Director: Gareth Edwards
Writer: Max Borenstein (Screenplay) Dave Callaham (Story)
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Carson Bolde, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Strathain
Plot: The world’s most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.
Verdict: Great Monster Movie
Story: We start by follow a group investigating a collapse at a mine leading us to see how something big was there. Next we meet our hero who works at a nuclear power plant who has worries about seismic activity around the plant and while a team investigate the power plant has a breech leading to his wife dying. Fast forward 15 years and he is still trying to figure out what caused it, while his son has joined the armed forces and has a family of his own. After our hero gets arrested his son has to fly to Japan to bail him out and in the end joins the investigation to what caused the evacuation. Our hero gets bought into what was once his place of work only to discover that it has been taken over where a creature breaks out of its hiding causing the military to come in to try and stop it. They have to stop the Muto creature before it causes more damage around the world. The powers that be in the military have to let the battle between the creatures and Godzilla happen before it is too late.
Godzilla is one of those all-time classic monster movies and it is always been down to the beliefs in Japanese culture and after the 1998 film we never saw even a mention of those said beliefs. This time we go back to square one and focus on the idea that Godzilla could well be the savior of the human race against other monsters. The basic film plays out very easily to follow adds in plenty of conspiracy theories ideas which keep things ready for any potential sequels. The only thing that really annoyed me was the fact Ford just happened to always seemed to be in the right, well in his case wrong place at the time to be involved with the next mission without actually being on active duty. In the end it is a very good story that will be easy to follow for all the fans and pays a lot of respect to the source material. (9/10)
Actor Review
Aaron Taylor-Johnson: Ford Brody son of Joe who has grown up to start his own family as well as being a solider, he gets caught up in the middle of his father’s theories and has to face off against both the creatures while trying to get back to his family. He ends up getting caught up in every single mission against the creatures. Aaron does a good job but ends up looking like a very standard solider instead of an over the top action hero, which was good. (8/10)
Bryan Cranston: Joe Brody seismic expert working on a nuclear power plant, who is trying to investigate why a seemingly identical activity happening but after his wife is killed during the attack he becomes a conspiracy nut. He ends up being correct about what is being hidden and helps offering some of the answers to the government’s problems. Bryan does a good job in the role but I feel we could have seen a lot more from his character. (8/10)
Elizabeth Olsen: Elle Brody wife of Ford who has spends the first half of the film looking after their child while Ford is trying to get back home. She does a good job but really doesn’t end up doing anything to help the story only offers motivation for Ford. (7/10)
Ken Watanabe: Dr Serizawa the man trying to understand the creatures and after years of asking questions he might final understand what is happening, and has to race to stop them spreading all while believing that Godzilla will stop the other creatures. Ken does a good job but ends up coming off as a stereotypical character. (7/10)
Sally Hawkins: Vivienne Graham assistant who tries to help protect the people from what is happening but it is up to her and Dr Serizawa to get the message across to the trigger happy Americans. Sally does a good job in the supporting role but fails to really make an impact. (7/10)
Support Cast: Each member of the supporting cast adds to the story as it unfolds giving information to our main characters.
Director Review: Gareth Edwards – Gareth shows why he got picked to direct this by showing his brilliance at masking the idea of monsters instead of just having over the top battles. (9/10)
Action: Plenty of action going on during the film even with a lot only showing the aftermath we have plenty to enjoy too. (10/10)
Thriller: Keeps you guessing on what will happen and where it will happen next. (9/10)
Settings: Each setting selected adds to the story as we see the destruction being created by the creatures. (10/10)
Special Effects: Brilliant special effects used to create the creatures and the destruction made. (10/10)
Suggestion: This is one of the block buster that has to be watched because it is near perfect for a modern monster movie. (Watch)
Best Part: Godzilla final fight.
Worst Part: The very end is a bit cheesy.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final fight.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: It has one being talked about.
Opening Credits Rating: The opening credits fill us with backstory on how the nuclear tests had been causing mutation. All good for helping explain the idea of how a ‘Godzilla’ like creature could appear. (10/10)
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: I would expect it to get some Special Effects nominations.
Box Office: $525 Million
Budget: $160 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 3 Minutes
Tagline: The king arrives
Trivia: Juliette Binoche, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe,Elizabeth Olsen, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were all Gareth Edwards’s first choice for their respective roles. According to Hawkins, “He comes from the performance first, rather than how it looks. I never expected I would be cast in a film like this – and that’s all thanks to Gareth. His cast is really unusual and interesting and people you wouldn’t normally see in this type of film, and I hope it makes for a different type of monster film.”
Overall: Monster Movie That Salutes Its Source Material
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