In 1999, a freak earthquake caused a nuclear meltdown in Japan that ruined the lives of a nuclear engineer and his son. 15 years later they both return to the quarantined sight only to find a nuclear giant monster on the loose and terrorizing the world. The only hope seems to be the legendary creature known only as Godzilla...
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When people think giant monsters, the one that usually comes to mind immediately is Godzilla. Created for the Japanese silver screen in 1954, Godzilla became a pop culture icon that epitomized giant monster movies. Godzilla's trademark roar, look, and Atomic Breath stuck with people for the past 60 years, and that is part thanks to a whopping 29 movies consistently made by the Japanese film studio Toho.
For me personally my experience with Godzilla was minimal. I vaguely recall watching one or two cartoon series, but I never watched any of the films in full. The only one I did see in full is that American-made one in 1998 starring Matthew Broderick and...boy, that one was sooooooooo lame. As such I was only mildly curious when this new one was announced, and I didn't keep up with the trailers, hype or casting news. In other words this is another movie I went in completely in the dark despite the leaks and trailers on the Internet.
By the time I walked out of the theater, I was pretty satisfied. It was very enjoyable, with a few hiccups here and there. Decent human characters, nice monsters, good cinematography, and an EXCELLENT rendition of Godzilla himself.
As usual, if you have not seen the movie yet...
The first thing to talk about is the human characters. Though I haven't seen most of the other films in their entirety, I'm aware that every Godzilla has at least some form of human element in them to balance the giant monsters out. Some films would find that balance right, others would find it too much. For this one I feel they got the right amount. The most important element is that when the humans were there and having their conflicts, it actually was in relation to Godzilla instead of having a B-plot from a different movie.
First is the human protagonist Ford, played by Aaron-Taylor-Johnson (Shanghai Knights, Kick-Ass). He was a smart and competent person throughout the movie, taking things in stride because of his military background. Then there is is father, played by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). I found it amusing that for a big name TV actor, he was only in the movie for the first third before his character dies from a monster attack. Still though his role was done very great as the desperate scientist searching for answers, and bringing Ford into the madness.
There were two characters I was iffy on. The first is Dr. Serizawa, played by Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception). While he once again played a good role as the weary doctor trying to track down Godzilla, his problem is the same one as his role in Inception: the inability to understand what he is saying. I know it's not is fault, but his English accent really needs work. But beyond that, he played his role fine. The other is Elle, played by Elizabeth Olsen (younger sister of the Olsen Twins). She was just...there. She was the wife Ford and looked after their son and was a nurse. They showed her running away from Godzilla and taking shelter...and that's it. She wasn't bad, she was just...there. Nothing much else to say. She's probably the weakest character in the movie, on the grounds that she didn't do much.
It's pretty funny though when you consider that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are in this movie as a married couple when they'll be in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron as a brother and sister.
The next things to talk about are the three monsters. In my opinion, it was a good move not recycling any of the other Godzilla monsters and instead creating two new ones. Identified as "MUTOS (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), they were created by mankind's nuclear tests. Design-wise they were OK, looking kind of like arachnids with reptilian heads. The male MUTO can fly and generate EMP shockwaves by stomping, while the female MUTO is bigger and lays eggs.
But of course the one that steals the show, the reason why you came to the movie in the first place, is Godzilla. And man oh man, they did an excellent job with him. He only appeared a few times, but when he did appear, he definitely made an impression. This Godzilla is computer-generated as opposed to a suit, but he looked real enough. Seeing him on the big screen you can see just how utterly huge he is. Everything you want from Godzilla is there and then some. What I especially like is that, unlike before, this Godzilla is more of an anti-hero. He saves the world and destroys the monsters but causes massive destruction and death. I even daresay that this Godzilla can actually look downright scary if you really get into the movie. Nothing really negative to say, he was just done excellently.
Now for the technical aspect. The CGI in this was done well, especially when you compare it to other Godzilla recent Godzilla movies of the past where they haven't quote gotten the CGI down. As said previously the monsters are rendered well enough to look real. When you see them on the screen, it's as if they're really there. The cinematography was good too. The shaky camera got annoying as usual but thankfully there wasn't a whole lot of it. And finally, the camera work was top notch. Though CGI, it's as if they used the work of the old Godzilla movies to make the monsters look huge, filming at low angles with tons of vertical and horizontal panning shots and closeup shots. You could practically see the bumps, ridges and scales every time you saw Godzilla up close.
The story is where things got a little mixed. The beginning is a little slow for me, only really picking up once the first MUTO appears and they got on the aircraft carrier. Until then it was like watching a completely different movie. The theme I feel is the same one touched upon (Though not as heavily) in the original 1954 movie: A cautionary tale about the dangers of nuclear testing and the folly of mankind trying to fight back against nature. Godzilla in this movie can be seen as a metaphor; Mother Nature's own pet monster if you will. Godzilla's appearance alone triggers tsunamis and there is widespread destruction. He doesn't outright hate and kill humans but doesn't particularly care about the damage he did. He's not the children-loving, monster-befriending, squeaky clean hero of the Earth as in the past. He is a force to be reckoned with.
There were tons of other things I liked about the movie. Anytime Godzilla was on screen it was just great, especially when he was first revealed for everybody to see. The music was nothing much to comment on, but I give props to the score for utilizing trumpets and violins whenever the monsters fought. It made them seem much grander. It was nice seeing a Godzilla movie or just a giant monster movie in general where we have a military body that's actually smart instead of existing as fodder for Godzilla to destroy. There was also a great Easter Egg that references the monster Mothra, and the final shot of the movie where Godzilla leaves and swims back to the ocean was beautifully done. You think he is dead but instead he majestically rises as the people are unsure if he's the doom of the planet or the savoir of the planet, as he lets out one final roar and disappears, indicating that someday, he may be back.
Final Verdict
Should there be a sequel? Maybe, but I dunno. I think they need to think long and hard about that, otherwise it'll ruin what the first movie built up; a return of Godzilla back into the public consciousness. No disrespect to the Godzilla movies of the past, but they were, for lack of a better term, cheesy. It is that cheese that really defined Godzilla and made that perception of him just being silly and stupid fun. This movie changes that and brings Godzilla back to a certain level of seriousness. Combine that with decent human characters, nice enemy monsters, and various technical aspects, and you've got yourself an entertaining movie.
Score: 3.9/5
Trailer thoughts:
Maleficent: Shaping up to be good. I'll be seeing this in the coming weeks
X-Men: Days of Future Past: Same as the above.
Edge of Tomorrow: Stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in a Sci-Fi setting. Nothing much to comment on, and looks kind of generic.
Jupiter Ascending: I don't even know who the actors are in this, but one thing I do like is the setting. The space backgrounds and the spaceships look pretty nice.
One other comment. Ayala Malls, you keep playing this one segment about the importance of orderly and calm evacuations and exiting the cinemas. But why do the people in your segment look like they're walking on a fashion runway with neutral calm expressions? That is so not realistic, especially the little kid who is smiling.
Next review: X-Men: Days of Future Past
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