When this came out, people were upset that it did not have enough creatures in it. I agreed back then but now after the sequels I realize that Gareth Edwards was trying to focus on the story and not just a CGI fest. I really enjoyed Bryan Cranston's character and wish I could have more of that too. While I left wanting more, sometimes that is better than having too much.
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Scenario 1: If you are going to see this film because you really enjoy classic Godzilla movies and you hope the music and campy theme of those films are represented in this one, you absolutely should go see it. Godzilla here looks much more like the beloved behemoth than it did in the '98 movie, the music hearkens to the classic Japanese overtures of the old Gojira film era, and the camera work has the comically silly nature of Sam Rami's Spiderman series.
Scenario 2: If you are really excited to see a deep, human film with camera angles and writing that really tell a story that is thematically transcendent such as "District 9" and the Korean film "The Host," this is not your film. The script is filled with overtly simplistic rhetoric and one dimensional characters (intentionally,) the scenes somehow manage to have very little tension (even for me, the pilot episodes for most sitcoms seem more tense than Gozilla,) and as stated above, the camera-work is intentionally hammy. It should also be noted that to add a human element, the director overuses children to the point that it ends up feeling very obvious, as though he did it to be intentionally campy.
Scenario 3: If you are one of those people who really just want a fun popcorn flick such as Pacific Rim, with some solidly choreographed action like in the over-the-top bulletfest Battle:LA, I would say proceed with caution. The fight scenes are less intense and more majestic, like any classic monster movie, and as such the human aspect of the combat is relatively insignificant, less so than any other monster movie I've ever seen. There are no little monsters for anyone to shoot at, if that's your thing.
Scenario 4: If you are interested in this film because you love the talented work of Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, and/or Aaron Taylor- Johnson (three of my favorite actors) and are excited to see what they bring to the table, you should probably sit this one out. Bryan Cranston's role in this film garners far less screen time than advertised, Ken Watanabe spends literally every second walking through the scenes with the pained expression of someone who just walked in on their parents, and all three of the actors give off the vibe that they are very much aware of how cheesy their lines are. Everyone else's performance was similarly forgettable.
Honestly, I'm a stickler for deep, human storytelling, but I've also had a softspot for the classic, silly fun of many Godzilla movies, including my favorite, Godzilla vs. Destroyah. All told, depending on which camp you fall under, this will be an entirely different movie for you. As Godzilla movies go, I'd give it a B. As darker, more serious monster movies go, I'd give it a D+. -
Theo Robertson14 April 2015I saw the trailers for this a year ago while I attended a screening for Aronofsky's NOAH . I didn't fancy it much . GODZILLA conjures up memories of the big budget blandfest from a decade and a half ago . Just put some CGI on screen and voilà you've a Summer blockbuster . This version did get a very good average rating when it opened , something in the region 8.1 but progressively got lower and it now has a rating of 6.6 indicating something average . To be fair I went in with an open mind and did find myself enjoying things more than I probably expected
The original GODZILLA from 1954 was of a course a Japanese film that used the monster as a metaphor for the bomb . It did quickly abandon this subtext and just became a long running franchise where the titular monster got involved in all sorts of battles with other giant monsters . In its favour Gareth Edwards version of GODZILLA does keep the ethos of this . Radiation is very much to the fore of the story and while Godzilla might not be the hero he's certainly not the villain and this is reserved for "Massive Unidentified Terreistial Organism" a sort of hybrid between a giant praying mantis and a dragon . You know at one point they're going to be meeting in a climatic battle
Of course two hours of giant CGI creatures getting in to a punch up isn't going to resonate with an audience so Edwards includes a very human backdrop as the story takes place through the eyes of serviceman Ford Brody . You got to love that name , it's sounds like a character John Wayne was born to play , a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do , get off your horse and drink your milk etc . It wasn't until I found out after seeing the film that I found out Brody is played by English actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson who I was totally convinced was one hundred per cent Uncle Sam . That said this isn't an actors type of film and I'm speculating that the casting of Cranston and Binoche might have led to the backlash by many people . If you want to see Binoche try not to be blink because you will literally miss her . It's also difficult not to notice that there's a strong streak of manipulation as to how the characters play out . It's also yet another film where a little kid is used in a scene to keep the audiences emotions on tenterhooks
Regardless of this people watch a film like GODZILLA for action set pieces and you can't really fault Edwards for what he's done here . He doesn't have a idiosyncratic quirk to his directorial style and the film does have that kind of Summer blockbuster look but he also previously directed MONSTERS and that movie featured a couple of aliens mating and here the MUTOs have a similar though much more shorter sequence . If you need a film calling for alien reproduction I can see Gareth Edwards being a natural auteur -
gogoschka-115 May 2014Remember 'Jaws'? Remember the way you only got to see little glimpses of the shark or just the remains of his victims for nearly half the movie? Instead, you got to meet half the town first and all the main characters while fear and paranoia slowly spread across the whole community, and when the great white guy finally did make his entrance - boy, what an impact he had.
Now, that was 40 years ago - but would it be possible to make that kind of movie today? To show restraint despite a budget of 160+ million dollars and all the latest state of the art CGI-effects the blockbuster factory has to offer?
As it turns out, it's not quite possible; at least not as far as this latest version of 'Godzilla' is concerned - but that's probably not for lack of trying on director Gareth Edwards' part. The young director ('Monsters') has stated many times that 'Jaws' was a huge inspiration for him on this movie, and it is hardly a coincidence that the (human) hero in 'Godzilla' shares the same name with the hero in Spielberg's masterpiece (they're both called Brody).
