Godzilla (2014) Review


Movie: Godzilla (2014)
By: Maniac E
Date: May 12, 2014

Welcome back King of Monsters

So it marks the 60th anniversary for the King of Monsters "Godzilla" and what better way to celebrate this than with a new movie. Only this time around the movie shall be another Western adaption, how will this unfold and will fans of the series be pleased with the end result? Let's find out.

As many know this project is ambitious not only because it is about Godzilla but also the director which actually pretty much is a newbie when it comes to big money blockbuster movies, I am talking about Gareth Edwards the man who brought the sleeper hit Monsters (2010). You might think he was not the most obvious choice but he did show a lot of love towards the Godzilla since he himself is a fan of the monster movie genre and it shows. He builds up the anticipation of showing Godzilla in very old school way, by bringing the viewer just flashes of the monster until later in the movie coming at you full force. This approach isn't new but gave it the right vibe for the movie and giving Godzilla that refreshing outcome that it needed to have.

Godzilla 2014

With that said let's face it there isn't enough of the big guy on screen, everything is very focused on the people and taking away screen-time and star power for Godzilla. The acting isn't really great and you feel that it really is there to please the new audience, people that aren't familiar with Godzilla. This is obviously a direction they wanted to take to get as many people on board to see the movie, which for me was a shame it was more distracting than really helping the movie evolve story wise. One other thing the cast is purely selected for pop/culture status and yes I mean Aaron and Bryan. The characters aren't deep enough to really get emotional attached to and while they are father and son you never really feel like they are. Also the movies female characters are really stereotype and just adds more to the cliches that are in the plot. Sometimes the tempo in the movie drops because of all the human aspects in the movie which is a shame I for one would have liked it if it was more like Pacific Rim. Fast paced action type of thing and on that level I expected more.

Godzilla 2014

But let's move on the good things! Yes, and there are plenty of good things to enjoy with this movie. The CGI in the movie is amazing and the sound effects are great. The way Godzilla is portrayed is doing him justice even knowing it is just a 3D model, a very detailed 3D model. Once the action starts and the mayhem in the streets are unleashed you really have the feeling that you are in a monster movie and a big one. The shots from inside the city are done in a way to make the audience feel small and this approach really works for the scale of the enormous beast . The whole thing just feels like a very nice refreshing take on an old genre that finally gets pushed into a better spotlight position. Godzilla ended up on par of what I was hoping for it recreates a setting that can be used for further installments and maybe next time we can maybe expect some old school arch enemy from the past. One can wish right?

Godzilla 2014

All in all this adaption on Godzilla would get many fans up on their feet and with all the great animations and some awesome monster fighting it shall and will please most of them. Gareth Edwards made it possible to look forward to a next adventure of the King of Monsters and let's hope the next time there will be more monster fighting and less human aspects to be concerned about as next time Godzilla won't need any more introduction. I would like to welcome back Godzilla to the ring of monsters!


3.5/5




Movie

Godzilla (2014)

Title

Godzilla (2014)

Director

Gareth Edwards

Country

USA

Year

2014

Cast

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston