Review of Godzilla (2014) by Anthony K — 14 Mar 2016

Garrett Edwards' reboot of the iconic reptile isn't really a bad movie, at least not entirely. It's a boring movie, which in some respects is even worse. First, we have a protagonist who seems to be devoid of any distinguishing character traits. All I know about him is that he's good at defusing bombs and is as neglectful of his own son as his father was of him. In fact, if you were to list the central themes of "Godzilla" (if it has any), one would be that parents kind of suck. There isn't one example of a parental unit here that doesn't at one point make a decision at the expense of their offspring. How's that for subtext?

In any case, the list of grievances goes on. Ken Watanabe -- a supposed scientist of some repute -- has nothing to do in this movie but stare slack-jawed at the mounting destruction. I suppose the filmmakers needed to hit some Japanese actor quotient since this is technically a Godzilla movie. As shitty as that sounds.

Characters aside, the creature design is pretty uninspired. The MUTOs are not fun to look at, appearing to be caught in an early stage of concept art that the designers just went with in a "fuck it" shrug. The destruction they cause also lacks context in a very Marvel sort of way. Sure, the buildings crumble and cities fall, but there's no human face to put to the destruction. I might as well be watching my nephew knock over Legos with his plastic Indominus Rex.

Despite my tone, it isn't all bad though. The film is very good at setting a visual tone, bathing everything in a moody and sanguine red during particularly destructive scenes. It all seems very ominous, and suggestive of Godzilla's pulpy Japanese origins. Then again, if a movie is so "meh" that I'm gravitating toward its color palate, there are more than a few things wrong.

If you need to see a modern monster punch-em-up, go with "Pacific Rim" instead. It's a far superior film. And I don't even like it that much. 3.7/10.