Godzilla (2014)

Review - This film is ridiculous; bottom-line. I’m so very tempted to say that there’s absolutely no brain power on display but that’s not quite true. There are some good ideas in Godzilla but they’re certainly not tended to.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Ford Brody, the son of Bryan Cranston, a nuclear plant director or scientist, I guess, and Julliette Binoche, a nuclear something-or-other; cause yea, the movie’s like that. Johnson, along with Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins, the resident mysterious government personnel, brood and mostly watch as the completely inept American navy, led by David Strathairn and Richard T. Jones, botch every attempt to have a constructive thought. While this may sound harsh, it’s actually kinda central to the film and so remains a bit of a back handed compliment.

Be that as it may, as an audience member, you cannot help but get frustrated with the idiocy on display here and are so bolstered to hope and root for the film’s promised carnage. Carnage is delivered but I cannot say, “in spades”. The best I can say is that some of it is sufficent, very welcome, and sadly too short. However, the cinematography used during Godzilla’s action sequences is top notch and deserves all of my $3.00 admission price.

Look, you’re really going into this for the spectacle and the carnage. The script, sporting a promising idea or three, fails miserably to develop them. The characters are hopelessly forgetable and are better received as toothpicks for the “King of Monsters.” There’s a wonderful retro feeling to images of the monster’s action during the final sequences of the film; intermixed throughout however with a whole lot of audience head-scratching.

“Godzilla” is an interesting beast of a film. Critics and audiences seem to like it despite it’s glaring flaws. It’s popcorn entertainment to be sure and most likely the best installment since the original; so kudos as they’re deserved. When deciding on if you’ll attend or not, know that “Godzilla” (2014) is most likely too long time wise and to short on monsters for most 8-10yr olds, 11-15yr olds might get the most bang for their parents buck but I won’t garuntee it, and anyone older that 16 ought to find it sorely lacking, especially when comparing it to the carnage they might wrought in a military video game. I mean, come on, the only time missles are used in the film is when an American Navy ship is tossed about on the ocean and they seem to accidently go off, and this happens more than once; ridiculous.

-m-