Edwards made it very clear that he wanted to take an "old school" approach - and as far as the beautiful, haunting build-up of the first half of the movie is concerned, he actually succeeds. The atmosphere of mystery and dread is tangible; the human element is there, the acting and the dialogues are solid, and the production design is breathtaking (especially the apocalyptic images of an evacuated city in Japan which was left to decay for 15 years, overgrown with plants and with packs of wild dogs running in the streets).
The "muto" design - when we do get a first glimpse at a creature - is otherworldly and frightening (as good monsters should be), but as the movie progresses into the second half and the creature-action increases, the quality of the pacing, the dialogues and the acting inexplicably decreases. The movie sadly starts to feel flat, and although there is one great creature scene after another, and although those scenes get more and more intense as the storyline steers towards the inevitable showdown, it's hard to stay invested in the human side of the story.
After the first act (when there was actually still some real acting required from the actors), there are virtually no interesting moments anymore when the human protagonists interact, let alone lingering scenes where the characters get to talk long enough to one another to even try to build such a thing as chemistry. So when the finale does arrive (which looks absolutely beautiful, by the way), you admire its epic scale, but since there is nobody to care about, it's hard to feel thrilled.Sure, you kind of root for Godzilla, but since you only just met the guy, you don't feel too much attached.
Ultimately - despite a great build-up and a fantastic looking finale - 'Godzilla' is a valid effort but only rarely a thrilling one. Unlike in 'Jaws', there are no interesting human characters here who could help create the kind of tension-heavy atmosphere or sense of impending doom the way Chief Brody, Hooper and Quint could 40 years ago.
Trying to show restraint alone is not enough to create a sense of wonder the way seventies cinema did - you also need the kind of character-driven scenes where someone says: "We're gonna need a bigger boat!"
Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/
Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/
Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/
Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/ -
vegaseaglesfan123 September 2014Finally sat down to watch this movie today. After all the hype it had had it's fair share of great moments but in the end felt something was missing. I'll agree with many that Godzilla wasn't shown as much as he should have and maybe that was what missing or maybe it wasn't. Needless to say even though Godzilla doesn't make many appearances in this movie it still is a rather good movie with a an interesting story line. The best way to go into this movie is to not buy into Hollywood's hype because if you go into it like that you will be disappointed greatly. Overall I was satisfied with Godzilla. Great story, special effects, and even the acting was pretty solid. Worth the 2 hours for sure. Sit back, grab some popcorn and beverage and enjoy!
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Dory_Darko28 May 2014OK, let me start off by saying that the new Godzilla is definitely an entertaining movie and well worth the price of an admission ticket. That is – so long as you go into it with popcorn-level expectations. Now, it has to be said that the bar, since the most recent attempt by Roland Emmerich in 1998 (which was hilarious at best) wasn't set particularly high, to say it nicely. So in all honesty, with today's budget and special effects, it never had a big chance of being that bad. But I have to admit, judging from the trailer – I thought it would be better.
It starts off pretty good. There is proper story build-up and character lay-out. Where we are – what's happening... It's all there. In fact, the story revolving around the main characters is pretty dramatic from the get-go. Death in the family, trauma leading to obsession over finding the truth surrounding the circumstances. Bryan Cranston is impressive as the family father and science guy. He just knows something is up concerning some big beastie and he won't let up until he figures it out. That is – if he gets the chance. Something happens around one third into the movie that is a pivotal turning point in the story. I knew this immediately when it happened and in the end I realised that I had been correct.
From this point on, it's out with the story and in with the action. An almost mind-numbing, pummelling assault of non-stop action. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it's a lot less interesting than it could have been.
Here's the deal: instead of just one Big Monster, they bring in three. One Godzilla, and two huge insect-like creatures that are only designated as MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Object). Seriously, they couldn't come up with a proper name? And instead of Godzilla being the big threat to mankind, the MUTO are. In fact, Godzilla turns out to be the good guy because he's the only one that can defeat these insect creeps. This story line is factor one in the reason that this movie isn't what it could have been. Factor two is the plot point that these creatures all feed on nuclear energy instead of "manburgers". Consequentially, the only real threat they pose is the massive destruction they cause in big cities (and obviously, the human lives that become casualties by default). It's because of this that there is never any real sense of threat or danger. They don't hunt us, they don't care about us. All they want is nuclear energy and a place to breed. What's worse is, these MUTO take screen time and attention away from the monster who's supposed to be the main antagonist and namesake of the movie! It might as well have been called "Big Creepy Insects" instead of "Godzilla"...
In the end, what we're left with is billions of dollars worth of collateral damage and a big-ass monster who's really kind of a nice guy. Weird.
Still, it's certainly not bad. Aaron Taylor- Johnson does his best at looking very serious and all grown up since his Kick-Ass days, although I am certain that this is definitely one of his less compelling roles. The problem is that from the 1/3 turning point that I mentioned, his character becomes very formulaic and cliché. Our hero even shares an intimate moment of eye contact with Godzilla in the end... Aww.
Ken Watanabe spends every moment of his screen time looking shocked and awed... and pretty much nothing else. Juliette Binoche is shamefully underused. I would have loved to have seen more of her. The biggest asset is definitely Bryan Cranston. He's the only one who managed to make his character 3-dimensional and a real human being. He, too, would have definitely deserved a bigger role. In fact, the film probably would have been much better for it.
