Godzilla

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Godzilla.

Directed by Gareth Edwards.

Written by Max Borenstein.

Screen Story by Dave Callaham.

Based on the character "Gojira". Created by Tomoyuki Tanaka & The Toho Film Co.

Review #252

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence.

Run Time: 123 min

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Cast

Aaron Taylor-Johnson...Ford Brody

Ken Watanabe...Dr. Ishiro Serizawa

Bryan Cranston...Joe Brody

Elizabeth Olsen...Elle Brody

Carson Bolde...Sam Brody

Sally Hawkins...Vivienne Graham

Juliette Binoche...Sandra Brody

David Strathairn...Admiral William Stenz

The monster movie genre changed forever in 1954 when the Toho film company introduced Japan and by extension the world to Gojira.

Loosely translated to Godzilla for the U.S. audience. The film was a "monster" hit and is regarded as a legitimate classic among geeks and non geeks alike. What makes this film so great was not just the scope, terror and destruction Godzilla gave Japan. It was the topical story and message that his creation and subsequent aftermath meant to the people who watched it. Gojira was a commentary on the world back then and how conflict combined with an obsession with extreme weapons will eventually lead to the end of existence.

That thought is scarier than any monster knocking down buildings or stepping on fleeing spectators.

Over the years Godzilla has gone through several makeovers from look to loyalty. In the beginning he was a bad guy then in the late 60's he became the defender of the planet when other monsters threatened our world. No matter which version of Godzilla you prefer the fact remains that his popularity grew exponentially with every new film and has been lasting to this day.

Especially in his hometown of Tokyo.

Then in 1998, the brain dead duo of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin treated the world to an American re imagination of the classic kaiju. This film was an abomination to anyone who held any warm feelings for the big guy. Those two morons stripped everything that was sacred about Godzilla and transformed him into a monster mockery. Fast forward 16 years to 2014 which coincidentally happens to be the 60th anniversary of Godzilla's first appearance on screen. We get another American reboot. The excitement was there but lingering questions and doubts remained after the horrendous first attempt to bring Japan's greatest import to the states.

It depends on your fandom of the big guy but in my opinion they FINALLY got it right!

Plot

The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Making a Godzilla movie is tricky. You can't have 90 minutes of monster battles. As much fun as that sounds you and I both know that it's too much and will get stale fast. On the other side you have to keep the human side of the story present but to a bare minimum. Nobody wants to see people talking and living everyday lives before the monsters arrive. It's a delicate balance that none of the Toho films could figure out and neither could this one.

The film was directed by Gareth Edwards. Pictured on the right. He directed a small independent film called Monsters. It dealt with an alien invasion by some very large creatures that forced the world to quarantine itself. What made the film so good wasn't the look of the aliens or their massive size (which was impressive) it was the companion human story and how it related to the plot. Edwards did a nice job of keeping the scales even between man and monster throughout the story. So when he was hired to direct Godzilla I was immediately relieved. He was the perfect choice to take on the challenge of giving us a better version of Pacific Rim.

He didn't do it.

What plagued this film wasn't Edwards direction. It was the script's lack of character development with the humans. The film doesn't give us any monsters for a good 20-25 minutes which was a good thing. It kept you filled with anticipation. It also allowed us time to connect with the people that were going to drive us through the story when the monsters do show up. The problem was once the monsters arrived the human story gets cut off and abandoned for the traditional explanations of how and why these creatures are here and how to get rid of them. Somewhere along the way, Edwards lost his sight of the story and began to fall in love with the monsters.

I can't say I blame him because these monsters ROCKED!

Let's begin with the Muto a.k.a Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. A very clever acronym that doubles as a cool Japanese monster name from the Toho films of yesteryear. Edwards clearly respects Godzilla's kaiju rogues gallery when he designed the Muto. He gave it a unique defense against the world's weapons while maintaining it's ferocity. The back story of the Muto was also pretty interesting.

It ties into the back story and legend of....

Now I can't get into the origin of the big guy. I will say that it's a departure from what we as Godzilla fans are accustomed to. They tweak his beginnings in a big way and I for one LOVED it. Godzilla was made much more practical and believable. The opening credits establishes that right away. Then when we get the classic ex-positional meeting between the military and scientists that are there to explain what the world is dealing with. Godzilla's origin and purpose are revealed. It can seem a bit hokey, especially when it's explained through the deadpan performance of Ken Watanabe as Dr. Serizawa. He understands what Godzilla is and his purpose. He also idolizes him and that reverential respect makes Serizawa a cartoon character rather than the expert he's supposed to be. He does have the privilege of saying the best line of the film by far.

"The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in their control, and not the other way around. Let them fight!"

Let's not kid ourselves here. When you go to a Godzilla movie, you're there to see monsters duke it out, destroy cities and each other. When the film gets to that point it's truly a sight to behold. Edwards does cheat a bit. There are several skirmishes between Big G and the Muto that aren't fully exposed for our enjoyment. Instead he teases us with glimpses of the fights through a TV screen. It's a cute gag but it's always better to see the big baddies live and in color. This was obviously a tactic used to keep the CGI budget from exploding so it's forgivable.

Just barely.

Edwards' teases aside, the battles between Godzilla and the Muto are spectacular full of action, destruction and more importantly....drama. Just like in Monsters, Edwards gives the kaiju in this film heart and soul. Their motivations for staying alive are relate able to everyone watching. The script does a very sly job of providing real incentives for their existence. The Muto's are simply to maintain their species. Godzilla's is something else entirely which made his worth the world all the more crucial. Edwards respects the source material that came before him while making his Godzilla his own.

He blended the old school with the new and it was FABULOUS!

All spectacle aside. This film isn't perfect. As previously mentioned, Edwards gets lost towards the middle of Act 2 and 3 with his humans and the emotions you were supposed to have for them go by the wayside. It's tough because he does a good job doing this early on but once the big baddies arrive I as an audience member lost all interest what the homo-sapiens were up to. It didn't help that there were some pretty poor performances by some pretty good actors. Aaron Taylor Johnson is the biggest culprit. He just goes through the motions as Ford. No feeling behind his eyes. Ironically that's the problem with Ken Watanabe's performance as Dr. Serizawa. He's so fascinated by the reality that Godzilla and the Muto exist that he spends a good portion of the film walking around with a spaced out look of shock and awe. OK doc, we get it, you're stunned now snap out of it and get back to work.

The bottom line is simple when it comes to this film. If you're a Godzilla fan there's a TON to love about this film. It might be hard to look past some of it's flaws but aside from the 1954 classic, I defy you to give me a Godzilla title that was considered perfect.

Just like the titular character....It doesn't exist.

What does exist is the transparent truth that Gareth Edwards made us all forget Godzilla 1998. Thank you Gareth!

On the 5 star scale. Godzilla gets 4 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"