Review of Godzilla (2014) by Dcedmonds — 13 Nov 2014

"Godzilla" 10 Scale Rating: 5.0 (Mediocre) ...

The Good: Godzilla himself was absolutely fantastic. When he is finally shown in all his glory, he is a sight to behold. Probably the best representation of the famous monster that I have ever seen. The effects were top notch and Godzilla (as well as his adversaries) looked quite real. The story is initially a good one with a setup that grabs your attention. Cranston is great in a supporting role and Taylor-Johnson is adequate, despite playing a very generic character. The final 20 minutes or so of the film were outstanding.

The Bad: If you are hoping to see Godzilla duke it out with monsters for the better part of two hours, you'll walk away disappointed. At the 1:40 mark of a 2:00 film, Godzilla had appeared twice ... briefly. On two occasions, right when Godzilla is about to finally throw down, the scene shifts elsewhere and when it returns, the battle is over and we are instead shown the aftermath. Not until the film's final moments, do we get to see any full on Godzilla action. Godzilla's enemies honestly weren't very spectacular either and looked like rejected designs from "Cloverfield". With a long list of cool and interesting monsters that Godzilla is known for fighting, it is baffling to me why they went this route. Also, the military in this film were shockingly stupid, making poor decisions left and right. The dramatic elements of the film also start to fall apart halfway through as some characters are no longer around. Elizabeth Olsen was a poorly used plot device and brought nothing to the film. Ultimately, the film is a disappointing effort that had vast potential.