Godzilla (2014) Review
I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret: I’m a huge, huge fan of giant monsters. Most of the time this means that I have to watch things in Japanese with English subtitles. Nobody – and I mean nobody – does giant, city-crushing monsters the way that the Japanese do.
But that isn’t to say that Hollywood can’t make good monster movies. Both Pacific Rim and Cloverfield were quite enjoyable although I do wish the shaky-cam in Cloverfiled wasn’t quite so shaky.
Way, way back in 1998, Hollywood made a Godzilla movie. It was pure, unmitigated garbage. Here are some of the lovely things we were treated to:
- A Godzilla that looked like a giant iguana.
- A Godzilla that seemed to change size from scene to scene.
- A Godzilla so lame that it actually got hurt by normal missiles. Yes, you read that right. It got hurt by regular missiles. Japanese Godzilla laughs in the face of normal missiles.
- A Godzilla without the iconic atomic breath.
- A Godzilla that laid eggs that then engaged in scenes more reminiscent of Jurassic Park than a real Godzilla movie.
In fact, 1998 Godzilla was so lame that it was renamed Zilla and promptly slaughtered by the real Godzilla in the awesome Godzilla: Final Wars movie. The fact that Godzilla beats Zilla by throwing him into the Sydney Opera House and then blasting him with his atomic breath is simply icing on the cake.
Naturally, I was very worried when I heard that Hollywood would be taking another stab at Godzilla. Even the trailer, and it’s awesome skydiving scene, wasn’t enough to ease my concerns.
Last weekend, I finally got a chance to watch it. It was awesome. Spoilers ahead!
The story kicks off with a discovery in the Philippines of a massive skeleton along with a pair of spores. One of the spores hatches and the creature that emerges goes on a rampage, eventually laying siege to a nuclear power plant in Japan. Joseph Brody (played by Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston) loses his wife in the attack and becomes obsessed with what he feels is a government cover up of the real cause of the disaster, which the government claims was a natural disaster.
Faster forward fifteen years, and Joseph’s son, Ford, has to go to Japan to bail him out after he’s arrested wandering around the quarantine zone. Ford is a bomb disposal expert, and he doesn’t buy into what he views as his father’s crackpot theories. But he still agrees to go with his father to check out the quarantine zone.
It turns out, however, that his father is right. The pair are arrested and discover that a MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism) was responsible. The MUTA hatches, revealing itself to be a winged monster from prehistoric times that feeds off radiation.
The MUTO levels the facility that has been built around it and escapes. Joseph is killed and Ford is introduced to the military officers and scientists tasked with bringing down the beast. It turns out that the MUTO and Godzilla are from the same period in history (when radiation was much more common). Godzilla awakened in the 1950s and they’ve tried killing him with nuclear weapons.
The MUTO makes its to Hawaii, taking out a nuclear submarine along the way, before meeting Godzilla in a pitched battle that ends with the MUTO fleeing and Godzilla giving chase. The second spore, that was brought to Nevada, awakens, wreaking a great deal of havoc. The two MUTOs are headed for San Francisco with Godzilla in hot pursuit. One of the MUTOs is male and the other is female – they’re meeting up so they can mate.
While all this is happening, the humans are busy running for their lives and planning a thermonuclear attack to take out all three giant monsters. Ford gets caught up in everything, first in Hawaii and then when the train he is catching to San Francisco (which is carrying a bomb) is attacked, and then when he joins the skydive into San Francisco.
In San Francisco the three monsters meet and awesomeness ensues. Godzilla kicks ass and takes names, lots of buildings are smashed and the whole thing looks incredible. Godzilla finishes the movie by claiming victory and then returning to the deeps.
So What Are the Cons?
- Bryan Cranston is easily the best actor in the movie. The others are, for the most part, passable, but none stand out. Unfortunately, Cranston dies about a quarter to a third of the way into the movie. Oops.
- The human element of the story may aggravate some people because it means Godzilla isn’t on screen as much. However, I think it helps set the stage for the giant monster, and it provides some context for the battle that ensues in the second half of the film.
- There is some cheesiness involved in the dialogue. The Japanese scientist is the main source of it. But I wasn’t too bothered by that. It felt like an obvious nod at the original films.
So What Are The Pros?
- They really build up to the first real glimpse of Godzilla, and it doesn’t disappoint.
- Some of the shots are amazing – like the skydiving scene. Gold.
- Godzilla looks like he should. This Godzilla is similar in design to the Japanese original but more menacing. He is also wonderfully animated. This is no man dancing around in a suit. This is a computer-generated harbinger of doom. This may well be the best animated giant monster ever in a movie.
- Godzilla is an absolute beast in this movie. He kicks ass. He takes names. He laughs in the face of thermonuclear weaponry. And he has his atomic breath – and it’s damn awesome.
- The MUTOs are great monsters in their own right, and watching them face off with Godzilla is amazing.
The style and scope of the battles is great. It’s monsters rumbling the way they should.
