Godzilla (2014)

It had been 60 years since the first ever Godzilla movie in Japan so it is fitting that the American reboot happen in 2014. I am probably one of the few people who like the 1998 Godzilla film by the way. For this version, the sound effects and the musical score of the first trailer is what intrigued me. The whole film lived up to what I was hoping for with those cinematic aspects. The goal was to stay true to the original design of Godzilla and the original characteristics of a Godzilla movie and reboot it all. This was accomplished. I saw the film in IMAX and it was worth the money. The reason why I rate the film lower than others would is because I have no strong desire to see the film again; once was enough. This film will appeal to special effects/disaster movie fans as well as faithful Godzilla moviegoers but others like myself may not be fully entertained.

The focus of the film if I had to pick one was the monster battles with some great acting and human drama to support it. However, because I value story and characters above all other movie characteristics, "Godzilla" falls a little short. The main character, Ford, for instance seemed too generic while his father was unique. The family relationship between Ford and his family was well established but it did not mesh well with the action. It almost felt like two different movies put together. I did not know what to expect with this film because the trailers did not give much away in terms of the overall story. That was smart because it draws people, including me, to the theater. I didn't even think there were other monsters that were going to be in this movie though I had a small hunch. My favorite scene in the whole film was sneaking back to Janjira. The filmmakers did a great job in aging the city after 15 years of complete abandonment. I fully accepted the special effects and design of that scene. The first reveal of Godzilla was very well done. I wish though that he had been in the movie more. The title is "Godzilla" after all, not MUTO. The film's depiction of the fight sequence in San Francisco is from the perspective of the monsters. When a building is destroyed for example, it is portrayed as inconsequential in comparison of the battle. The same can be said for "Man of Steel". I think I enjoy the human perspective that we saw with the Hawaii battle. I love how Godzilla defeats the female MUTO by the way. The climax had established that the soldiers flying into San Francisco had no extraction plan so the deus ex machina at the very end of the movie bothered me somewhat but maybe the defeat of the MUTO changed things. What I am saying is that I might have missed a plot point at some moment.

Some casting decisions were great. I think it is true that whenever Bryan Cranston sneezes, he gets an acting award. His performance in this film was the best out of the whole cast. I also liked Ken Watanabe and David Strathairn who was also on "Lincoln". The film may be credited to only one screenwriter but he had help from others who worked on such films as "The Expendables" and the recent Batman films by Christopher Nolan. Frank Darabont ("The Green Mile") also assisted. The sound effects met my expectations and there was a good use of Godzilla's roar. I recognized the name Jim Rygiel in the credits. His special effects are good. Composer Alexandre Desplat once again delivers an amazing musical score, which in this case is quite reminiscent of a classic monster movie.

This is a disaster movie but with emphasis on the disaster aspect. Those who liked "Pacific Rim" will like this reboot. I think that "Godzilla" was a little better because it had a better narrative with rising action leading to a climax. People want the '98 version to be forgotten but they more they keep bringing it up, the less likely it is to happen. I figure that the reason why I like the 1998 version more is because I never grew up with the original Godzilla from the 50's. This 2014 reboot harkens back to those classic films. This film will please most people who see it but I don't see any long-term value personally.

3 Stars