Visually, everything is very awesome and impressive. The special effects (visual and sound) are top-notch. Every time Godzilla opened his mouth to let out a massive roar, I thought my eardrums were going to pop. It's bone-chilling and very cool. The design of the MUTO is a real treat, they look like giant praying mantises, totally intimidating. The films' SFX really make it worthwhile.
All in all, the story is quite weak and riddled with clichés, though I must say one thing: thank God for the complete lack of obligatory footprints. I was seriously dreading the moment these giant "claw prints in the mud" would appear on screen, but thankfully it never happened. The overall feel and setting of this film is quite dark and threatening, and adding such a cliché would have been really dumb and unnecessary.
I had really hoped that this was going to be the definitive Godzilla movie. Alas, it is not. But I still enjoyed it for what it was and I definitely recommend seeing it for the special effects alone. In any case, 'Gojira' looks awesome.
I rate it 7.5/10. -
ma-cortes16 March 2020Nice and entertaining remake in which the massive and giant monsters emerge from the depths to destroy the world . New version based on Japanese classic monster with excessive and modern computer generator FX . An unknown accident occurs in 1999, at the Janjira nuclear plant which causes an emergency on the cabinet to assemble , under supervision by engineer Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) and wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) causing a Nuclear waste . Then , the facility being mysteriously destroyed. Years later, Joe's son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) , a US Navy lieutenant, who has just gone back home to his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) must go to Japan to help his estranged father who obsessively searches for the truth of the incident . As an underwater prehistoric reptile emerges from the depths after he has been awakened from slumber by atomic energy and destroying buildings and people . The creature is so huge it's weight would crush it if it came on land . With social media capturing the footage and with newly acquired appetite for atomic testing , the emergency cabinet meets to find out what the creature is and if it will be a real threat , then Godzilla's destructive power outbursts . it comes back in its next form and is now taller , impressive and indestructable . The military and civil cabinet David Strathairn , Sally Hawkins, Richard T Jones) and Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) gives it the name "Godzilla". Meanwhile , the spontaneous and astonishing appearance of others monsters precipite international incidents . There shows up the "Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism" ("MUTO") that eats radiation trapped underground and other destructive creatures . Along the way the horrible monsters clumsily destroy towns , office buildings , skyline , skyscraper and knock commuter trains of their elevated tracks . They are proven wrong as the creature comes on land horrifying the people of towns and knocking over buildings . Against this cataclysm, the only hope for the world may be Godzilla, but the challenge for the King of the Monsters will be great even as Humanity fights to understand the huge ally they have .The monster scaring towners , terrorizing San Francisco ,its streets bridge , breaking buildings and everything to get in its ways. The king will rise . The king arrives. The world ends, Godzilla begins. A god incarnate. A city doomed. Nippon tai Gojira. Reality versus fiction.
This is a roller-coaster ride plenty of destruction , wreak havoc , action-packed , thrills , chills and breathtaking scenes . Fun moments and frightening entertainment when happens appearance Godzilla carrying out an extreme mayhem , confusion and destruction . As Japan and America are plunged into chaos upon the appearance of giant monsters , then the cabinet sends a defence force to eliminate the monsters but they evolve and start inadvertently overheating with radiation and this causes the monster to run back to the bay . Based on the original Godzilla , any other bigger-than-life tale that span almost 60 yeasrs would have to answer some serious question about plot repetition . Fantastic design creatures , being well and brilliantly made by means of state-of-art digital efects .The film packs about 1000 visual effects shots. The 3-D model of Godzilla, made up of 600,000 polygons, appears in aroung 400 shots. Finale leaves door open for an inevitable follow-up but still no realized. It contains an adequate cinematography , though dark , by Seamus McGarve . As well as a thrilling and moving musical score by Alexandre Despalt . The motion picture was well directed by Gareth Edwards who exposed their three of his influences for film-making are George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. He has made succesful films , as the hit of "Monsters" resulted in Edwards getting offers from the major studios, especially Warner Bros., who tapped him to direct an English-language reboot of the 1954 Japanese classic "Gojira", being produced by Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures, directing the successful "Godzilla¨ . Finally directed this ¨Rogue one¨, a tremendous box office hit smash , grossing a lot of money worldwide .
