In general the monstermovie is a subgenre of the disaster movies. They deal with something big which threatens the existence of humanity (or at least a big group of people). It is a popular genre which can easily be brought to the big screen thanks to the developments in CG. It means that every year you can expect at least a couple of disaster films. Instead of a storm, meteor, tsunami (or fill in any other natural disaster) Godzilla has been one of the steady forces in the genre. Ever since 1954 the titular monster returned to the big screen to wreak havoc.
The franchise was originally made in Japan, but the step to the US was also made. The last Godzilla movie came out in 1998 and was directed by Roland Emmerich. It was a movie which got a lot of hate from the critics and audiences alike. Now it is director Gareth Edwards, who is known for Monsters and his ability in making amazing special effects on a low budget, who is responsible for the next American remake. The expectations were high, but does he manage to deliver?
The setup of this movie is slightly different from what you might expect. The central point of the story isn’t the monster, but an American family. At the start of the movie they are introduced, living in Japan. Because of an unexpected event in which many lives are lost the father, played by Bryan Cranston, becomes obsessed. He wants to find out the truth behind it and is sure that the government is trying to cover something up. His obsession results in him getting him in trouble and it’s his son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who decides to go to him and help him out. The two make a very important discovery which results in them ending up in events having something to do with Godzilla.
For those who will watch the movie to see Godzilla, the movie might disappoint as the character doesn’t fully appear until the end of the film. Edwards will regularly show parts of him and slowly builds towards his appearance. I really liked that way of approaching it as you start to look forward to that payoff moment, which Edwards delivers in spectacular fashion.
As in many other disaster movies the main characters end up experiencing a lot of events which all might seem a bit like too much coincidence. It is something which is simply part of the genre and I do not have any issues with. These characters lead the viewer through the story. Unfortunately the movie mostly focusses on Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but the actor lacks some of the charisma to really carry the film. The actors you’d wish would get more screen time often have smaller roles or too little to do. You watch these type of movies for the destruction and this movie does not disappoint. In this movie Godzilla is more than just a monster that’s all about destruction, which is refreshing. It is the kind of disaster movie I don’t mind getting more of.
This is one of those rare summer blockbuster films that was not about mayhem. Although it features monsters in lead, this one has a heart and a soul. I love the the importance the story gives to the human drama.
Here’s my review http://movieroundup.in/godzilla-fitting-tribute-to-godzillas-history/
Exactly, that’s what I liked about it. Thanks, will check it out.
Oops. Sorry, i just realized you had already commented on my review 🙂
Hahaha, I just reopened it and realised the same 😉
Nice review, Nostra. One I completely agree with. I liked how they brought Godzilla back to his true purpose. I think people who expected more of the characters forget that this is a summer blockbuster disaster film – of course the human characters are going to be underdeveloped in favour of a spectacle!
Also, how amazing was the HALO jump sequence? Definitely one of my favourite scenes.
Thanks Jaina and happy to hear you feel the same way about it. Yeah, the jump sequence was very cool!
Nice review and I’d give it the same score. There were some major problems, most of them coming from Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s thinly written character, but I had a lot of fun with Godzilla. This is what the 1998 version should have been.
Yeah, it should have been…but let’s just forget that one!
Hi Nostra! Ha..ha.. I think we talked about this when we met. Well I haven’t reviewed it but I probably would give it a 3/5, it’s just ok for me, not great. As I mentioned, I expected it to be more humorous instead of taking itself too seriously.
Yeah, I think we talked about it enough 🙂 So how were Bruges and Paris?
Hi Nostra! It was wonderful. I’ll still blog about it when I get my act together, finally got done with sorting some of the photos 🙂
Looking forward to reading that 🙂
Somehow, the intelligent blockbusters keep coming this year! (although Transformers comes out in a few weeks, so there’s that…) Glad to hear this isn’t just explosions and carnage, and that they’ve tried to put some brains or actual story into the film. Whether its works or not, at least that’s something.
Hahaha, but are you heading to the cinema to see Transformers? I’m not 🙂
Wow, you were very forgiving in your review. I agree with the same points – that the action is great and the characters are severely unwritten – but I really couldn’t work past that second part. They were just so. very. boring. They didn’t offer us a shred of humanity as they fell from scenario to scenario.
No, I’m not forgiving, I really didn’t mind the issues. It gave me what I expected from it.
Pingback: » Movie Review – 2012 Fernby Films