Godzilla (3D)

Great movie

To all of those who think there is not enough Godzilla, shame on you. Go back to watch the Showa Era Godzilla movies and come back to see this one. It retains a lot of what Godzilla is all about: a monster that constantly reminds us of our recent actions regarding weapons of mass destruction. Just like in the first movies, Godzilla is depicted as a monster/event that just happens to destroy human settlements because "we are on its way" between it and whatever it wants. You could compare it to a hurricane/typhoon or to a massive earthquake: you don't see that every single day until it happens. Then, you just wait until it stops.This movie is just what the original Kaiju movies tried to convey on us: our insignificance compared to the wrath of mother nature itself. First of all, a cheesy acting and subplot accentuates what I just said on the previous sentence. Yes, they could have done better regarding Serizawa, Monarch, the Fords (including Joe's overall participation on the movie), and Japanese talent. Instead of saying 'Where is Godzilla?' you should all be asking yourselves 'Where is Japan in all of this? Janjira and Serizawa? Give me a break...'. It just shows how biased people are concerning the monster's origins. They care more about monster screen time than the overarching story itself or its significance. The film's pacing is just right for this type of film: not too fast for the horrors to stop delivering their effect on the public and not too slow to keep up with the American film industry's aesthetics (grimacing at Hollywood).Moving on to the details, I believe the United States of America's latest version of Gojira nails it. The amount of CGI used to depict the monsters is astounding and it is used to the fullest during the fighting and chasing sequences. Though, I would have liked to see the monsters' wounds to give it even more realism. The use of dark settings and only showing parts of the monsters pays homage to Japanese horror movies, which is the category where the original Gojira was placed and where Gojira movies should always remain in. Gojira's "signature roar" sounds great, but it lacks the high-pitch segment that all Gojiras have when they peak out during their roars. I am not saying it is a bad roar. However, when you compare it back-to-back, it doesn't even remotely sound like the original. Instead, they extended the low roar and its "pull" to make it sound as if it is actually coming from a 355ft tall creature, which is a 4 out of 5 by my standards as a die-hard Gojira fan.The King of the Monsters itself is unbelievably that good aesthetically and it is extremely interesting during the combat sequences. This monster pulls off something never seen from the likes of it right before the end of the movie, sealing the grand finale with its iconic roar and giving me the goosebumps I had during Gojira's appearances in 1954 and from The Return of Godzilla on 1984. I can recognize that the film's gruesomeness has been toned down for children to enjoy it. But, Oh My Gojira, what is that thing I am watching on the screen? Every single time this force of nature appears, it seems to pop out of it. It was not meant to be liked at all. I repeat, it was not meant to be liked at all. Gojira's combination of Tortoise/Bear/Eagle/Komodo Dragon/Elephant/Whale constituent parts will overthrow your mind once it is on-screen. It was ingeniously conceived to remain as close to its origins as possible while giving it the look and feel of an animal/otherworldly deity that just came out of the depths of the sea, a la C'thulu.This movie borrows a lot from many Kaiju movies like Cloverfield, TriStar's Godzilla (1998), and the Godzilla series itself. Do not expect that much of a "good acting" overall, because this movie aims to bring the true fans back to the good side of the american film industry, regarding the Kaiju film production. Of the many things it lacked were the Japanese typical feel from Toho. Adding a brief Japanese setting and a couple of swift Japanese characters does not deliver that well when you are actually using a Japanese trademarked monster with a long history of living side-by-side with the Japanese. So, please, Legendary Pictures, add more Japanese actors and more Japanese participation to your cast next time you decide to use Japanese merchandising. There are so many good Japanese actors in the film industry (looking at Toho) besides Mr. Watanabe, which can add even more depth to the stories being told. If what you are trying to do is to make it global, there is your lead. We need more cooperation between Legendary Pictures and Toho as well as making stars actually shine on film in order to make it work. It may sound contradictory, but if Toho could do it for 56 years with its very diverse cast, anyone with a good sense of screen writing and competent storytelling can do it regardless of how much money is employed on production.I give it a 4.55 out of 5. It is a really good film overall and it may be seen as a milestone 20 years from now. The HD version does not seem that different from watching it on a 480p screen. Maybe it is the player or something...P.S.:The MUTOs were created to complement this monstrosity and they have as much screen time as Gojira. I believe they fill the roles RADON, and ZILLA had in the series.

a lot of creature action and great visual battle scenes, not a bad flick overall with an airport arrival by GZilla which must have been rather impressive on the big screen. It came across really well on TV. The movie worked with minor holes in the logical thinking to the plot to about the midway point + or -. Spoiler alert. They are tracking the motto or whatever towards a depository which stores lots of nuclear weapons and other foul nuclear stuff,,, which, by the way, these creatures can sense, feed on, and use to reproduce. Now this is when the story takes a turn into the, uh, that doesnt makes sense area.. spoiler alert; , there is a female at this storage facility for everything nuclear. Which proceeds to break out of its 15 by 30 footish storage area,,, instantly becomes 12 stories tall and a city block wide. And of course then leaves behind this nuclear storage facility swimming in radioactive goodness for her potential baby to go in search of a lone nuclear weapon so it can reproduce... did I say they sense nuclear radiation? So if you can get past this gaping mess up in a story line and absurdity, then 4 stars overall but that storyline logic in the plot sort of sets the tone for the whole movie. I gave four because some people are more into the action and effects, which this had plenty. I just wish the story didnt keep having plot holes like this one in it. Action and effects: 4 throughout. storyline after or before the half way point, 3 star

