Review of Godzilla (2014) by James S — 03 Jan 2015

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olson, and Bryan Cranston.

Directed By: Gareth Edwards.

Rated: PG-13.

15 years after the Japanese nuclear plant he works at fails and kills his wife, Joe Brody and his estranged son Ford return to what's left of their town. Joe is convinced there is a cover up and there is more behind what happened then an industrial accident. At the site of the plant they discover a group of scientists studying the monster that caused the accident. When it escapes, another monster rises from the depths of the pacific ocean to hunt it down.

I was excited for Godzilla. I wanted to see giant monster movies make a comeback. I wanted it to do well so we could see a Godzilla Vs. King Kong remake directed by Peter Jackson (I know, I know, it's never going to happen, but a guy can dream can't he?). It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

The acting is okay to good, just non of the characters are very memorable (with the exception of Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche's husband and wife. Who sadly aren't on-screen for long). Sure they should be second fiddle to Godzilla, but you still need to care about them, otherwise none of the danger they are in matters. Aaron Taylor-Johnson's soldier barely stands out from the other soldiers who serve little point other than to be trampled.

Which maybe I would be okay with; if Godzilla and the destruction scenes were interesting, but they aren't. Godzilla barely has any screen time, he is treated like the shark from Jaws. The less you see of him, the more suspenseful it supposed to be. Yet that only works if you have interesting characters to focus on for when you don't see the monster. Also if almost every trailer, TV spot, and poster didn't already give away what he looked liked (which isn't the filmmaker's fault, but the studio and it's marketing team). It kills the suspense and a lot of the awe. I can't say I found Godzilla overly interesting either. Sure he looks cool and the CGI is top-notch, but he just didn't work as an anti-hero. I find it hard cheering for someone when just minutes earlier he wreaked havoc on a bridge full of school buses. I felt more for the MUTOs then Godzilla and most of the characters.

Then there are the monster "fights". Say you're a promised a cookie. It's held in front of your face and looks like it will be delicious, but at the last second, gets yanked away from you. You'll get it later, you're told. So you wait and soon its dangled in front of your face again. Yet again it gets taken away. Eventually you finally get the cookie, but it turns out to just taste okay. Sure there are a couple of chocolate chips in there to sweeten it up a bit, but otherwise you feel a little disappointed. That was how I felt about the monster fights in Godzilla. They cut away from not one, but two fight scenes. So instead of seeing an epic throw down and buildings getting demolished, we see the aftermath or short, tiny footage of what happened. When we finally do get to see a battle, it's a bit of a letdown. There are a couple sweet moments during it, but it wasn't enough to make it worthwhile.

You have to also question why they kept using airplanes around a monster with a known EMP attack. They would have redirected commercial planes and should have known better than to have fighter jets trying to attack it.

I can't say I loved it, but it does have some good moments and great CGI. If you are a long time fan, excited for his return, then you may still end up enjoying it, so maybe see a matinee of it. Otherwise it's a rental.

6 Reels Out of 10.

"In 1954, we awakened something...".

"Those nuclear tests in the Pacific... not tests.".

"They were trying to kill it.".