Surprisingly well acted, excellent special effects, and an epic monster battle which will thrill audiences.
“Godzilla” is a worthy reintroduction to an iconic character. Hello moviegoers! With an epic monster such as Godzilla, it is often easy to rely on a built in audience rather than striving for something better. A compelling plot that wrestles with the arrogance of man, and is highly suggestive toward a homeostasis world view, i.e. a complete balance in nature, “Godzilla” will keep viewers entertained and cheering for the famed monster.
Godzilla ( 3 sweet potatoes out of four) Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Juliette Binoche; Director: Gareth Edwards; Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi; Rated: PG-13; Running Time: 123 minutes; Opens: Friday, May 16th, 2014.
Dr. Serizawa and Vivienne (Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins) discover a quarry in the Phillipines where a gigantic skeleton houses two egg pods, one that has hatched an unknown creature which has escaped. Meanwhile, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), a plant supervisor in Tokyo is trying to alert everyone to new readings that suggest something more than an earthquake is happening and something is attacking the nuclear plant. Despite Joe’s efforts, he loses his wife (Juliette Binoche) and the plant covers up the attack by the creature and subsequent destruction of the town and quarantines the area.
Fifteen years later, Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) a military bomb specialist at home, leaves his wife (Elisabeth Olsen) to collect his father who has been arrested for trying to gain access to the quarantined area. Once released, Joe convinces Ford to once again break into the quarantined area where they are captured and taken to the old power plant now run by Dr. Serizawa. Dr. Serizawa and Vivienne have been monitoring the escaped creature which feeds on radiation. Rather than killing it, they have monitored levels while they’ve allowed the animal to take in all the radiation which helps it grow and it hatches while Joe and Ford are detained. The creature is on the loose and uses a mating call to awaken a dormant female monster. Godzilla awakens and comes to the surface and is the only real hope for humanity.
“Godzilla” is fun to watch, and it has minor flaws that don’t detract much from the film. The movie doesn’t actually work to keep the protagonist, Ford, central to the plot. It just so happens Ford is there again, and again, and again, highly coincidentally. Also, the film doesn’t truly begin until twenty minutes after the tape rolls. The information gained in the opening twenty minutes is confusing and utterly useless although Juliette Binoche’s death does have the desired emotional effect.
Overall “Godzilla” is a film that rises above expectations in all of the best ways. Godzilla’s incarnation touts him as only a hero which changes his narrative a bit, but it works. I give “Godzilla” three sweet potatoes out of four.
This is A. P. Richardson for Moviegoers View and I will see you after the movies at moviegoersview.com
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