Other movies about the Japanese monster, always produced by Toho productions and with rubber suits, miniature sets, are the following ones : the classic ¨Gojira¨ (1955) or ¨Godzilla King of the monsters¨ by Inoshora Honda ,commercially hit in the US , being one of the first post-WWII Japanese film to break American boxoffice including ridiculously primitive FX even in its own day ; ¨Godzilla king of the monsters¨(1956); ¨Godzilla raid again¨(1959); ¨Godzilla vs the sea monster¨(1966) Jun Fukuda; ¨Godzilla on mosnter island¨ (1972) , ¨Godzilla vs Smog monster(¨72) , ¨Godzilla vs Biollante¨ , ¨Godzilla vs King Ghidora¨, ¨Godzilla Vs Monster Zero¨ , ¨ Godzilla vs Megalon¨(1976); ¨Godzilla¨ (1985) , ¨Godzilla vs Megagodzilla¨(1993); ¨Godzilla revenge¨, ¨Godzilla 2000¨ , ¨Godzilla : King of the monsters¨with Kyle Chandler , Vera Farmiga (2019) , ¨Godzillavs. Kong with Elza Gonzalez, Bobby Brown , among others -
mmamasali22 May 2014It is my first review..I waited this movie since announcement.Since movie's release i checked RT score and metacritic.Some were disappointed.Maybe they are not monster kind person. First in IMDb it was 9.3 ,when i checked.After that it started decreasing. In 16th of my i immediately bought a ticket and went to watch it.Unfortunately in my city there is no IMAX 3d theater ,so i handled real 3d. When movie started first part was kinda drama. Bryan Cranston acted perfectly.Maybe he will be nominated for best actor in supporting role.Emotional part describes history of Godzilla and arising new MUTOS.After first break action part was just stunning.I was amazed by CGI and sound effects. Roar of Godzilla and other monsters makes you thrill.In movie i think i saw Godzilla just about 20-30 minutes, but when i saw ,it was cool.That few minutes was enough for my expectations..(sorry for my English mistakes)
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You could describe this movie as Cloverfield meets Pacific Rim, because the evil enemies of Godzilla look so much like the alien in Cloverfield, while Godzilla behaves like the monsters from Pacific Rim only now Godzilla is the good guy.
First, the special effects are good, the acting is not bad and the directing is a copy of Steven Spielberg's style.
If you can see trough the many continuity errors, the complete meaningless character of Joe Brody and actually all the other characters and the other, many, many flaws in this movie and the absurd plot, you can enjoy it perfectly!! OK, for a movie called Godzilla, it's very confusing that the monster has little screen time, but when it has, it's just an action pack roller coaster. Just brainless entertainment, I can recommend this one. -
Oh, the trailers looked so good. I had hope, and, for the most part, my only criterion was that it be better than Pacific Rim, Hollywood's attempt at the kaiju genre last year. I liked that one, but was disappointed (with Guillermo del Toro, I expected something with a little more meat). Godzilla does not clear that hurdle. It has the same major problem that all these kinds of films do: the human element is lacking. Severely here. And what a fantastic cast to waste! Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe! Every single one of them utterly wasted. Hopefully they all got a big check. We have all these people, but instead we're saddled with charisma black hole Aaron Taylor-Johnson (of Kick-Ass fame), who isn't even adequate. Thankfully, the big monster fights deliver, for the most part. There could maybe be more monster action, but when it's there, it's a lot of fun. I also thank the filmmakers for restraining themselves and keeping the film at only two hours (it runs a tad over that if you stay through the credits).
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babyvett-3-89026817 May 2014So, I should start by saying, I went to this move not expecting a lot. My husband wanted to see it, however, so off we go.. Dear Lord, I think I'm going to find the sappiest chic flick available (even if its torturous for me to sit through) just to get payback for him making me sit through 2 hours of this crap. At least the popcorn was good!!
I liked Godzilla himself.. But, I think out of the entire 123 minutes, you see him only 20 minutes, maybe? And most of that is just watching his spiky back in the water as he swims. The rest of this movie is watching the main actor, who, in my opinion, has about as much acting depth as Kristen Stewart, look like a total tool. The shining grace, I thought, was that this movie had Ken Watanabe in it. I like Watanabe but even he looked like he was suffering from a bad case of the Taco Bell revenge and couldn't find a bathroom for the entire movie.
I spent the majority of this movie picking out dumb stuff that just amounts to bad writing. Example: Okay, the two bad monsters (which, in my opinion resemble a cross between those white strider things that the muppets ride in "The Dark Crystal" with a bit of "Aliens" thrown in to make them somewhat scary?) have the ability of creating EMPs, killing all electronics and causing aircraft to fall out of the sky.. We learn this early on in the movie, probably in the first 30 minutes. Think the military learns their lesson?? Nope, lets continuously throw about 600 billion dollars worth of F-35s and Battleships in the mix just so we can have it continuously plummet into the water. Another example: They know these muppet hybrids like to eat Radioactive materials and I guess can smell it. And hey, there's one making its way from Vegas to San Fransisco. So lets strap a huge bomb on a train and slowly move it from Vegas to San Fransisco along the same exact path that the critter is going. What kinda harm could that cause? Its not like the thing would smell it on the train and come after it, right? And why is it, the military storms into a radioactive storage facility but has no clue that an entire half of mountain has just been blasted out by muppet hybrid #2 (who's much bigger than #1) and this 30 story tall critter is somehow making its way towards Vegas completely undetected?
And while we're on the subject of the bomb, what the heck is up with the "breeding" of the two muppet hybrids anyway?? You got a male, you got a female (complete with some glowy bulging egg sac thing that they give us a really good closeup of.. They meet up to reproduce.. which involves the male giving the female the long, phallic shaped, radioactive bomb which she then rubs between her legs all over this glowy egg sac.. WtF?? How the heck did these things breed before mankind started making huge phallic shaped missiles anyway?
Oh..Did I mention the acting was bad?? I don't recall liking ANY of the characters, with exception to the dad (played by Bryan Cranston) and he dies within the first 20 minutes of the movie. There are characters that seem to have no purpose whatsoever besides trying to find a way to fill a 2 hour movie with irrelevant fluff. Lil Asian boy on the elevated train in Hawaii? Didn't see any point to him.. The main characters wife and little boy?? Added nothing to the story to be honest. (And what military wife who knows her husband is in danger isn't waiting by the phone for news? Nope, phones ringing and she's doing whatever.. Or tells her co-worker she's unavailable?) The acting had no depth to it, everyone came off very flat and honestly, unlikable. There's no emotion whatsoever. Hey, a couple of muppet hybrids are destroying our city, oh well. A huge Godzilla is barreling towards our aircraft carrier? Don't panic.. lets stand at the guardrail and watch it peacefully because any emotion such as fear would be too much to ask.
