Godzilla:
In 1999, scientists discover the remains of a gigantic, reptilian creature in the depths of a mine in the Philippines. They discover the cocoons of several parasitic organisms on the inside of the carcass, and discover a trail leading them to believe one of the parasites survived and swam out into the ocean. Meanwhile, in Japan, Dr. Joe Brody and his wife are employees at a nuclear power plant, and they live in a nearby suburban area with their young son Ford. Out of nowhere, seismic spikes cause a nuclear meltdown at the plant, resulting in an evacuation of the suburban neighborhood, and the deaths of many employees, including Brody's wife. 15 years later, Ford is now an explosive ordnance disposal technician and lieutenant in the military. He is estranged from his father, and lives with his wife and young son in San Francisco. However, Joe convinces his son to travel to Japan to visit him, as Joe is obsessed with proving that what happened at that power plant was no natural disaster, and that the higher-ups are trying to hide something. He is right, as even though the suburban area is abandoned and quarantined, the radiation level there is not even lethal or harmful in any way. The Brodys meet with the owner of the plant, a scientist named Dr. Serizawa, and his assistant Dr. Graham, who reveal they have been studying a living organism at the plant which has fed off the radiation there for decades, which they believe to be the parasite which escaped it's original cocoon years before. The cocoon hatches, and the monster (a giant, winged, insect-like kaiju) destroys most of the plant and flies away. The creature (called MUTO) wreaks havoc across the Pacific, attacking places like the Hawaiian Islands. However, Serizawa reveals that he and the military have discovered that another creature has risen from the Pacific Ocean, after years of slumber, and Serizawa believes he is here to "restore balance", as the MUTO are his prey. The monster's name is Gojira (or "Godzilla"), and the military recruit the Brodys in their plan to use this force of nature to destroy the MUTO before it destroys civilization. Now, the trailers for this film make it seem like Godzilla is the villainous monster, just as he was in the original 1954 film Gojira. However, he is the one you root for in the movie because he is fighting the real monsters, which, by the way, if you couldn't tell by my description, are basically a reimagining of one of Godzilla's oldest enemies, which I won't spoil for you here. The acting is surprisingly good for a B-monster movie. Aaron-Taylor Johnson is pretty good as Lt. Ford Brody. He's not the best protagonist in a monster movie that I've seen (and let's face it, the real hero that everyone came to see here is Godzilla), but he's a strong enough lead. A million times better than Matthew Broderick in that 1998 Roland Emmerich piece of shit. Ken Watanabe is good as Dr. Serizawa. He's been a pretty strong supporting actor in everything I've seen him in thus far, and this is no exception. Even though it is a bit funny the first time you hear him say "gojira" (there were chuckles in my theater every time he said it), he is able to ground the movie and come off as genuinely in awe when he is able to see Godzilla with his own eyes after years of obsessively searching for him. Elizabeth Olsen is okay as Ford's nurse wife. Just okay, she really doesn't have a lot to do. The real star of the show as far as human characters go is Bryan Cranston. Holy shit. Even in a supporting role like this he is able to put his all into it. I was surprised to see him have some pretty raw emotional moments in a summer movie about a giant, fire-breathing lizard monster fighting a giant flying bug. I really hope he starts doing more movies now that Breaking Bad is over. David Stathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum, Good Night and Good Luck) and Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) have some good supporting parts as Rear Admiral Stenz and Dr. Graham, respectively. Juliette Binoche (The Unbearable Lightness of Being) has a nice small part as Brody's wife Sandy. Overall, the main cast is pretty satisfying for a monster movie. The real star, Godzilla, was faithfully reimagined by the creative design team, and I think his slightly new look is great. The MUTO is also scary and unique, but also remains faithful to the original look of the Godzilla foe that it's based. The special effects are extremely good, and the action scenes, particularly the fight scenes between Godzilla and the MUTO, are amazing, and the last 15-20 minutes where SF gets destroyed and Godzilla saves the day are epic. The musical score by Alexandre Desplat, which uses a chilling theme which is strikingly similar to the Monolith's theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey (also owned by Warner Bros.), is very good, and is able to capture the heroic side of Godzilla, along with his fear factor. The direction by Gareth Edwards (Monsters) and writing by David Callaham and Max Borenstein is great. Edwards is a visionary who knows how to make a good sci-fi monster movie but also ground it in reality and show the gravity of a situation like this, if it were to actually happen. Callaham and Borenstein do a great job satisfying long-time Godzilla fans as well as introducing newcomers to the series. This movie tops the abysmal 1998 film because it was actually made in association with Toho. Rather than keeping the original creators in the dark about the production, the filmmakers made the wise decision to keep Toho in the loop and take advice from them. This is probably why this movie turned out so well. Godzilla is a fun movie. It's got some exceptional acting for a blockbuster, great special effects and action, some cool creature designs, a great creative team, and is able to please fans and casual viewers alike. This is a great 60th anniversary movie and is on par with a lot of the original Japanese films. I can't wait to see what they do if there's a sequel. 4/5 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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