Godzilla
Director: Gareth Edwards
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem, and creature violence.
Godzilla has never really taken off with American audiences the way it has with the Japanese, and this latest adaptation is hoping to change all of that by giving us the biggest version we've seen yet. I had little anticipation for this project, especially since the 1998 film starring Matthew Broderick was so disastrous and not in a good way. However, as trailers surfaced my curiosity began to grow. While this reincarnation is miles better than the '98 version, it still suffered from boring human characters and convenient plot points.
The film's plot is probably better explained as it is told throughout the movie, but basically there are two enormous monsters known as MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), one of which has been kept secret in Japan. When the two MUTOs begin communicating with each other and are on the loose, the ancient king of monsters known as Godzilla hears their calls and resurfaces to take his place as the reigning monster of the Earth.
Now, there are some human characters that we spend the majority of the film with (we're talking like 80% of the movie with no monsters; okay maybe 75%). Sadly, these characters serve as minions to the unfolding of the plot even though they are meant to provoke audiences to invest some emotional attachment. This is one of the glaring flaws of the film: we simply don't care what happens to these characters. We are just waiting for these gigantic creatures to duke it out, prehistoric style. Sadly, we are left waiting a little bit too much. I appreciate the fact that director Gareth Edwards takes his time in building up anticipation and suspense by not revealing Godzilla too early; however, I feel he went way too far past the point where we should have seen all that happens when he finally does appear. Instead, we get another tease and then see the aftermath the next morning. Boring.
Don't misunderstand me, the final 30+ minutes of the film are exhilarating and contain some amazing visual effects. The fight between Godzilla and the two MUTOs is epic on a grand scale, and I am glad I got to see that on the IMAX screen as opposed to waiting for it to arrive at Redbox. As a whole, the film has problems. It tries really hard, but with not enough payoff. I liked it, but did not love it like I was hoping. In that regard, it made me appreciate Jurassic Park a lot more. Nevertheless, Godzilla himself was pretty badass.
RATING: B-
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