Godzilla (2014) Movie Review

Andy Serkis with ping-pong balls

The first time I saw Monsters starring Scoot McNairy, what really caught my eye was the attention to character that director Gareth Edwards put into making the viewer care about humans in that monster movie. Even while working on a very small budget, he was able to evoke a sense of dread and constant unnerving that many big budget summer films fail to do. So when I heard he would be directing the new Godzilla, my expectations were somewhat lifted. The last time Hollywood tackled Gojira, we got Mama Godzilla protecting her babies in Madison Square Garden. Fuck you Roland Emmerich. But then I started seeing trailers and promotion for this film and got excited. While it may not live up to the hype, it is still an engaging film.

Starting in the 90's in Janjira, Japan, the Brody family, consisting of Sam, Joe (Bryan Cranston) and Sandra (Juliette Binoche) begin their days like anybody else. When what seems like an earthquake hits the nuclear plant that Joe and Sandra work at, Joe must leave the plant and go to his son. Fast forward 15 years, with Joe being a broken shell of a man, convinced what happened at the plant wasn't an earthquake, and Sam (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in the army, tired of his father spouting conspiracy. When Joe is arrested in Japan, soon after Sam returns to his wife (Elizabeth Olson)  and son after a tour of duty, Sam must go and retrieve Joe. Little do they know, scientists Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) have been doing some of their own exploration, and when the same pattern of earthquakes, from 15 years before, shows up again, Joe's conspiracies no longer seem so far fetched.

I feel like that is the least spoilery plot synopsis I could give, seeing as we all know Godzilla is in the movie. What director Gareth Edwards does so well is not ruin the reveal of the titular monster. He ratchets up the suspense and tension, so that when we do finally get to see it in all it's glory, it feels well earned. He also has a keen eye on how to shoot action, with the HALO drop sequence looking outstanding. What he accomplishes is shooting the action and monster from the human perspective, making everything that happens feel larger and more epic. I feels like you are a human immersed in the experience, rather than someone simply watching from far away.

Another staple of Edwards work is his focus on character. While Monsters simply had two characters to follow, Godzilla offers much more of an ensemble piece. While Ken Watanabe and Aaron Taylor-Johnson take up a bulk of the screen time, and are fine within their roles, it's Bryan Cranston who gives a performance full of heart and agony. The character arcs suffer when he isn't on screen, as he gives the type of performance you expect from a character drama and not a summer blockbuster. 

I do wish they would have given Watanabe and Elizabeth Olsen more to do, as Watanabe is relegated to looking mistified by Godzilla, and Olsen plays the damsel in distress. I can't stay mad at Olsen though, as I love her and all. Oscar nominees Sally Hawkins and David Strathairn are fairly wasted, as Strathairn plays an army general used to update the viewer on the army's plan for Godzilla and it's progression, though he is given some nice scenes before the climax of the film. Hawkins plays a throw away role that could have been played by anyone, bringing little to the plot, and working as a device to inform the viewer about the science aspects of the film.

But obviously, what we come to a big budget summer movie about monsters for is the Fuck-Shit-Up aspect of the film. And boy, do things get wrecked. Cities are destroyed, people are killed, and it gives an authentic feeling to how people would react to a giant monster in their city. First, a sense of awe, instantly followed up fear and panic. Edwards knows how to make Godzilla cool again, and there were several moments where I turned into a child and just went "That was so freaking cool!". 

While not a perfect film by any stretch, Godzilla is a lot of what we can expect from a good monster movie. It makes the monsters cool, scary, and awesome, and makes the people feel real and adds stakes to the film. Yes, it suffers from being about 15-20 minutes too long, and the occasional illogical coincidence, but those can be forgiven in favour of an entertaining film. This feels like Pacific Rim for the more passionate film watcher, as opposed to a general audience.

Grade: B-