Blame my active imagination on all the Godzilla movies I used to watch as a kid. In elementary school, a good friend of mine was a humungous fan of the Japanese mascot. He had practically every movie in the long-running series and we used to marathon them together. (My only distinct memory of these movies was a scene of a giant floating egg that exploded and ‘gave birth’ to Godzilla. My friend and I found this so hysterical that we would rewind it and watch it over and over again) These movies were chock-full-o' hilariously bad English dubbing, dull human characters and majestic monster brawls. I loved every minute. I even enjoyed Roland Emmerich’s cinematic abomination when I first saw it back in 1998! (Hey, I was eleven; cut me some slack) As I got older, my obsession with big monster movies was a bit diminished, but Godzilla has always held a special place in my heart.
In our current decade, it appears that monster movies are attempting to make a comeback in a big way. Last year we had Guillermo Del Toro’s underrated Robots vs. Monsters slamfest Pacific Rim and this year, the big man on campus himself is making his way back into theaters to remind us all why he’s still the King of the Monsters. When I first heard about the character’s revival, my interest level was little to none. But that was before the film’s masterful trailers were released. Seriously, if there was an Oscar category for Best Movie Trailer of the Year, Godzilla would take the prize, no questions asked. Its stunning imagery, the haunting music (Gyorgy Ligeti’s ‘Requiem’ never fails to send shivers down my spine), the oh so spectacular teases of the title character himself. My interest went from “meh” to “YEH!!!!!!!” in no time flat. (Is ‘yeh’ even a word? Let’s just go with it)
To prepare for the release of 2014’s Godzilla, I watched Gareth Edwards’ debut picture Monsters, which is currently streaming on Netflix for anyone who’s interested. I was very impressed with the tone he established right from the get-go. It’s a small-scale human drama with creepy monsters in the background. I was even more impressed when I watched the end credits – Edwards is listed as Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Production Designer and Visual Effects Supervisor. The guy’s got major filmmaking chops, make no mistake about that. He worked wonders with a budget of $500,000 and, it was no surprise that Warner Bros. and Legendary decided that he was their guy for their Godzilla revival.
So how does Mr. Edwards fare with a larger budget (Reportedly $160 million) and gargantuan expectations?
Pretty damn spectacularly.
While Godzilla may not be able to live up to the expectations set by those phenomenal trailers, it still manages to get the job done in a most splendid fashion. Edwards’ direction is spectacular, the shots he and Director of Photography Seamus McGarvey have crafted are mesmerizing and, at times, astonishingly beautiful. You’d never guess this was Edwards’ first foray into blockbuster territory. He’s got a knack for this stuff. The special effects team, led by Jim Rygiel, works wonders, constructing sequences that will make you jump for joy and give many a hoot and a holler. Alexandre Desplat’s soundtrack is a marvelous piece of work, complimenting the material and elevating it when needed. (Desplat is very quickly becoming my favorite working composer. I’m listening to his score as I compose this review and I’m already getting pumped to see the movie again)
I won’t try to defend the screenplay by Max Borenstein, which is without question the film’s weakest element. The characters just aren’t that compelling. But that’s to be expected in these kinds of films. The humans are simply there to be there and look up in awe at the real stars of the film: the Monsters. And, in that regard, Godzilla delivers.
I’ll do my best to avoid delving too deeply into the plot. The less you know about the film, the better. Do yourself a favor and avoid as much information about this movie as you can prior to seeing it…which…I guess means you shouldn’t read this review until after…but I promise I’ll reveal none of the film’s finest moments!
Things get off to a slow start, but I love the way Edwards builds to the reveal of the Big Guy. It’s very reminiscent of the classic moviemaking stylings of Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott back in their primes with Jaws and Alien. It wouldn’t have been nearly as effective if Edwards had revealed the monster right off the bat. By slowly dialing up the suspense and building to the ‘BIG REVEAL,’ Edwards makes the moment really matter. We get little peeks and teases of the beast here and there, just enough to whet our appetites, and when he’s finally revealed in all his glory…Well, let’s just say you may be unable to resist the impulse to stand up and cheer. I loved it.
And as for the complaints that there’s not enough Godzilla in this Godzilla movie? Um…no. Just, no. He’s in the movie just as much as he needs to be. You definitely get your money’s worth.
The cast works about as well as can be expected with the limited material they are given. Bryan Cranston is, of course, spectacular as always. Aaron Taylor-Johnson has the thankless task of living in Cranston’s shadow AND carrying the film with a total blank slate of a character and he does an extremely admirable job considering the lack of material. He’s likable enough that we care about his exploits, even though he doesn’t do much beyond getting caught up in all the action.
Ken Watanabe is also wonderful as a scientist studying the secrets of Godzilla and Elizabeth Olsen is a beauty, providing the film with much of its emotional core. I also admired David Strathairn’s performance as Admiral William Stenz. Again, it’s a pretty shallow characterization, but unlike the majority of 'soldier' characters in these kinds of movies, Stenz comes across as much more well-rounded, making difficult decisions because he simply has no other choice as opposed to just mindlessly wanting to destroy the monsters and whoever else gets in his way. He wants to avoid casualties at any cost and is always willing to hear alternatives to the ‘mass-destruction’ routes. He might be the wisest decision the screenwriter made as far as characters go.
The suspense of the strong first act is mostly maintained throughout the majority of the second act, which is unfortunately peppered by some rather dull expositional moments. But, it’s in the third act that Godzilla truly triumphs. The monster action is just incredible; the audience I was with burst into spontaneous applause numerous times. Any shortcomings in the screenplay are outshone by the sheer scale and majesty of the images and the action and the excellent work from the cast.
The way is successfully paved for what could end up being a monster of a franchise. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) Warner Bros. and Legendary have got the right man for the job in Gareth Edwards. I shall be watching his career with great interest. If the story and characters are more compelling next time around, the results could be even more successful and spectacular!! In the meantime, Godzilla manages to evoke those same awe-inspired, slightly terrified feelings I had looking out on those two lights across the ocean. And when it comes to monster movies, it doesn’t get much better than that.
FINAL RATING: 4/5
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