Too damned serious!
Swift shot: I just couldn’t get into the characters, not even the humans. I saw this in 3D IMAX, and I still just couldn’t connect. Why? The film was too damned serious! I was laughing, but my laughs were not with the film, rather at it. But, as far as Godzilla films go, this was the best one for special effects.
Chief….err, I mean, Lieutenant Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has just gotten back from a tour of duty as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Officer. His father, Joe (Bryan Cranston) is convinced his wife’s death at a nuclear plant was more than a seismic anomaly. Spoiler alert . . . it was a giant monster!
Ken Watanabe has one look the whole movie, his jaw agape and a look of constipation permanently planted on his face. His assistant serves literally no purpose in the film, not that his character serves much purpose either. Anyway, he plays Dr. Serizawa, who is complicit in the super-secret Monarch group’s lie to hide the monster’s existence.
All of the actors give technically remarkable performances. But, it was painfully obvious they were acting. The story is disjointed, and the characters seemingly manage to survive the most ludicrous of near-death encounters. Well, some of them, anyway.
Ravaging Hawaii, Tokyo and Las Vegas . . . yes, I said Las Vegas, radiation starved monsters hell-bent on reproducing are stalked by Godzilla and Ford Brody. These creatures are the bad guys, I guess, and Godzilla is the giant, benevolent green smashing machine!
Godzilla is a friendly giant monster, apparently.
The special effects in this were worthy of a giant blockbuster. Several scenes stuck with me well after the screening. And I did really get into those scenes, but if you watched them all in an edited clip, it would be about 15-20 minutes of rampageous carnage. Some of the best action takes place off screen.
Most don’t realize that Godzilla is a metaphor for America’s benevolent destruction of Japan. Godzilla comes in and destroys everything, but saves the city from a greater evil, buried hidden. But, when the scientist’s brilliant idea is to let the monsters fight, it makes no sense! Zero (pun intended).
But, if senseless, unfunny, too serious films are your thing, see it, see it in theaters, or you are wasting the wonder of the incredible effects. Godzilla fans won’t be disappointed, but they won’t be amused much either . . . and a Godzilla film shouldn’t take itself so seriously. I mean, it’s Godzilla after all! I guess Gareth Edwards didn’t get the memo.
