Godzilla

Godzilla - Dir. Gareth Edwards (2014)

“The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around.”

He was an entire nation’s anxiety about Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the atomic age distilled into one giant monster. His name was Gojira or Godzilla, as he is more commonly known. His debut film in 1954, released by Toho, spawned dozens of sequels, comic books, action figures, video games, and a host of knockoffs though only Gamera, created by Daiei, would come close to rivaling the big guy’s popularity. Though there’s a general awareness of Godzilla in the States, he doesn’t have the prolific presence he does in Japan. The original movie was released in the U.S. with American actors (such as Raymond Burr) edited in. There was an awful animated series from Hanna-Barbera, which featured the annoying presence of the ultra-cutesy Godzuki. Of course, nobody could forget the disastrous 1998 remake by Roland Emmerich, as much as we want to. So, the bar wasn’t set too high for the new 2014 attempt from Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures.

Warner surprised Comic-Con attendees in 2012 with a specially made Godzilla teaser utilizing ominous voice-over by Robert Oppenheimer (“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”). To direct, WB chose Gareth Edwards whose previous film, Monsters, was made on a budget of $500,000 with Edwards personally editing and creating visual effects on a laptop. Just how does he fare with a budget over 300 times bigger?

Godzilla starts promisingly enough with newsreel footage of bomb testing and redacted documents. From there, we’re taken to the Philippines in 1999 where scientists Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) are called to investigate a mining collapse. There, they discover a massive skeleton and two egg-shaped pods, one of which has just hatched. The creature, eventually dubbed a MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), makes its way to the Janjira nuclear power plant in Japan. The MUTO causes a violent earthquake as it feeds on the power. Plant supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) orders an immediate evacuation, but is forced to watch his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) die while attempting to shut down the reactor.

In the present, Joe has become obsessed with the tragic accident that the government has written up as a natural disaster. His son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), has tried to move on with his life. He’s a bomb disposal expert in the Navy with a beautiful wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and a son named Sam (Carson Bolde). Ford is forced to fly to Japan when his dad is arrested for trespassing. Together, they break into the plant to retrieve research from their old home only to discover a research facility has been built around a cocoon.  A fully formed MUTO springs forth and Joe is killed in the resulting chaos. The other MUTO, a female kept at a repository outside Las Vegas, has also hatched with the two creatures looking to mate and breed. Their presence has awakened an alpha predator in Godzilla, who has slumbered deep beneath the ocean.

Edwards proves he is up for the daunting task of revamping Godzilla. Godzilla still remains relevant as a metaphor for the destructive power of Mother Nature thanks to the Fukushima meltdown, Hurricane Katrina, and the Indian Ocean tsunami, among other recent disasters. Spielberg is a clear influence on Edwards’ directorial choices (Ford Brody? C’mon!) as he teases and teases the ultimate reveal of the King of the Monsters almost to the point of frustration.  The first glimpses we see of Godzilla in the film are back spikes cutting through the Pacific Ocean and passing underneath naval ships. Just as Godzilla tussles with a MUTO, Edwards boldly cuts to news footage of the wrestling match of the century. When Edwards finally lets go of the reins, the action is everything you want from a monster movie. Godzilla whips a MUTO against a skyscraper with his tail and breathes atomic fire. And Godzilla’s eardrum shattering roar must be heard through an IMAX sound system. There are great beats throughout Godzilla, such as a chain reaction of explosions at a Honolulu airport or the sight of red smoke trailing a squad of paratroopers.

Godzilla stumbles when it comes to character development. The screenplay is credited to newcomer Max Borenstein, but featured rewrites from David S. Goyer, Drew Pearce, and Frank Darabont. This is a surprising fact given just how thin the characterizations are. Everyone is a standard archetype from the scientists and soldiers to Elizabeth Olsen as the wife worried for her husband’s safety. Olsen’s beautiful and expressive eyes are perfect to look up in fear at the mere sight of Godzilla. Yet, she’s wasted in the movie along with her fellow female cast members: Juliette Binoche, who’s barely in the thing, and Sally Hawkins, who’s only there to spout exposition. While the trailers make it appear that Bryan Cranston is the main protagonist, he’s merely a supporting character, which is a shame because his loony conspiracy theorist is one of the highlights. The lead goes to Aaron Taylor-Johnson, a fine actor playing one of the blandest heroes to date.

Godzilla starts off strong and packs a powerful third act, but everything in between is shaky. However, the film remains the type of pure spectacle you have come to expect from a summer blockbuster.

Rating: *** (*****)