Godzilla (2014) Review

 

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla follows Ford, who after a monster awakens in Japan, will stop at nothing to make it back home and save his family in the midst of an impending battle between Godzilla and a pair of MUTOs.

Right off the bat, this Godzilla reboot is very much directed at American audiences. It contains massive CGI monster battles (not complaining at all), lots of interesting world building, and a semi compelling human element in Ford’s quest to get home. That however, is all that I can find somewhat enjoyable about this. The human factor is hair pullingly drawn out and focuses way too much time and effort in attempting to make you care about people in a Godzilla movie (I’ll let you in on a secret—we don’t). Humans are so minuscule in the scope of these legendary monsters and I don’t believe there is one iota of an instance where man or the military make any difference here, making their primary focus in this, and subsequent shafting of Godzilla till the last 20 minutes, feel a bit lame.

When Godzilla unleashes the flood gates and lets them fight though, boy does it look great. They had the monsters fight at night, only illuminated by the fire, smoke, and twilight of the night sky, a creative choice that looks gorgeous and also feels awesome, especially when Godzilla uses his atomic breath (which is without a doubt the highlight of the movie). I also quite liked that, even if only briefly, we return to Godzilla’s roots in Japan, something that is subtle but well appreciated.

The cast is a tad underwhelming, featuring Bryan Cranston (who is killed off camera?), Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Watanabe is probably my favorite character here, being the only one to truly get these monsters and his genuine bewilderment and reactions all feel very real. Taylor-Johnson is also a decent lead, just wished he had been utilized better in the story.

Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, is an interesting direction for Godzilla franchise, making him the hero and savior of the world (for no apparent reason), capitalizing on big monster battles but falling short in its’ attempt to shift the focus towards humans for a change.

6.4/10