Pretty sad when the most exciting thing about this movie is a bird hitting the bus window.. Although, to be honest, the CGI on the actual fight between Godzilla and the muppet hybrids was nice, the whole 5 minutes it lasted. Then, Godzilla jumps in the water and the credits roll. Best part of the whole movie.. Compared to the other 121 minutes of this movie, the credits are the best 2 minutes overall. -
lukemh129 August 2014If Jaws was released today, everyone would complain how it took too long for the shark to turn up. WHAT HAPPENED TO ATTENTION SPANS?!
When I saw it in the cinema people couldn't even get through the opening credits without being on their phones. These are the same type of people who complain about how the human characters are dull (Yet the 1998 Godzilla characters were too ridiculous) but tell you off for saying the same thing about Pacific Rim, saying "But I just want to see action"
The people who complain about there being too little action also complain about how Transformers has too much action. The people who complain about Cranston not being in it enough complain about movies using popular actors just to get people to watch it. The people who complain about it being dark and realistic complain about the Marvel movies being too light and unrealistic.
The people who complain about this movie are whiny, hypocritical and missed one of the most beautifully choreographed movies, with the most impressive visuals even when the monsters weren't on screen, a great soundtrack that inspired terror and a cast that although lacking in the third act, made up for a great introduction and middle (Cranston and Watanabe) and some of the most epic-scaled action I have seen in the last 10 years. Cloverfield was a shaky mess that wasted the monster and Pacific Rim had sporadic fights that gave no real sense of scale.
I can't wait for the many sequels that will most likely have a lot more Godzilla now they are confident (given the box office)to use more CGI and money. He will be fighting some of the most iconic villains from the Godzilla universe, and hopefully all the idiots who watched and hated this movie won't watch it and me all the people who cheered through the first one will get to watch it in peace. -
SnoopyStyle26 October 2014During the 1950s, creatures are awaken from the deepest depths. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) believes that ancient creatures exist that lives in radiation. As the radiation faded from the earth's surface, these creatures retreated to the lower depths. In 1999, miners uncover a vast cavern with a giant skeleton in the Philippines. They also find one of the spores broken open. In Japan at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant, manager Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) loses his wife in a freak incident. Fifteen years later, Joe is still investigating the incident with the city around the plant quarantined. He is arrested once again for trying to breach the quarantine. His son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has to leave behind his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) in San Francisco to go pick him up from jail in Japan. Joe convinces Ford who is now a US Navy ordnance disposal officer to join him to go to the plant. They discover that there is no radiation leak. Instead the spore from the Philippines named MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) has settled in the plant sucking up all the radiation.
This is always going to be a great monster movie. The CGI is terrific and Godzilla has a great time smashing things up. That part seems like a no-brainer. I still give director Gareth Edwards credit for doing a great job. He doesn't disappoint. The problem is once again the human story. The beginning is just too long before it gets to a monster. The Joe Brody story doesn't have the bite. In another movie, his story would be a fun mystery. The problem is that the audience knows it's a monster even if it's not Godzilla. So there is no tension from the mystery since it's not really a mystery. The other problem is that Ford just happens to be at the right place in all of those situations. It's a situation that a lesser movie would rely on. I hoped for better. The final problem I have is that the movie cuts away from the monster action time and time again. It's funny the first time but it gets annoying quickly. Despite all the problems, there is still a fun monster movie and lots of stuff get smashed. -
taner-ali15 May 2014This film has no plot. I wouldn't have an issue with this if instead they had filled most of the two hours with scenes of Godzilla destroying things and killing people. However, the monster himself receives a pathetic amount of screen time, only appearing halfway through the film after the plot has already focused its attention on two giant bugs. They are unimaginatively designed, have no basis in Japanese mythology like the titular monster, and their only purpose seems to be to diminish the impressiveness of Godzilla. The character development in this film is non-existent. Every character, from the wise but ignored token Japanese bloke, to the soldier's wife whose sole purpose is to wait at home to comfort him, is a dull Hollywood cliché. Unlike the viewers, the film believes its characters are fascinating enough to merit the laughably corny near-death and family- reunion scenes towards the end. Instead, the audience is left laughing in bemusement at the overly sincere expressions on the protagonist's face as he threatens a giant monster with a handgun. Whenever Godzilla and the insects finally begin to fight, before anything happens there's an instant cut to yet another tedious shot of US soldiers shouting about nothing in particular. The film's sole purpose is to showcase the might of America's armed forces and ability to survive under a crisis; and it doesn't even do that well, given that the navy can't even tell when Godzilla is swimming directly under their ships. Of course, setting the story in Godzilla's homeland of Japan would not interest American viewers, so the monster decides to swim across the Pacific Ocean in order to wreak havoc. No doubt Godzilla will receive acclaim from morons due to its high-tech but utterly unimaginative animation techniques. However, this film's cutting-edge CGI does not justify its lack of plot, excitement and meaningful characters.