Overall
I absolutely loved this movie. If you’re a fan of giant monsters, I strongly recommend it. I crown it the King of the Monster Movies for 2014.
But that isn’t to say that Hollywood can’t make good monster movies. Both Pacific Rim and Cloverfield were quite enjoyable although I do wish the shaky-cam in Cloverfiled wasn’t quite so shaky.
Way, way back in 1998, Hollywood made a Godzilla movie. It was pure, unmitigated garbage. Here are some of the lovely things we were treated to:
- A Godzilla that looked like a giant iguana.
- A Godzilla that seemed to change size from scene to scene.
- A Godzilla so lame that it actually got hurt by normal missiles. Yes, you read that right. It got hurt by regular missiles. Japanese Godzilla laughs in the face of normal missiles.
- A Godzilla without the iconic atomic breath.
- A Godzilla that laid eggs that then engaged in scenes more reminiscent of Jurassic Park than a real Godzilla movie.
In fact, 1998 Godzilla was so lame that it was renamed Zilla and promptly slaughtered by the real Godzilla in the awesome Godzilla: Final Wars movie. The fact that Godzilla beats Zilla by throwing him into the Sydney Opera House and then blasting him with his atomic breath is simply icing on the cake.
Naturally, I was very worried when I heard that Hollywood would be taking another stab at Godzilla. Even the trailer, and it’s awesome skydiving scene, wasn’t enough to ease my concerns.
Last weekend, I finally got a chance to watch it. It was awesome. Spoilers ahead!
The story kicks off with a discovery in the Philippines of a massive skeleton along with a pair of spores. One of the spores hatches and the creature that emerges goes on a rampage, eventually laying siege to a nuclear power plant in Japan. Joseph Brody (played by Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston) loses his wife in the attack and becomes obsessed with what he feels is a government cover up of the real cause of the disaster, which the government claims was a natural disaster.
Faster forward fifteen years, and Joseph’s son, Ford, has to go to Japan to bail him out after he’s arrested wandering around the quarantine zone. Ford is a bomb disposal expert, and he doesn’t buy into what he views as his father’s crackpot theories. But he still agrees to go with his father to check out the quarantine zone.
It turns out, however, that his father is right. The pair are arrested and discover that a MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism) was responsible. The MUTA hatches, revealing itself to be a winged monster from prehistoric times that feeds off radiation.
The MUTO levels the facility that has been built around it and escapes. Joseph is killed and Ford is introduced to the military officers and scientists tasked with bringing down the beast. It turns out that the MUTO and Godzilla are from the same period in history (when radiation was much more common). Godzilla awakened in the 1950s and they’ve tried killing him with nuclear weapons.
The MUTO makes its to Hawaii, taking out a nuclear submarine along the way, before meeting Godzilla in a pitched battle that ends with the MUTO fleeing and Godzilla giving chase. The second spore, that was brought to Nevada, awakens, wreaking a great deal of havoc. The two MUTOs are headed for San Francisco with Godzilla in hot pursuit. One of the MUTOs is male and the other is female – they’re meeting up so they can mate.
While all this is happening, the humans are busy running for their lives and planning a thermonuclear attack to take out all three giant monsters. Ford gets caught up in everything, first in Hawaii and then when the train he is catching to San Francisco (which is carrying a bomb) is attacked, and then when he joins the skydive into San Francisco.
In San Francisco the three monsters meet and awesomeness ensues. Godzilla kicks ass and takes names, lots of buildings are smashed and the whole thing looks incredible. Godzilla finishes the movie by claiming victory and then returning to the deeps.
So What Are the Cons?
- Bryan Cranston is easily the best actor in the movie. The others are, for the most part, passable, but none stand out. Unfortunately, Cranston dies about a quarter to a third of the way into the movie. Oops.
- The human element of the story may aggravate some people because it means Godzilla isn’t on screen as much. However, I think it helps set the stage for the giant monster, and it provides some context for the battle that ensues in the second half of the film.
- There is some cheesiness involved in the dialogue. The Japanese scientist is the main source of it. But I wasn’t too bothered by that. It felt like an obvious nod at the original films.
So What Are The Pros?
- They really build up to the first real glimpse of Godzilla, and it doesn’t disappoint.
- Some of the shots are amazing – like the skydiving scene. Gold.
- Godzilla looks like he should. This Godzilla is similar in design to the Japanese original but more menacing. He is also wonderfully animated. This is no man dancing around in a suit. This is a computer-generated harbinger of doom. This may well be the best animated giant monster ever in a movie.
- Godzilla is an absolute beast in this movie. He kicks ass. He takes names. He laughs in the face of thermonuclear weaponry. And he has his atomic breath – and it’s damn awesome.
- The MUTOs are great monsters in their own right, and watching them face off with Godzilla is amazing.
The style and scope of the battles is great. It’s monsters rumbling the way they should.
Overall
I absolutely loved this movie. If you’re a fan of giant monsters, I strongly recommend it. I crown it the King of the Monster Movies for 2014.
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