Spotlight #05- GODZILLA(2014)

I've been trying to do these more regularly, but, honestly, too many notable movies have come out this summer. I figured that I should stop trying to put everything in chronological order and just throw out whatever's on top of my mind. That is why, instead of putting anything that came out earlier such as "Gravity" or "Noah", which I will get to in due time, I'll give you guys the movie that seems to have divided the fan base perfectly in half.

GODZILLA- a movie so grand in scale, even the title has to be capitalized.

Not necessarily a remake or sequel, the film follows a standard middle-class dad-was-in-the-military family in San Francisco The grandfather, played to the T by Bryan Cranston, has been struggling for the past fifteen years to explain the earthquake that destroyed a Japanese nuclear plant and killed his wife. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural. While surveying the quarantine zone, he discovers that the secret organization MONARCH has been hiding the presence of a dangerous beast. It's something massive, something powerful...

...something only Godzilla can help us with.

Keep in mind that this is the second Godzilla movie to be released from the United States. Its predecessor, released in 1998 by director Roland Emmerich, was obviously a monumental disaster. With terrible acting performances from all fields, laughable visual effects, and plot holes big enough for King Godorrah to fit through, it almost became a swear word in the world of film making. Although, to its credit, it did enough to inspire someone to say "Yeah, I could do better than that." Enter Gareth Edwards, a who previously only seemed to work on indie films. The entire project was kept under wraps- a trailer wasn't even released until February, three months before the release date. It was enough to get us hooked, and here we are now with Godzill... sorry... GODZILLA.

So, what did it do that most other monster movies don't? Well, first, it showed a great deal of respect. Unlike the more recent, campier entries in the franchise, this one tied itself more closely to the original from 1954. From the darker tone to the upright-stance design of the monster, it really reminded us of what GODZILLA was representative of. He's not an animal, but rather a force of nature. He's a personification of mankind's own recklessness and pride. It's almost fitting enough to call him Death itself, what with a tsunami heralding his approach. He's a noble figure, and he rocks that uprightness with pride.

Interestingly enough, one of the biggest draws of the movie is being viewed as one of its biggest flaws- the fact that they don't show much of the monster until the second half of the movie. Say what you will about that, but it's intended to be an homage to traditional thrillers such as "Jurassic Park", "Jaws", and "Alien." While those examples originally withheld their monsters for budgetary purposes, they showed us the effects and aftermath of their monster's attacks to show us what they were capable of. GODZILLA works it just as well, The fact that our first hint that the movie has any monsters in it (besides the title) is an earthquake should tell you what you should feel. If that doesn't work, then it makes the beautifully orchestrated climax that much more spectacular.

Of course, I won't jump out there and call it the perfect movie. It does have flaws, as all films do, and we can't necessarily call this a review until we talk about those as well. This biggest one that attracted attention is the acting and characterization. While stars such as Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, and David Strathairn are welcome additions, they remain as the only handful of interesting characters in the movie. The others receive very little, if any, characterization. While you can say that this is due to the serious nature of the movie, serious roles have been played with little character in them, and the actors were able to take them to pretty high levels. Here, they didn't really seem to be having as much fun with the fact that they're in a GODZILLA movie. There are a few that are likable, but not much besides that.
However, this is only a minor flaw in an otherwise enjoyable movie. In a plot-driven movie like this, all we really needed the focus to be on were the monsters. Gareth Edwards was able to do that without exhausting his audience by the third act. The action and tones were played very well, and kudos for using the ghostly "Requiem" by Gyoergy Ligeti as the main creature's theme. The underdeveloped characters may push some away, but others were drawn in just by that expertly-designed roar. I'm glad that I bought it on DVD, and I'm guessing you will be too.

SKREEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!

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