Trying to revive Godzilla after a long absence from the big screen could go wrong in two different ways. It could just be Godzilla fighting other monsters non-stop for two hours, bludgeoning the audience into exhaustion and boredom with CG-overload. Or it could just barely showcase the promised creature carnage and turn into a joyless bore. Thankfully, Gareth Edwards' film is able to have its cake and stomp it into the dust, too. What we get here is a suspenseful, intense, grand, well-directed, and entertaining film that respects its source material and is constantly keeping audiences on their toes. While most of the human characters unfortunately don't resonate, there is no denying the film gets so much right when it comes to the title character and his malevolent foes.
In 1999, Japan is rocked by tremors that decimate an entire city, turning it into a quarantine zone, and killing the wife of scientist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston). 15 years later, his son Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) returns from military duty and reluctantly reunites with his father, who is now obsessed with the disaster that struck the city. Together, they sneak into the quarantine zone to find answers. Ford not only realizes his father's conspiracy theories might be correct, but there are other forces far more destructive being kept secret.
With Edwards' debut feature, Monsters, he adopted a "less-is more" approach when it came to his creatures. Keeping them under wraps and building up the tension and ambiance. It's possible that approach was taken due to a budget of less than $500,000. But now with $160M at his expense, Edwards could have easily just made the movie with tons of relentless violence and destruction. Instead he subverts our expectations by carefully teasing and occasionally revealing the titular character frequently throughout the first and second acts. This plays up the tension and suspense, which makes the third act all the more rewarding.
Some may say this direction would make Godzilla a supporting character in his own movie (akin to something like Transformers), but that is where I have to disagree. Even when he is not on-screen, Godzilla's presence is felt throughout the entire movie. That is what separates movies like Jurassic Park from movies like Transformers. In Transformers, the robots feel more like a gimmick to sell the movie and have all sorts of sci-fi action. In Jurassic Park, the movie takes its time to build up the reveal of the dinosaurs, so when we finally see them in all their glory, the payoff couldn't be more rewarding. And that is exactly what happens with Godzilla. When we finally do get to see the kaiju throwdowns we were promised, the results are epic on a grand scale. And I do mean epic. It also helps the movie was marketed very well and kept that sweet monster mayhem under wraps.
When there aren't monsters causing destruction left and right, the film has to rely on its human characters to carry it. Unfortunately, this is where it falls flat. Outside of Bryan Cranston's character, none of them are memorable or interesting enough to care about. Again, Cranston's character feels like the only one who is fleshed out and has a story arc. However, that is ultimately cut short and the leading role shifts over to Aaron Taylor Johnson, who has given plenty of good performances in the past (Kick-Ass for example), but plays one of the most generic action heroes in recent memory. While he does his best to add weight to his character, he's been given a role that provides him very little to work with. Elizabeth Olsen plays your typical concerned wife in an action movie and Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins, who play the film's scientists, are reduced to just spouting off exposition (despite Watanabe getting the best line in the entire film).
While Godzilla is the true sight to behold in this film, he also shares the spotlight with director Gareth Edwards. Aside from crafting an intense, ambient film, he also makes it look breathtaking. Edwards is at his best whenever there is something to do with the monsters, on or off-screen. Providing stunning imagery like soldiers performing a HALO jump (which looks like a descent into Hell), or a POV shot of Godzilla fighting a MUTO, there is no doubt in my mind that Edwards is a master at making audiences feel a sense of total awe at a city being leveled by larger-than-life creations. These aren't CG figures pounding each other into submission. These are monsters.
The bottom line is Godzilla is every bit as faithful and respectful to the kaiju's 60 year history as the filmmakers promised. While the characters don't come close to be as developed as they should, all that is forgiven when there is so much more to enjoy. Those willing to go along with the slow reveal of its monsters will be rewarded with an epic showdown that includes smashing, thrashing, and some glorious atomic breathing. This is the first movie of the summer that left me grinning from ear-to-ear with childlike glee. Thank you, Gareth Edwards and co. for restoring Godzilla as the one true king of monsters.
Final rating: 8.5 out of 10.