when two wholly dissimilar, yet equally successful Godzilla films have been released back-to-back, proving just how resilient and multifaceted the dancing rubber dinosaur can be.

Godzilla himself received a redesign for the feature, sporting a flashy new look perfectly in line with the Monsterverse series' continuing delve into insanity; out with the realism, in with the "Hollow Earth". Very much in the vein of the classic Showa film's incarnations, or more specifically, Godzilla 2000, Godzilla sports a slimmer build, with extreme features - huge, jagged pink spines illuminating his skin, glowing with power as he leaps, runs and even flies. It's that kind of Godzilla movie. It's a badass design that I've loved since it leaked... though, you gotta admit, not the best first impression. If you know, you know.

The figure has very pretty detail, especially the intricate textures of his crocodilian skin and sleek, almost fleshy spines. Sharp scales, gills and spikes cover Godzilla's body from head to toe - even the bottoms of his elephantine feet are nicely sculpted. Neat! I love his evil, murderous smile - he's jacked up on that Tiamat juice, and he's one happy boy. I think he's even got teeny-tiny pupils sculpted in there, though, I can't really tell. He's even comparatively tall next to past MonsterVerse MMS Gojis, being evolved and all. They really captured his agile new look; though, he could've been a dash wider in the face and hips, and something about his long legs and sort of limp arms can feel a bit lifeless, especially for this incarnation. All MMS figures share this static, standard pose, so you can't fault it too hard, but I do wish they worked a bit more energy into his base sculpt. Just splitting hairs.

Despite only having four points of articulation, he can, surprisingly, strike just about all the wacky action poses you need; his static limbs actually lend themselves quite well to that, easily fitting into a running leap, or a big, triumphant roar. To me, that's what make the best MMS figures so cool - they manage to pack a lot of imagination and imagery into addictively simple designs, even here. Still, a neck or (intentional) tail swivel would've been nice. 

Godzilla's paint is comparatively minimal, but solid. It definitely catches the eye, and beyond that, gets the point across. His spines and eyes are a very pretty, shiny salmon, standing out amongst the typically grey and gothic Monsterverse characters; even the additional tail, elbow, and head spines are fully painted, something many fans were happy and surprised to see. Otherwise, his little individually painted teeth are a dark off-white, with his body cast in a dusty dark blueish-black. I think he looks good, though further highlights and decos could've definitely elevated what admittedly is a bit of a matte figure - despite what the majority of merchandise will have you believe, Evolved had a strong sandy tan undertone to his charcoal skin, which is totally absent from this and most other figures. I think some soft sprays on the face and chest in particular could've captured that.

My only real major complaint beyond his sort of rigor-mortis is that, because of the figure's seemingly softer vinyl, his legs and body are easily warped and can lean a little too close together when standing. He can look ma little too thin - it might even just be a poor design choice in terms of the sculpt itself, I'm not totally sure. It can be somewhat fixed with good ol' hot air, or by simply posing him differently - that trailer shot running pose really suits him well - but, unfortunately, Evolved tends to get stuck in a bit of a Pee-Pee Stance.

Evolved Godzilla is a wicked little figure - perfect for fans looking for a well made, affordable representation of Evolved, or, y'know... kids. It's important not to forget that a certain amount of MMS figures are aimed more for the youngin's than collectors, and I think this guy falls into that category. Still, it's miles and miles better than the tie-in figures offered by Playmates, that's for certain - and considering he's not made of brittle plastic, probably would survive more actual play, too. While he's nothing necessarily incredible, and may not be a must-buy if you own the pretty similar previous MonsterVerse Godzillas, he's definitely my favorite MonsterVerse MMS so far for his cool design alone! Could've used more paint applications, perhaps a stronger pose, but the pure detail to his sculpt really carries.

Check out my previous MMS reviews:

Gamera 1965

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla 1994