Where is Godzilla?. Review on Godzilla

Godzilla – the king of monsters. Godzilla has been a huge franchise in Japan with tons of spinoffs and movies. He is a Japanese cultural icon, meant to reflect the might of nature. Plus, he was cool. Unfortunately Hollywood has not treated Godzilla well. The 1998 Sony pictures attempt at a Godzilla movie was downright insulting to a Godzilla fan. Godzilla was portrayed as ugly, small and looked too much like an iguana. Not to mention they recycled the Jurassic Park plot lines, down to the dinosaur / Godzilla eggs.

Well, after a long hiatus, Hollywood is trying to make things right with 2014’s Godzilla. And they succeed to a point.

Synopsis: Godzilla 2014 is a traditional Godzilla / monster movie, but unlike the Sony movie, you do not know whose side Godzilla in on. It is told from the perspective of a nuclear plant supervisor Joe Brody(Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame), who lost his wife in a plant disaster and his son, US Navy ordnance officer Ford Brody(Aaron Taylor Johnson, Kick Ass). When they try and search the destroyed plant for an explanation of what happened a terrible new creature is awakened which threatens to destroy humanity. Against the cataclysm, the only hope might be the king of monsters, Godzilla.

*What they did right

The slow burn tease*

The problem with the 1998 movie was that it showed off Godzilla way too early. In such monster movies, you need to hide the main character until the audience is ready and anticipating him. Else the audience gets bored. Godzilla works by showing glimpses like a tail in the rubble of a building, or his find in the water. So when he does arrive, the audience’s anticipation has reached a fever pitch.

Godzilla done right

The Godzilla in this movie stays true to his Japanese roots and is an absolute beast. He towers over most skyscrapers and can cause tsunamis by just getting out of the water. Also, his signature atomic breath and especially his roar is done right. It sends shivers down your spine when you first see him in full on screen.

The monster fights

Towards the end of the movie, Godzilla faces a final confrontation with the evil monsters who may look small but are formidable. The destruction is bone-chilling and at times, you wonder if Godzilla is going to survive. That is not made clear until the end of the movie, but the fights are very even and well done.

The cinematography

Through clever use of shooting most of the movie in a night setting, the director manages to convey the horror and suspense of having monstrous creatures fighting that would not have looked half as intimidating in an sunny setting. Also, the use of suspense is very well done and the eerie soundtrack that ebbs and flows depending upon which monster is on the scene adds to the emotion and weightage of the moment.

*What they got wrong

Too little Godzilla*

While the slow burn teasing Godzilla’s was required, they really stretched it till the point that the audience were groaning and getting fed up. After all, you only get the first glimpse of Godzilla 40 minutes into the movie, and that too for a few seconds. You need to wait until the final monster fight which takes place at the 90 minute mark of this 2 hour long movie to see Godzilla. And that is the biggest failing of this movie. It really tests your patience and many people were fed up of teasing Godzilla at least 10-15 times before the final battle. It was frustrating.

Too much humans

Godzilla focuses too much on the human stories. This would not matter if the humans were compelling, but they are not. While Bryan Cranston steals the scenes he is in, his screen time is limited. Aaron Taylor Johnson’s navy seal comes across as wooden and boring, as does his wife, played by Elizabeth Olsen. These characters make such illogical and stupid decisions you cannot cheer for them, and you keep wishing that Godzilla shows up to deliver some excitement.

Verdict

Godzilla tries to stay true to its Japanese roots and it succeeds. To be fair, the story is nothing we ground breaking, but it does satisfy movie goers to a large extent with its dosage of destruction and giant monster battles. Unfortunately, it also tests their patience to the max before doing so.