Film Review: Godzilla

Godzilla   7.5/10

Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Oslen, Bryan Cranston
Plot: Due to humanity’s scientific experiments, monsters now threaten to destroy the world.

I have a strong feeling that Godzilla is a grower (no pun or joke intended). Director Gareth Edwards, who takes on his first blockbuster, has crafted this big-budget monster ($160 million!) well. The trailers set this film up to be a 2012-type, non-stop action extravaganza, with hoards of people running for their lives and buildings destroyed every other minute. In reality, Godzilla is actually a lot more than that, which is why audiences may feel a little disappointed.

To get away with the negatives first… It’s difficult to judge a film on its own merit when you were promised something a little different. For a film that centres its marketing on destruction, there’s a whole lot more scientific riff-raff and family problems. There are a whole lot of scientists in the film which zip in and out with any real impact, and the Aaron-Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Oslen family chemistry feels a little forced at times. There’s also some overshadowing of Godzilla, with Muto getting significantly more screen time in the main section of the film, which detracts from what audiences are really waiting for! The 3D is also fairly pointless. Edwards has expressed his distaste of using 3D equipment, and so the film received a post-conversion in production. It’s quite clear that nothing is really that 3D, but it doesn’t detract from the experience in any way.

Now, there is a lot to love about Godzilla too. The giant monster himself is a real experience to see on the big screen; his roar and sheer presence is (as cheesy as it sounds) spine-tingling. You’ll watch in awe as he smashes buildings down and confronts Muto in some really quite impressive stand-offs. The giant set pieces of waves ascending on towns are flawlessly assembled too. The most important scene to note though is the sky-dive; the music, tension and realness of the scene is incredible and is a worthy excuse to watch the whole film again just for that.

Aaron-Taylor Johnson's role – like a lot of the film – is severely undermined in the trailers. He’s the leading man and does so finely. Bryan Cranston’s screen time may disappoint Breaking Bad fans, as his role is more significant in the first thirty minutes than at any other time. In his first major role since his television success, he handles the more epic moments finely, yet he doesn’t know quite when to stop with the anger! Elizabeth Oslen, who has been painfully underused in films up to now, is the perfect love interest. She does seem to disappear for large sections of the film, but from the start you feel as if the love story will persist and it’s fairly interesting to see develop.

In Conclusion: Godzilla undoubtedly has its flaws, namely to do with its incorrect marketing. There’s a lot more here than just a plain monster movie, which is a brave move, but it might not be what audiences are looking for. Godzilla himself feels a little underused compared to the ‘Muto’ monster and there’s an array of characters you have little care for. In contrast though, there are some really impressive action sequences and classic monster movie moments (a lot of silent, when-will-the-monster-appear moments – classic!) and this certainly feels like a grower with repeat watches.