'Godzilla' is basically a cowboy film involving monsters and a decent popcorn flick
1954 's IshirÅ Honda directed 'Godzilla' was an intelligent satire of the nuclear bomb which had recently struck the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The movie inspired countless sequels and reboots including the terrible 1998 Hollywood movie directed by Ronald Emmerich. Gareth Edwards' 2014 reboot is much more similar to the Honda version than the other one but unlike the sharp (though marred by poor special effects) message the first film sent, this one is always confused about what its theme is.
Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is the plant supervisor of the Janjira nuclear plant.After his wife's death and quarantinafication of the plant, he becomes convinced that it was a massive cover up of a far more sinister secret.15 years later, after he is arrested for trespassing, his grown up son Ford(Aaron Taylor Johnson) who is also an explosive ordinance disposal officer in the US navy visits him in Japan.It is there when a massive creature called MUTO(Massive Unidentified Terrestial Organism) is set lose.Then another MUTO appears in Nevada,USA.Apparently they want to mate and reproduce. The MUTOs feed on radiation and represents human damage whereas the resurfaced Godzilla is a force of nature which had returned to kill those monsters. Yes, Godzilla is a hero and just like countless other Western movie heroes he rides out to the sunset after his job is done. The script oscillates between good and average.
Despite the symbolism of the monsters, the movie is oddly devoid of any clear message. It does not help that the human characters are dull and cliched.
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Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson walking down memory lane |
Sadly, Ford is the star of three-fourth of the movie and Aaron maintains the same expression throughout. Bryan Cranston, who gives a powerful performance does not stay for long. Ken Watanabe and Juliette Binoche are underutilized as well.
What helps though are the visuals. 'Godzilla' is visually stunning both with and without the monsters.The monsters too, are masterfully designed.
The movie which is suspenseful and a little spooky at the beginning fails to be engaging when the action shifts to USA. As usual soldiers try to kill a massive monster with bullets. And nobody in the movie thinks about the mass casualties that the monster battle royale leaves behind. Ford has a wife (Elizabeth Olsen) who is also a nurse and it is the relationship with her husband which is the human part of the second section of the story.It does not work due to Aaron's performance and the cliched scenes between him and his wife.
Don't get me wrong, Godzilla is an enjoyable movie. Gareth Edward vowed to give us a monster movie with human elements. Up to a point he succeeds . 'Godzilla' dares to be different in the monster genre, and minor shortcomings aside is a fun movie to watch with your friends. 'Godzilla' is good, but sorry bro 'Pacific Rim' remains the best.
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Godzilla never looked so good |
