In 1954 Japan introduced the world to one of the most fearsome monsters of all-time by the name of Gojira, or better known in popular culture as Godzilla. Now a pop culture icon, Godzilla has been a part of twenty-eight Japanese films and a list of American versions as well. In 1998, American Writer/Director Roland Emmerich re-imagined Godzilla once again in what was to be a modern take on the monster. With a cast led by Matthew Broderick, the film was one of the top revenue grossing of 1998 but received widely poor reviews and left a sour taste in the mouth of audiences for years to come. Now in 2014, Director Gareth Edwards takes a crack at making a modern Godzilla film which was released in theaters May 16th. Fittingly sixty years after the original Godzilla film, this reincarnation promised to be faithful to Toho series of Godzilla style. The cast consists of a talented group led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass 2010), Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins 2005), Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House 2012), French actress Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine 2013), David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck 2005), and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). With much anticipation, skepticism, and curiosity, movie goers flocked to the theaters on opening weekend to see what the new Godzilla was all about.
Following the concept of nuclear bombings provoking matters on earth, the film credits begin with black & white footage of the Bikini Atoll nuclear bomb test in 1954. The back-story develops at a steady pace from here, blasting forward to 1999. At this point two scientists, Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Graham (Sally Hawkins), are called to a strip mine in the Philippines to investigate the discovering of massive pre-historic eggs beneath the earth’s surface. As the scene concludes viewers are shown that one of the eggs may have in fact hatched and is moving across the Pacific Ocean toward Japan. That is when the story takes the audience to a nuclear power plant in Japan where plant supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is highly concerned with strange activity he discovers in his studies. This is when tragedy strikes and Brody wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) is lost in what is thought to be an earthquake that caused the power planet to meltdown and make the surrounding area inhabitable……or is it?
Fast forward fifteen years and Brody is a broken man searching for answers on what exactly happened that day where his life fell apart. His son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is now a grown man living in San Francisco, CA as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the United States Navy, is married to Elle (Elizabeth Olsen), with a son named Sam (Carson Bolde). Disassociated with his father and burying the horrific memories of his mom and home withering, Ford is distant from his father and disbelieving of his wacky theories. Called to Japan, Ford and his father Joe are reunited again; while there is friction at first, their relationship begins to mend again. Discovering their former town, now under quarantine, has been a series of lies and cover-ups; the unthinkable happens in their trespassing of the area.
At this point the film is approximately 30-40 minutes in and given a strong back-story to move forward with. This is when the action begins and a massive creature births from the power plant Brody once worked at called MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) is birthed, destroying everything in its path. With CGI effects being the standard for films in 2014, the creature itself is difficult to describe. While it may confuse some viewers at first into thinking it is suppose to be the classic creature Mothra, it is not, in fact it is a new character created just for this film. While the design of MUTO is not all that impressive, the audience only can hope the effects team did a better job with Godzilla.
As matters move along, it is clear MUTO is a destructive creature and the clear enemy in the film. MUTO makes its way out of Japan, moving toward Hawaii, and then to the mainland along the Northern California coast of San Francisco. While humans are in a panic and the United States Army believe nuking the creature is a good idea, Japanese scientist Serizama believes Godzilla is the answer to the problem and not nuclear disaster. Godzilla finally appears on mainland in Hawaii and fights MUTO, leaving piles of ruins each turn they make. While MUTO escapes and continues toward North America to find a female MUTO in Nevada, it is clear Godzilla has his work cut out. Leaving more ruins in Las Vegas, the fight moves to San Francisco, CA where the final stand-off takes places and Godzilla has the odds against him being attack by two MUTOs.
While the creatures are fighting, the US Navy realize they made a huge mistake detonating a massive nuclear bomb to try and kill the MUTOs. In the process of trying to dispose of the bomb there is plenty of drama and emotion taking place. The focal point of the story revolves around Ford and his family and the audience is drawn into their battle not to lose their family, as Ford himself did as a child.
Through the 123 minute running time of film, there is not one moment which drags. The screenplay is credited to Max Borenstein but also includes contributions from David Callaham, David S. Goyer, Drew Pearce, and Frank Darabont. The writing team definitely did an excellent job of keeping an even balance of drama, character development, a strong story, and action. While many modern action films are excessive with fighting scenes and absurd special effects, Godzilla triumphs in keeping the action scenes fresh and effects surprisingly realistic looking. The redesigned Godzilla is extremely tastefully done and die-hard fans will not be disappointed with the monster’s looks, movement, and character. In fact, Godzilla is the hero in this film, where through history he has regularly been the antagonist. Director Edwards did a fine job of keeping the film faithful to the Toho series while providing a unique new twist. Too often in rebooted film series the directors go completely over the top, and while their film may provide immediate gratification to mainstream audiences, have no longevity past its release. This is not the case with Godzilla at all. While some movie goers may expect more action, more explosions, and more special effects, the new Godzilla takes the high road with a strong plot, acting, and directing. CrypticRock give Godzilla 4.5 out 5 stars.
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