Godzilla
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, and David Strathairn.
Backstory
10 years ago, Toho, the Japanese movie studio that owns Godzilla, decided to give the franchise a rest, saying that sometime down the road, someone else could have another crack at the big guy. In 2014, the Americans said, “Umm…can we try again?” Of course, the last time the Americans made a Godzilla movie, the 1998 film, it was kind of reviled. Although, I kinda liked it. 16 years later, how would the Americans fare this time?
Plot
Lt. Ford Brody, a bomb disposal expert with the US Navy, finally returns home from his deployment. But, before he can get settled, he gets a call from his father, a nuclear engineer. 15 years ago, there was an accident at his father’s nuclear power plant in Japan, and his mother was killed. His father has then spent the past 15 years searching for the truth. Brody heads to Japan to bail his father out of jail, but soon gets drawn into his father’s investigation. They discover the accident was caused by the awakening of MUTOs — massive unidentified terrestrial organisms — ancient lifeforms that have lived underground since prehistoric times, and now re-awakend by mankind’s experiments with radiation. Two MUTOs have awakened, and are now carving a swath of destruction across the Pacific. But, their activities have attracted a third MUTO…the alpha predator…the one the Japanese called “Gojira.” Can Lt. Brody successfully lead the mission to save the world from the MUTOs…or will they find an unexpected saviour in Godzilla?
What I Liked
GODZILLA! This is the Godzilla we all know and love. I mean, after all these films, Godzilla is a character, and they are true to that character. Every time he’s on screen is fantastic. Godzilla is great. But….
What I Didn’t Like
It’s a frustrating tease! We only get glimpses of Godzilla until about halfway through the film. We needed more Godzilla in our Godzilla movie! And, like most Godzilla films, the humans really don’t get much to do. They’re just filler between the monster scenes.
Final Assessment
This…this is a Godzilla movie. It looks like one, it feels like one, it acts like one, it has the same problems as one. Loved it.