--Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, Godzilla
It is no exaggeration to say that Gareth Edwards' Godzilla does for its lead creature, to some extent, what Batman Begins did for its titular hero. At its best, his Godzilla delivers a fairly grounded reintroduction to the classic monster, accompanied by generally solid filmmaking--a product immensely better than the 1998 Roland Emmerich movie of the same name. The major weakness is the serious lack of development in the human characters beyond Bryan Cranston's, but the successful qualities of the film far outweigh the lackluster ones.
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| Photo credit: The_JIFF on Visual Hunt / CC BY |
Production Values
Godzilla is a great example of how a movie with superb effects doesn't have to allow the said effects to overpower every other dimension of the film. That said, the CGI for Godzilla and the two MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism) "antagonists" is wonderful. The creatures look far more real than many non-human entities in the MCU, a testament to the quality of the visuals. The cinematography elevates key moments (the HALO drop and the final fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs particularly stand out in this regard), complementing the epic scale of the events and the integrity of the effects. Nevertheless, everything leading up to the climax is handled with an exceptional level of restraint, as much of the action before the final fight is shown indirectly or merely implied.
Despite the fact that the focus is on the humans far more often than it is on the monsters, the human characters are collectively shallow. It is the sequence of in-world events and great use of buildup that provides and sustains the momentum. This does not mean that none of the performances stand out, of course! Bryan Cranston is phenomenal in the brief screentime given to him, making the most of a character that dies relatively early in the film. If his character would have remained alive for the entirety of the movie--or simply even just more of it--the human component of Godzilla could have perhaps rivaled the monster spectacle.
Elizabeth Olsen is certainly underused, but at least she handles her role effectively, considering its limited scope. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, however, receives the worst of the stunted characterization. Although he becomes the main character, his characterization remains superficial at best. It is not that his performance is terrible, but the character simply needed more substance. Similarly, many of the other actors or actresses, such as Ken Watanabe, don't have a lot to work with.
Story
Spoilers!
In the wake of a mine collapse in the Philippines, a large being (a MUTO) is discovered in a cocoon-like structure. A second MUTO left a trail leading to the ocean after causing the collapse, ending up in a Japanese nuclear power plant, which it destroys before it enters a feeding state for 15 years. It leaves after an attempt to end its life, killing numerous personnel in the process. Godzilla, a third creature, begins hunting the MUTO as it travels towards the west coast of the United States. Godzilla eventually attacks the two MUTOs at the coast, killing both after a prolonged fight.
Intellectual Content
One of Ken Watanabe's lines suggests that Godzilla is meant to illustrate the futility of human efforts to subjugate the natural world and the non-human creatures contained therein. As is far too common in cinema, though, the movie doesn't thoroughly explore its best themes (though human helplessness in the face of the MUTOs is explicitly conveyed), relegating them to the sidelines in favor of a stylish narrative.
Conclusion
With stronger characterization and deeper thematic content, Godzilla would have been the towering gold standard for monster movies of this magnitude from the moment of its release. The flaws of Godzilla are obvious, but they are still eclipsed by the film's spectacle, effects, cimematography, and overall execution. The final fight alone justifies the broad strokes of everything building up to it. At the very least, the movie easily surpasses its abysmal shared universe sibling Kong: Skull Island. Here's to hoping that the impending King of the Monsters is at least as competent as its predecessor!
Content:
1. Violence: The majority of the action is reserved for the second half of the movie, but the finale features a brutal fight involving three giant creatures. In one scene, Godzilla literally melts the head of another monstrous organism off of its torso using a stream of blue energy from its mouth.
2. Profanity: Words like damnit and shit are used at various times.
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