Short Review: Godzilla (2014)

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Short Review

Movie: Godzilla

Release Date: 16th May 2014

Director: Gareth Edwards

Cast: Aaron Taylor Johnson as Lieutenant Ford Brody, Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody, Elizabeth Olsen as Elle Brody, Carson Bolde as Sam Brody, David Strathairn as Admiral William Stenz with Sally Hawkins as Dr Vivienne Graham and Juliette Binoche as Sandra 'Sandy' Brody

Genre: Sci-Fi/Monster/Thriller

Score: 8.8/10 (w/out vfx 8.6)

Pros:-The film's pay off is magnificent, a third act fight is the highlight of the film and is alone worth the price of the ticket         

          -Opening act establishes a taut and tense tone that proceeds for most of the film, it keeps itself in a very melancholy and brooding manner yet balances it with some well timed humor and cheesiness. Writers and director revel in the B-Movie aspect as homage to the originals. The two tone effect is perfectly blended

          -The human aspect of the film in terms of the arcs for the secondary characters is handled with great insight. Both Cranston's and Watanabe's characters have compelling arcs that divulge in the themes of the film

          -Most themes are interestingly executed specifically the idea of man vs. nature and father/son dynamics

          -Edwards and his cinematographer have a beautiful visual aesthetic that keeps in touch with the mood of the film. The color palette used especially during the action also allows for a stunning realization on screen

          -As a director his efforts shine through, you can see the reverence that Edwards has for the original Japanese films which is convincing for the viewers to be engaged. His Spielberg influence are also a sight to see and make his efforts likeable

          -Camera angles utilized, never forget the human aspect of the film by capturing the action in a tense environment with crammed shots and worms eye views. Yet at the same time the action is magnificently choreographed and gloriously captured

          -Bryan Cranston gives a stirring performance, he and Binoche share a scene of stark emotion that you wish they had focused the feature on his character. Watanabe like with his director seems to share the adoration for the concept, he shows this by effectively bringing life to his similar character. Olsen is particularly good during the emotionally heavy bits.    

          -The score is hauntingly beautiful, it adds to and matches the emotion of each moment on screen

          -VFX team does a wonderful job in bringing its monsters to life especially Godzilla, who look menacing like never before

     

Cons:-A typical blockbuster film that is full of script issues such as plot holes and instances of no logic

           -With the human moments being necessary, it's sad that the film decides to spend time on a lead protagonists whose character is very bland and one that the script with all its effort cannot make us care about. Much of the film especially the second act languishes under his shadow

           -A lot of the other characters are basically stock and stereotypical

           -The narrative pacing is an oddity, it takes a nosedive at a lot of points although there's something else to really blame for that…

           -…that is the genius decision to hide the monster for much off the film, but Edwards does it one too many times. It makes the finale effective yet you cannot help but feel cheated by the title of the film and spending so little time with Godzilla

           -At the center of the film is Aaron Taylor Johnson's Ford, yet he matches his bland character with an equally bland performance. There's no real sense of emotion to a lot of the heavy scenes that expect him to carry the film forward and his scenes with the monsters clearly highlight the actor's inexperience in acting alongside green screen.

Best Scene: The first instance of when Godzilla's tail lights up, powering him up to deliver a glorious fire breath

Best Performance: Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody 

Best Dialogue: 'The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around. Let them fight.'-Dr. Ichiro Serizawa

Feeling a bit lazy, so here's a short review for Godzilla. 

An awesome movie that wasn't as expected, but turned out to be a genuine surprise. 

Rwooaarrrrr!!!

Aneesh Raikundalia