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bob the moo5 October 2014I'm no great fan of summer blockbusters and for sure am resistant to the idea of paying over the odds to sit in a crowded room and be disappointed. This usually sees me picking up with such films when they are cheaper to get on rental and just watch in my own home. With Godzilla I will admit I was tempted to join for the spectacle because in addition to this the film had the appeal of quite a starry cast list in addition to being from Gareth Edwards, the man who famously made Monsters in his bedroom and on the fly. This suggested that perhaps there would be more to it than just effects and big money shots. That said, I had heard negative things and I did approach it with low expectations because after all, it is just a Godzilla movie.
The film does try to create a human story to ground the audience and it casts wisely with Cranston, Binoche, Watanabe, Hawkins and others – all people who have a good presence in front of the camera. I was not to know that so many of the names that drew me to the project would be removed from the film pretty early on – a device that has impact for sure, but doesn't seem particularly brave since one suspects that the reason people like Cranston got onboard was that they were promised a lot for only relatively small parts. This leaves us with Taylor- Johnson and his quest to get home; a quest that never really interested me but at the same time is constantly pushed into the middle of the action no matter what or where it is. This saw my interest in the human side waning as the film progressed, leaving just the action.
On this front the film pushes things as hard as it can. The makers clearly know their action genre because this is a film that understands that soldiers running with guns and speaking in tough military dialogue while music pumps in the background, can grab an audience – so it does it, lots. Considering I didn't care two hoots for them, I was surprised by how much time I spent watching soldiers sweeping areas with guns pointed – it did start to bore after a while. The monsters and their destruction is nicely hinted at first, but eventually the film plays all its cards and we have lots of action and knocking down of buildings. Unfortunately much of it plays out in darkness – something which helps the atmosphere but limits how much can be seen. Technically it looks good and the money is all up on the screen (in the darkness) but it is probably the noise that makes the most impact and even on a lesser system the roars and thuds of the monsters are engagingly meaty.
Unfortunately this is really all that the film does, and it is quite uninvolving and unsatisfying. There is a lot of very good noise and big spectacle, but we have to experience through the human characters who we increasingly do not care about, and when the action really ramps up, it is detached from any sort of reality and I found myself appreciating the technical work rather than getting lost in what could have been dramatic and thrilling. As a blockbuster it probably has enough noise about it to be a distracting two hours if you have a good enough home entertainment value. -
MattBrady09910 October 2014The story is about a a gigantic beast looking to wreak havoc on mankind - and he may not be alone.
This movie has one of the best visual effect's of the year by far, The fight scenes at the end are so epic and amazing I also cried with joy. And some critics have said the characters are boring but I didn't mind them. My favorite scene has to be the sky driving part and yeah I know it only lasted only 2 minutes but the music was scary and chilling and the cinematography was beautiful to look at. Godzilla looked awesome in the movie and the final fight at the end was so bad-ass and so much better then pacific Rim fight scenes. Godzilla's roar in this movie was loud and scary. a lot of people said Godzilla didn't do anything in this movie and I didn't know what there where talking about, Godzilla walked around a couple of times and kicked ass at the end. -
While I like the new design and the fantastic CG, this Godzilla movie is kind of like the Lorax... the name of the movie has little content of the main character; The Lorax was only in "The Lorax" for about 8 minutes of the movie, unfortunately that's about all the screen time Big G gets, the rest is uninteresting unpolished plot that makes you wish they would just "get on with it" as Monty Python said. Godzilla movies are kind of like porn, nobody watches it for the storyline they watch it for the action, so talk less and pound more.
Also, critics and many reviewers are laying into this movie saying the storyline was bad or that the acting was sub par... it's Godzilla, do you expect Meryl Streep to make a 3 minute cameo and rack up yet another Oscar ? This is a popcorn movie, it's meant to sell tickets and to show the Japanese how to make a movie that doesn't involve someone wearing a $2M suit for some weird on screen cos-play action. You dump a $160M in and hope you make twice that back, who cares if every Big G fan walks out feeling like a comic con fan who doesn't get the autograph he stood in line for.
If there is a sequel to this movie, make it more like Pacific Rim with tons of action and very little story or dialog. I mean really, how much story do you need? 50 story lizard has a beef with mankind and his only means of dealing with his aggression is to stomp the **** out of everything that the minuscule little primates built. 120 minutes of Godzilla goodness, 3 minutes of dialog. Someone go make that movie, I'll wait. -
Why do I say it depends on the crowd? because I literally went to 2 types of crowds in 1 day, first with random cool people(full room) and then with some athletic friends(room was a little empty). So the first time(without my friends) I watched it was amazing with the people around, every time Godzilla landed a strike everybody was like "OOOOHHHHHHH" like if it were a fight club circle,especially when the blue glow appeared everybody raised their hands and were like "WUOAH, WUOAH HERE IT COMES!" and when Godzilla fired the laser... Oh my god... the yelling.... everyone screaming, even the little kids were scared due to the people screaming. So pretty much we all got out of the theater satisfied and while I got out my friends arrived and told me to join them to watch it again. The room with my friends was kinda empty. My athletic friends barely paid attention and some of them even left, the room was quiet. Even in the fight scene it was quiet, I even tried to motivate them but wow those guys were bored and I was annoyed by that. So I pretty much noticed they got out the theater unsatisfied. This is my conclusion.
