2014 Summer Movie Season - Godzilla: Review & Analysis

Return of The King!!! Garth Edwards' Godzilla reboot returns King of the Monsters to his rightful Throne!!!!

By: Brandon Porter

Make Way For The Return of The King of The Monsters!!!

Story

                In 1954, nuclear test were conducted to destroy an unknown entity of massive size. Soon however, strange events start occurring that puts into question the safety of mankind. Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), who recently lost his wife in a nuclear power plant collapse, is convinced that higher officials are hiding the truth from everyone. As Brody and his son Ford (Arron Taylor-Johnson) begin to peel back the layers of this mystery, deadly creatures begin to emerge and begin causing destruction and chaos across the globe. With the military on its last leg and the fate of the world on edge, the only thing standing in the way of humanity’s imminent doom is a powerful force of nature that can restore balance to the world. Its name…GODZILLA!!!!



Father and son Joe and Ford Brody investigate a deserted quarantined zone

Analysis

                After the embarrassing effort to bring Godzilla to the big screen in 1998 and 2000, Hollywood was skeptical about what the future held for the King of the monsters. In Garth Edwards, they saw a director who had the ability to create the Godzilla movie that the critics and fans deserved. Thankfully, he did just that. The film garnered a solid 73% certified fresh rating and a 76% fresh rating from audiences.  Richard Roeper praised the film stating that "Edwards and his team produce consistently stunning visuals.". Boston Globe’s Tome Russo explained, "Crafted with motion-capture technology and an aesthetic eye toward tradition, Godzilla is convincingly rendered here, making for some genuinely electrifying moments. There’s the monster’s battleship-buffeting partial reveal. That initial footfall, and the way it instantly communicates Godzilla’s impossible scale. That initial blast of his radioactive dragon’s-breath, and a stunning encore." Financially, Godzilla stomped on the competition. It garnered an impressive $100 million dollars at the box office and in total received $200 Million worldwide. With a sequel already in development, Godzilla’s return to cinemas will be met with great anticipation and even higher expectations.

Two Words...ATOMIC BREATH!!!!

Review

                Since the 1998 and 2000 versions of Godzilla, Hollywood has struggled to capture the awe, magic, and wonder of the proclaimed “King of The Monsters”. This year, director Garth Edwards tries his hand at successfully bringing the iconic beast back to cinemas. After seeing it in IMAX, I can happily say, he succeeded. Godzilla is a great film that delivers new school thrills with an old school vibe. One plus is the action. Some well orcastrated action sequences put this film up there with the years best action movies. The creature fights between Godzilla and the other monsters are truly spectacular and fun. They were right on par with last year’s Pacific Rim which is a huge plus. In fact, the one of the things that I didn’t like about the film is that there weren’t enough monster fights. But the monster sequences shown were just breathtaking enough to satisfy. The sight of Godzilla is truly an amazing experience. When he first appears, I couldn’t help but smile wide seeing that he finally returns to cinemas after all these years. Acting was on the balanced side. Arron Taylor-Johnson did an admirable job in the lead role. He showed great maturity and resolve in what is just the start of his skyrocketing rise to fame. Though still room for improvement, He has the potential to be a great actor in Hollywood. Bryan Cranston delivers a solid performance as Joe Brody. He is passionate, emotionally broken, and conflicted. Unfortunately, Cranston is disappointingly underutilized in this film. Just as he is coming into his own, he is no longer a factor. It’s a disappointment knowing this was done and considering his fan base expected him to play a bigger part in the film. Nonetheless, Cranston does well in the screen time he’s given. Others like Ken Wantanabe and Elizabeth Olsen pull their share of the weight in this film as do others, but I feel the human element sometimes took away from what the fans really wanted…to see Godzilla fight!!! But the human involvement is just good enough to keep you engaged until the next fight sequence occurs. All in all, Godzilla is a Godzilla film done right and puts the iconic beast back in the good graces of fans and critics alike. Here’s to another successful run on the silver screen G-Man!!!!

 

Rating and Final Thoughts

Breathtaking monster sequences, passable human story, and epic grand scale, Godzilla is a terrific installment of the franchise and really helps renew interest in the timeless character and franchise.

Though Godzilla reigns supreme this year, make no mistake, he WILL return to reclaim his throne