Godzilla 2014 just hit streaming, Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film marked the return of Godzilla to the big screen in wide release for the first time since the Roland Emmerich abomination back in 1999. So far it is a huge box-office hit and the reviews have been generally good, with the majority liking the film and a smaller minority being indifferent to not liking it. This will be my take on the film. I plan to go from what the film does right to what it does wrong (and there are some things it does do wrong), and then to a conclusion. I hope you enjoy this.Right thing #1: The ToneThe first thing the film does right I want to point up is setting and keeping Tone. Tone for the uninitiated is the "mood" of a movie, or how it feels. For examples of films that do a very poor job on Tone, look at the Transformers movies, the Star Wars prequels and Man of Steel. All of these films have abrupt tonal shifts from drama to screwball comedy to pseudo horror and others that occur frequently enough to leave the viewer with no real emotional "sense" of the film.Godzilla, on the other hand, does a brilliant job of setting and holding a foreboding, somewhat ominous tone. This stems from things like scenery selection, subtle bits of acting from Bryan Cranston, the utter helplessness of the defending military and the way destruction is shown - with scenes of the dead and the injured straining medical help past the breaking point. Even the way some of the monster battles are shot lends to this tone as the people are basically insects caught in the middle of a titanic struggle.Right thing #2: The return of buildup and payoffSomething I have really missed in recent films is the concept of buildup and payoff. In general terms, this is where a particular scene or sequence is actually the payoff to earlier scenes and sequences that built up to it. Recent films have been much more about showing it all almost right away and basically being a soulless CGI orgy thereafter. The notable exception to this rule was Pacific Rim which also seemed to "get" this concept.In Godzilla, Edwards does buildup and payoff better than we have seen on the big screen since Spielberg was making good films (like Raiders of the Lost Ark which also was great at buildup and payoff). The MUTOs were an excellent example of this but the best was the buildup to Godzilla himself coming on the scene.It added a sense of anticipation that aided in the tone setting mentioned already.Right Thing #3: Godzilla himselfAfter the horrid GINO ignuana of Emmerich's garbage, Kaiju fans were rightly ambivalent about letting another American director at Godzilla. Gareth Edwards, however, is a long time avid fan of Godzilla and Kaiju films. The film that put him on the map was a Kaiju film (Monsters) he made himself on his laptop. His complete lack of experience in big productions was a concern, and to be honest it did manifest itself in other less good ways. However, here it was a benefit.To be blunt, his Godzilla is faithful to the Toho character. He is BIG, mean, a total boss and really felt like what Ishiro Honda would have made had he had access to modern technology. The nuclear fire breath was extremely well done also, and the roar was amazing in the theater. And the movements and actions were totally Godzilla also.This love of Kaiju films extended to the rest of the film as well. It is structured like a lot of Toho films, and the big surprise reveal (yes the trailers were recut to give the wrong impression - Godzilla is the hero not the villain) was also pure Toho.Okay.Remember I mentioned Gareth Edwards lack of experience in making big films? Here's where the OTHER side of that coin comes into play:Wrong thing #1: PacingSimply put, a big studio film like this needs a quicker, more even pace. Godzilla felt a bit like a small studio film where the pacing in act 2 was too slow. Ironically, Monsters had the exact same issue. This had the side effect of making Godzilla himself feel like he was on even less than he actually was (the 20 minute figure bandied about is off - he was definitely on longer. Really the film could have been about 15 minutes shorter and lost nothing simply by trimming act 2.Wrong thing #2: Acting outside of Bryan Cranston and Ken WatanabeWhen one actor is flat, I generally lay it on the actor. When more than one is not only flat but the same kind of flat, I look at the director. Cranston and Watanabe did well in their roles. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elisabeth Olsen were both very muted and dull. Again, go back and watch Monsters and you see the same thing with the human characters - a couple standouts and the rest are kind of human paste in the background.ConclusionSorry this was so long.Overall, I like this film. Godzilla felt perfect in it and I could forgive the pacing and flattish characters in light of the brilliant work in tone, buildup, payoff and "money scenes". I even enjoyed the couple of Easter eggs in the film for the avid Toho buffs. While it has a couple of issues they are the marks of an inexperienced director, and I do not expect him to repeat them. I also expect there will be a totally different cast in the sequel, as that is the custom in Godzilla films and the whole ethos of this film was honoring the Godzilla movie.

Angry Godzilla rises