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I said once i went out the theater:
Godzilla finally found the perfect movie for itself yet. The story works as well the pace and the special effects. The first half of the movie is absolutely perfect with all the destruction that the monster provokes. It leaves to the viewer unforgettable scenes. But the second half is not at all a disappointment. The action sequences are effective and spectacular. Godzilla is truly frightening. Young viewers are advised! The acting is also so nice delivering solid performances and helping the drama. Bryan Cranston may be a standout but Elisabeth Olsen is a scene stealer and a very important role here. With any doubts I had an encounter with one of the best movies of the year.
But now, after some days I say:
This is a riveting entertaining that will please the moviegoers. But it's s disappointment in terms of the monster itself and its fights against the other. An important lack. -
svr-220026 September 2017Godzilla: Movie Review.
Every time I see Godzilla roaring on screen it makes my mind blown away. The Cinematography, visual atmospheric style and whole tone and vibe of the movie is intense, astonishing and very well executed. The visual effects are spectacular and dazzling. Spectacle 3D and motion captures effects are fantastic. The cinematic story telling style of the film is phenomenal, immersive and impressive. The suspenseful, tense and mysterious build up is mind blowing. The fight and action sequences are well paced and breathtaking. There are some very creative and innovative sequences that are really amazing to watch on screen. The structure of the film is well balanced with exciting visceral thrilling scenes which are highly imaginative, compelling and convincing. The depiction and mythology of Godzilla both as hero and a monster is gripping, extraordinary and very fascinating.
The last few minutes of epic showdown is very interesting, absorbing, artistic, awe-inspiring and very beautifully filmed and shot. The movie illustrates the power of the King of Monsters and the film captures Godzilla in all of its glory. Every time Godzilla is on screen the movie develops into a non stop thrill ride. The movie immerses its audience into the adventures of Godzilla which oozes brilliance in every scene it appears. The film is a visual marvel and brilliant in its conception and execution. The movie also explores the oppositional forces other than Godzilla and captures the essence of fear and visual beauty. The movie breathes life into the characterization of Godzilla and enchants itself with every element. The film is an extraordinary testament in its portrayal of the cultural icon of Godzilla. The movie accomplishes the difficult task of genre based film making.The direction of Gareth Edwards is good especially in regards to visuals and creating Godzilla action sequences.
The main and major issue with the film is the very less screen time of Godzilla. This is really a major disappointment, because there is very less Godzilla in the film and Godzilla itself does't get enough screen time in its own film. The Human characters of the film are dull, boring and very underdeveloped. There is no emotional depth and intensity. Another major issue with the film is another major character that is the character of Bryan Cranston, also has a very less screen time. But, its the last superb fifteen minutes of the film that delivers something totally awesome.
(Please Note: That This Review represent only my professional point of view and my personal honest opinion about the film, and does not represent others. Thank You). -
Field7816 May 2014In a time where remakes and reboots cause increasing rolling of eyes from moviegoers, I think that lots of people weren't sorry to hear that Godzilla would get a make-over. The last incarnation from 16 years ago didn't please too many people, although I have to admit that I had a good time with the pulpy B-movie-type creature-feature that Roland Emmerich delivered. Sure, the script was substandard and most of the actors were out-performed by the beast, but there was plenty of action and random destruction to have a good time.
This reboot, however, takes its subject matter much more seriously, which is good, because Godzilla is a beloved character with a long history, an iconic presence, and an entire mythology that is just waiting to be explored, something the 1998 version infamously didn't. Godzilla isn't a mutated lizard here, but a mythical primordial creature that has been here since the beginning. The opening scenes, where Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins make a startling discovery, which has devastating consequences for Brian Cranston and his family, are great and suspenseful. They set the tone for the first half of the movie, which has a pleasant what-the-hell-is- going-on-here mood. The big budget is used for some spectacular vistas of deserted cities, mass scenes and random destruction, but it does not distract from the plot. Brian Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson take the viewer on a journey to make sense of all their discoveries, and I must say that there are some surprises along the way that the trailers had carefully hidden. Godzilla gets a few enemies in the form of vicious mega-parasites, which makes him the hero for a change, and builds up a lot of anticipation for their confrontation.
It is in the second half where, sadly, those expectations are not all met. Brian Cranston's character meets his unfortunate and unexpected demise, so that Taylor-Johnson gets promoted to the lead. However, he can't match Cranston's rugged charisma and authority, and the dramatic story arc that gave the first half such an impulse gets a bit muddled in the conventional weaknesses inherent to the genre, such as predictability (the monsters just 'happen' to converge where Taylor-Johnson's loved ones are) and excessive disregard for logic ("Let's give the parasites an EMP!" "Does that make any sense at all?" "No, but it looks cool and makes are heroes vulnerable!"). Elizabeth Olsen is definitely the more talented sibling of the Olsen family, but she is underused in a typical damsel-in-distress role.
Still, I'll gladly look past such weaknesses in an otherwise decent script, but we watch creature features for all the rampaging, mayhem and mass destruction as well. That's where the movie is a bit lacking: Godzilla enters quite late; we see him very sparingly, pushing away some ships and taking some fire; the parasites squash a few people and tear down one or two buildings, but most of the carnage occurs off-screen or through a monitor. There is lots of collateral damage, but too often we only see the aftermath or just a trail of destruction; when Godzilla and the parasites are about to face-off, the camera quickly cuts away. I understand that they were probably saving it for the finale, which was satisfactory, but the climax felt a bit rushed and underwhelming in light of all the waiting. I did not expect to ever say this, but with a little more focus on action than on story, I would have been more thrilled and on the edge of my seat. I had several things to say against Pacific Rim, but that movie DID show a whole range of death matches between large creatures beating the hell out of each other, that made up for all the silliness and plot holes in the script. On the plus side, the special effects look great and very realistic, and the disaster scenes that we get to see are convincing.
