Godzilla: Good, But Sadly Disappointing (Spoilers, Duh)

Sorry for the length, in advance. Just really passionate about me some Godzilla. :-D

Let me start this review by saying that I have been a big Godzilla fan ever since I was a kid and watched my first Godzilla movie. It's been so long, I really don't even remember which movie it was. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably Mothra Vs Godzilla, followed shortly by Son of Godzilla. It wasn't till I was older that I realized that I had grown up on all the old Showa films and had completely missed out on the Hessei era, though I have been playing catch up recently with all the Godzilla films. Now, that my Godzilla background is addressed, let's move on to the 2014 film...

I watched Godzilla opening day and decided to let it all sink in for a day or so before I wrote this review. And as the title says, I found this movie to be sadly disappointing. I won't discredit the positive points of the film because of my disappointment, but it does take away from my complete enjoyment of the film. And it's not because I put my expectations very high. In fact, I was willing overlook most negatives of this film, as long as the acting was halfway decent and, most importantly, it delivered on what it promised, Godzilla action. Unfortunately, while the acting was more than halfway decent (great in some instances), the Godzilla action was barely there. This has to be least I have EVER seen Godzilla in any GODZILLA movie I have ever watched. Which is a real shame, considering this was America's chance to prove they could pull off a real Godzilla movie, as well as bring in new fans to the franchise. But, I think it failed. Not completely, mind you, but it definitely fell short. Let me break it down into what I liked and what I didn't.

Postives:

Acting – All of the acting ranged from good to superb. As many have said before, Cranston puts in a great performance. And don't let other reviewers tell you that Aaron Taylor-Johson was “wooden.” I found his acting to be pretty good, especially in scenes with Cranston. There were maybe 1 or 2 lines that did come off a little flat in their delivery, and I wish he had been given a few more scenes to convey that he was truly grieving the loss of his father (one who he had openly mocked most of his life for being a crackpot), but overall, he was good. It's true that Elizabeth Olson was given very little to do, but she did fine with what she had. And while Ken Watanabe was mostly reduced to giving exposition, he did a great job of it.

Story – I really liked the story. Especially, how they tied it to the 1954 original, as well as having little easter eggs hidden here and there that reference other monsters in the previous movies. The movie really makes you feel while following the Brodys' story. I have heard some complain about them dropping character develop after the MUTOs show up, but I don't mind that. There doesn't really need to be constant character arcs and changes in a Godzilla/monster/disaster movie. Like I said before, though, I do feel Aaron's character should have had a few scenes where he actually deals with his father's death, instead of it being dropped a minute or so later.

Godzilla's Portrayal – Godzilla actually looks like Godzilla, with a few updates to his image. I'm not too big on his feet, but that's really the worse thing about the design, and it's not really a big deal. Godzilla is actually strong enough to resist gunfire and missiles thrown at him, as well as an atomic bomb. I love that he is huge in the movie, and not actually downsized, like in the '98 Godzilla (compared to the Toho version, at the time.) And best of all, ATOMIC BREATH!! And he uses it twice, in all its glory. I also love how he charges it up, starting with his tail spikes, then it moves up his back, finally blasting out of his mouth when it reaches his head.

CGI – The CG was incredible. Much better than what I thought it would be, looking at some scenes in the trailer. And a lot more believable than many movies out, now. The problem most movies make is that they want you to see their character that they spent hours making, instead of worrying about blending them into the background as seamlessly as possible, making them stand out. Sure, the audience won't be able to see every pixel that made them up, but at least they won't look embarrassingly fake. This movie doesn't commit that sin.

But, let's move onto the sins they do commit...

Negatives:

Godzilla's Portrayal: Yep, this is in negative, too. While they get quite a few things right about Godzilla, they get a few things wrong, too. While I said he is strong in this one, even surviving a atomic blast, at the same time he is weak. While the missiles fired at Godzilla don't actually penetrate his skin, the force does blast him back quite a bit. If you remember the old Godzilla, it would taken a specialized missile/bomb to have that affect. Here it's normal cruise missiles, ones that would blow up against old Godzilla, which he would then treat like a fly just bit him. Also, while Godzilla is more than capable when fighting one MUTO, put two against him and he gets his ass stomped. Sure, monsters have teamed up and gotten one over Godzilla in the past, but he has always been able to recover and then take them down. Here, it takes the female getting distracted so that Godzilla can take them on one at a time, for him to win. He also faints twice while fighting them, the last time taking a whole night to recover. Why a creature would be able to survive an atomic bomb, yet faint from fighting two monsters for a few minutes, is beyond me.

Godzilla? Oh yea, he's our title monster. I think – Speaking of minutes, let's talk about the very few that Godzilla is in this movie. I think if you tallied up how long Godzilla is onscreen, it MAY add up to 20 mins. If you add up the battle time, it MAY equal 10-15 mins. In other words, Godzilla is barely in Godzilla. Now, I have heard some criticize that Godzilla only shows up at about the hour mark. Personally, I don't mind a slow buildup. In fact, for the first movie in a new franchise, I prefer it. But, and that's a huge BUT, YOU HAVE TO DELIVER ON THE BUILD UP. Unfortunately, this is where the movie ultimately fails.

     Time and time again (3 times, to be exact) the movie builds up the beginnings of great battles. Both monsters appear. Godzilla looks pissed and flares his nostrils. The MUTO roars. Then Godzilla lets out his iconic roar (love the movies take on it, by the way), only to cut to see what the humans are up to. Now, the first time it does this, I didn't mind so much. It just seems like a little poke at the audience, and we also see Ford Brody's son watching them on TV, stating “Look mommy, dinosaurs.” But the second and third time, it was more like a F#ck You! I literally said “Bullsh!t!” You could feel the disappointment in the audience and a guy a few seats down from me kept looking at his phone every time they did this. Garreth Edwards made a HUGE mistake here. Of course, it wouldn't have been so bad if the last battle was a huge free for all, one that lasted 25 mins. Instead, the final battle may last about 5-10 mins and is constantly cut with more human footage. It's sad when you can say with certainty that the '98 Godzilla did a better job of making Godzilla it's star.

In conclusion, the movie was still a good movie, but a disappointing Godzilla movie. As my wife put it, the movie seemed to be focused 80% on humans, 15% on the MUTOs, and a measely 5% on Godzilla, the movie's supposed star. It almost screams to me that this movie was originally supposed to be a monster movie, starring the MUTOs, only to have Godzilla shoehorned into the script shortly before filming. Really it just saddens me, being a big Godzilla fan, seeing that if Garreth had only teased the audience once, instead of 3 times, this movie would have been perfect. Or near it. As is, I would give it a 7.5. I also wouldn't be surprised that this movie has a great opening weekend, but drops sharply in the coming weeks, mainly for not delivering what it promises.