There are monster films that stand alone and then there are monster films that are the godfathers of them all. You could say that the King Kong from 1933 was among the most influential which spawned sequels and remakes in 1976 and 2005. That said, the 1954 Japanese movie Godzilla towers over them all. With over ten sequels and an American remake in 1998, Godzilla is on the biggest scale of all monster movies, to me anyway.
No doubt, the 1998 Godzilla by Roland Emmerich was critically panned. From the silly ideas of babies and asexual reproduction, it was very simple-minded action flick. The sequels that were planned were cancelled due to the bad reception to the film. I actually who enjoyed this version of Godzilla and like others, I think we have all waited too long for this new version. Godzilla is that interesting a character and movie phenomenon.
This new installment, follows around Joe Brody (Bryon Cranston) who is in a Japanese town that has been quarantined after what is said to be a nuclear power plant incident. Joe is arrested for trespassing in this nuclear area as he believes something else is happening there. This suppression leads to more of the same and eventually the beast himself.
Unlike the 1998 film where your cast was typical, this new Godzilla cast is much more diverse. Ford Brody (Aaron Tyler Johnson) plays Joe's son, who's main role is to fight for his family and who eventually starts believing his father that something strange is going on in the area. His wife Elle is played by rising star, Elizabeth Olsen and is a nurse who is running around the city looking for a shelter for her family which makes the her the least interesting character here. Dr Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) and Ichrio Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) are the scientists who have been investigating the phenomena in this area since the beginning which makes us root for them all the way through the movie.
Besides a few shots in Jamaica, Tahiti and South Pacific Ocean, the 1998 Godzilla movie was set in New York. You can say that took down the film but it also made us question the budget. Once again, this new version is quite exactly the opposite. Ford Brody grew up in Japan but now lives with wife and child in San Francisco. The action scene settings range from Las Vegas, Nevada to Honolulu, Hawaii. It does kind of come off as "all over the place" and maybe a bit too much being attempted but the atmosphere is original and this movie appears to have more of a budget than the last one.
Obviously biggest factor in any Godzilla movie is the creature itself. Whatever Godzilla film you are watching, he is always going to be what you want to see and why you are watching in the first place. This new Godzilla is made to look very modern, with ideas and character development and also his entrance to this film comes much later then you would like. The action scenes and effects involving Godzilla are beyond dazzling but the action scenes are kind of light on buildup and ideas. Also the final shot of Godzilla is very silly and it's feels as if this is a set up to a sequel.
In the end, I enjoyed this big budget, summer film but it is such a different Godzilla film than I expected that it is a little hard to take in. It will likely take me more than a few more viewings to fully accept and appreciate this "very different Godzilla". With this film being so different, you are only to left wonder what the likely sequel will be like and that may be the biggest question mark of them all.
4/5
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