So, to sum up, I think that this is the story treatment that Godzilla deserves, but not necessarily the movie. He seems to be playing a supporting role in his own movie, and although this may have been done as to not take away the mystery, I hope that he can claim his rightful leading role in the inescapable sequel. -
rasmushelms28 May 2014For fans of monster movies, "Godzilla" was surely one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Therefore, the most surprising thing about Godzilla is not how empty the story is, but rather how little there is of the monster in the movie after which it is named.
The plot in "Godzilla" is disposable. It only exists as an excuse to unleash the film's titular character. However, is it too much to ask for an original plot with characters we could care about? Here, the back story is cliché-ridden and the characters simply serve the function of moving the story forwards. As such, one would expect that Godzilla is at least given ample screen time. Surprisingly, this is not the case, and the majority of the film's focus seems to be on the military attempting to find out how to kill Godzilla and the MUTOs, which look like giant, angry cockroaches. Ultimately, it is left up to the score and the Michael Bay-esque dub-step reminiscent sound design to create tension.
Its almost futile to talk about the performances in the film because despite the strong cast, the characters are so one-dimensional that nobody delivers a memorable performance. Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche do their best with the little screen time they are given, and the couple of Aaron-Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are given the impossible task of creating interesting characters from the uninspired script. More worrying, however, is how unnecessary Sally Hawkins' character is and how the script manages to make Ken Watanabe look like a second-rate actor, as his character rarely changes expression from the looks of intense thought or surprise.
Overall, "Godzilla" did not work for me at all. Not only is it a film without heart, but it a film meant to thrill that ends up just being tedious. I could have left halfway through the movie. I just didn't care how things would turn out. -
doubleb5814 November 2014I wasn't going to review this film, however, after reading mostly negative reviews, I felt I needed to put in my two cents worth. I am definitely in the minority on this one. I loved this film. It captured my attention instantly and held it for the entire two hours. Sure, the plot is familiar, but anyone who expects a new plot for one of the oldest, most famous monsters ever, is nothing but kidding themselves. This is a new version of some of the old "Godzilla vs....." movies. Not similar to the 1998 film in which one monster stomps around and destroys the city. Sure, that also happens here, but not without an epic battle between Godzilla and other radioactive monsters. Yes, most reviewers are complaining that Godzilla only appears for 10 minutes in the movie. This is true, as the other monsters have more screen time, but most of the film is built on suspense, and in my opinion it works very well. There is still plenty of chaos and destruction for the action buffs. The human story (about Ford Brody and his family) is quite weak and almost non-existent. But that does not take anything away from this epic monster movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is VERY entertaining. 10/10
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final-fantasyxcjo14 May 2014This was seriously one of the most boring movies i have ever seen. Aaron Taylor Johnson proved that he cannot act a serious role. Part of good monster films in general is when you care about the characters which when Cranston left the film, the human element took a nose dive. Apparently Ford is the only nuclear bomb guy in the whole damn army, the soldiers assigned to protect the nuke, know nothing about it and Olsen is basically a broom stick with a head. Godzilla is a guest star in his own damn movie and even the final fight, they kept cutting away from the monster fight, which was highly annoying. Now i would have been fine with this had i given a crap about any of the characters that remained in the film, but i don't and every time they cut away to see what Ford is doing i was rolling my eyes.
I don't ask for Pacific Rim amount of action, but Godzilla needed much more action, even 10 mins extra screen time would have made this a better film. Pacific Rim had fun with itself and never took itself too seriously and although some characters were uninteresting, what made me care about Pacific Rim when the monsters were away was Idris Elba, proving that had the human element focused on Cranston, the human part would have been much more interesting.
And before you say "well most early Godzilla films only had Godzilla in it for 20 mins". Newsflash This isn't the 1960's and 70's. CGI has far advanced and even if Godzilla is only in the film for 15 mins, it could have been much better, instead they cut away just as he is about to fight the MUTO, the first time was acceptable, but by the time number 3 came around me and many of my friends were getting frustrated.
Like man of steel Godzilla is dull, depressing, unfun and soulless. Hopefully Godzilla 2 is far superior, and i do give this film credit for getting Godzilla back in the limelight, but for how much this movie was hyped, the payoff was poor. I give the movie a 6 out of 10, but if you want a fun monster movie go see Pacific Rim. -
Heart_McBlue17 May 2014First I need to tell that I am from Central Europe. I am not writing reviews but I can't be silent. This was terrible. This was 1st time when after movie everybody was talking how bad it was. And everybody I mean whole cinema.
First 20-30 minutes were watchable. It was looking to be a solid movie, but after that everything goes wrong. And I mean everything... Bad dialog's; good music in very bad moments and several styles of it; main character immortal; American happy ending style; no logic in this movie anywhere; many mistakes noticeable for everyone...
If a Uwe Boll have more money, he will make this movie better. When I was watching Sharknado, I was less shocked by stupidity like in this movie. It is waste of your time and money and watch it only when you want to punish yourself.