Godzilla

 GODZILLA

Director : Gareth Edwards
Year : 2014
Genre : Science Fiction
Rating : ***1/2

No film of 2014 has been surrounded by as much hype, expectation but also trepidation as 'Godzilla'. Less than two decades ago, Roland Emmerich's fun but unbelievably rubbish 1998 'Godzilla' turned the world's most famous monster into a laughing stock and while the trailers for this latest incarnation of the big guy promised a more adult and tension filled Zilla, moviegoers have prepared themselves to be just as disappointed as they were in 1998. However, fans have also been ready for a newer Godzilla film; one that reinvents the character for a 21st century audience while still keeping the aesthetics of the classic 1954 original 'Gojira'. 

Maybe British director Gareth Edwards is just the man for the job. Having proved that he can deal with both characters and special effects in his 2010 low budget hit 'Monsters', Edwards seems like the one filmmaker on the planet who could do justice to the legacy of the atomic breathing lizard. So, is 'Godzilla' worth the wait or has an another Western  director ballsed up the king of the monsters? Well, as is expected with a mega budget blockbuster, 'Godzilla' contains a great deal of spectacular special effects and Edwards certainly shows reverence and respect for Ishiro Honda's 1954 science fiction classic in his camera work, cinematography and little in-jokes that only true fans will understand. However, the film is ultimately let down by its lack of character development, some rather mediocre acting, a cumbersome screenplay and it's very misjudged pseudo Spielberg-ian pacing.

The film begins 15 years ago, where we see nuclear physicist Dr. Joe Brody (played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston) lose his wife (Juliette Binoche) in a catastrophic Fukushima - like radiation leak caused by a gigantic earth tremor. Convinced that the accident was not caused by an earthquake, Joe spends the next decade and a half rooting through any piece of evidence he can find to prove that his wife's death was not due to a natural disaster but from the movement of a colossal creature; a monster that the government is trying so desperately to hide.

However while thought to be insane, Joes theory proves to be correct when a huge spider - like flying creature called a MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) breaks lose from it's holding and the world soon discovers it's awesome and devastating power as it reduces towns and cities to fiery rubble. When a second MUTO appears to have hatched on the other side of the globe, the planet is only given one choice. To awake a beast far older than humanity; the one beast who can defeat and kill these monstrous creatures.....Godzilla. Soon he and the two MUTO's meet in San Francisco and what follows is a battle of titanic proportions; a battle that will either continue the survival of humanity or spell the extinction of humanity.

 

From the opening credits, Gareth Edwards manages to cement 'Godzilla' in a world that is far more realistic and believable than almost any other 'Godzilla' movie ever made and for the most part, the realism is carried through successfully. Very cleverly editing stock footage of nuclear testing and the detonation of atomic weapons to include the appearance of the giant lizard, Edwards sets us up for a film that is very low on comedy and very high in both tension and anticipation; something which can most definitely NOT be said of Roland Emmerich's 1998 debacle which traded suspense and dread for puns and horrible slapstick.  ''THAT'S A LOT OF FISH!''

Treating the monster in the same way that Steven Spielberg treated the shark in 'Jaws', Edwards whets our appetite over the first hour of the film with indecipherable shots of scales, fins and claws; not only making us anxious to see Godzilla in full but also increasing the atmosphere of fear and inevitable catastrophe that is palpable throughout the running time of the film; an atmosphere that is only accentuated by Alexandre Desplat's thunderous but highly listenable score.

Unfortunately Edwards holds back the lizard that little bit too much, to the point where the MUTO's become the star of the show rather than Zilla himself. Of course, when he finally appears on screen in all of his humungous glory, the effect is startling and unfathomably awesome. Not only are the special effects top notch but through both the sound design and creature design, Edwards manages to perfectly sell just how huge Godzilla really is and what destructive capabilities he has. The end result is hands down, the most impressive monster I have ever seen on the big screen. I must admit the first time Godzilla let out his iconic ear splitting roar, goosebumps ran up my arms while my fan-boy heart did backflips. The MUTO's are also very impressive to look at and genuinely frightening, although the design of the creatures looks more like the alien from 'Cloverfield' than anything you would see in a traditional Godzilla movie. Of course, when the two monsters come together in the ultimate showdown, it's just as spectacular and as breathtaking as the numerous trailers promised. It's just a shame it took so damn long to get there.

If the characters were more developed and interesting then I wouldn't mind Edwards holding back the monster action until the final reel but apart from the always brilliant Bryan Cranston who gives an Academy Award worthy but far too short performance as the damaged nuclear physicist (you know things have gotten bad when Heisenberg is screaming hairy habdabs!), the cast of 'Godzilla' are turned into nothing more than exposition spouting collateral damage who slow the film down to an almost snails pace. In the lead we have Aaron Taylor Johnson who is best known for his starring roles in the wonderful Lennon biopic 'Nowhere Boy' and the disparate 'Kick Ass' franchise. Sadly, his role is limited to a typical action hero archetype who rather than being a character we can focus on and invest our emotions in, we are left feeling pretty cold towards.

Playing his doting wife is Elizabeth Olson who is astonishingly underused, turning her from an actress of great power and emotion into a boring, standard housewife figure who spends most of the movie waiting for news of her husband and taking care of their small child. The supporting cast includes such names as Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn, Juliette Binoche and Sally Hawkins and while none give terrible performances per se, their characters are certainly not all that interesting. It is a shame that 'Godzilla' spends most of it's time with the dull characters than it does with the monsters because when it does focus on the MUTOs and Godzilla, the movie becomes a heart pumping roller coaster ride with action and excitement levels that rival any major action blockbuster.

While the film certainly has it's fair share of problems in both character development and narrative structure, Gareth Edwards has created a 'Godzilla' picture that most definitely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as other Toho classics like 'Gojira', 'Godzilla Vs. King Kong' and my personal favourite 'Godzilla Vs. King Gidorah'. With creature effects that rival that of 'Pacific Rim', 'Cloverfield', 'Jurassic Park' and other colossal monster movies, 'Godzilla' is a triumph of modern computer technology that still manages to keep the anti-nuclear ideology of Ishiro Honda's 1954 original firmly at it's centre. It's just a shame that the movies characters and plot couldn't be as layered and as focused as the themes running through it's reptilian bloodstream.