Godzilla

Synopsis: Up from the depths, thirty stories high! Three feet higher! His head in the sky! Godzilla!

My introduction to Godzilla came courtesy of the 1980s cartoon series in which he was a friendly monster who in every episode was duly summoned to save the day by laying waste to something or other. Only later did I see the original 1954 movie one night on SBS. How Godzilla had changed over time, from terrifying threat to friendly children’s hero! Now we have Gareth Edwards, of Monsters fame, attempting to right the scales. And he pulls it off.

We start with some scene-setting, putting a human face on the disaster by way of Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche falling foul of a creature that devastates the Japanese nuclear power station where they both work. Cut to 15 years later and Cranston is still pursuing the truth of what happened, getting in trouble with local law enforcement and requiring his son, Ford, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, to fly over and bail him out. This leads into investigating the disaster site again, discovering what’s been covered up all these years, and in thet time-honoured tradition the world eventually has to deal with giant monsters on the loose.

The human dimension is sketched lightly and there’s enough charisma in the performers to carry the day, but this is a popcorn film, not a family drama. The highs and lows of the family are delivered, but swiftly forgotten as events overtake them and survival rates higher than joy or grief. It’s satisfying enough, but the light touch taken could just as easily feel shallow rather than economical.

Human logic aside, Godzilla is a film about giant monsters trashing stuff. And it does that really, really well. Unlike Pacific Rim, it’s not silly about it, or peppered with cringeworthy dialogue. I loved Pacific Rim, but it needed a mute button for the dialogue. Edwards’ film  has no such flaw. It delivers some excellent set-pieces, the plot rocks along and never wastes a breath, and in the end leaves you wanting more. The only real criticism I have is the same as I had of Monsters. The creature designs are a bit uninspired. Godzilla himself is an impressive creation, but there’s over half a decade of history to draw on there. The other creatures that show up are far less impressive, even if when they all collide their battle is beautiful to behold. Edwards frames and lights the scenes of destruction in such a way as to make them look throwbacks to the early Godzilla films when it was just a stunt man in a rubber suit and a model city. Although the action is now more dynamic and the mayhem more detailed, the respect for the history of the Godzilla films is never more evident than in these sequences.

Godzilla is an above-average action blockbuster. It’s doesn’t overreach but plays its cards wisely and delivers a great popcorn experience. I really enjoyed it.

 

 

Want more about this film?

    

Want something different?