A lot of friends and family have been asking me what I thought about the recent incarnation of the King of the Monsters, and I've held back my full answer. So, I waited till the month of May had passed to write this. In this quick overview, I'll discuss what my two pet peeves were, how one of those pet peeves would've improved the film, and what didn't work and what DID work. First the bad:
Pet Peeve #1: The human drama in the second half of the film was not as compelling as it was in the first half.
Pet Peeve #2: Despite fighting other monsters, Godzilla should've still remained the main threat.
How Pet Peeve #1 Could've been rectified: It's pretty obvious that Bryan Cranston is to "Godzilla" (2014) what Janet Leigh was to Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." What would've improved the human drama in the second half is have Cranston's character, Joe Brody (a nod to "Jaws"), live just a bit longer. After Joe is injured from the 1st MUTO hatching, his son Ford Brody (Aaron Johnson) should've ordered authorities to transport his father to the same hospital in San Francisco where his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) is working as a nurse. Have Ford stay behind to brief on matters with Dr. Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) while his dad is airlifted. By doing this, you add more urgency for the Ford character to try to reach his family when things go south. During the monster brawl in San Francisco, Joe could die trying to save Elle in some way, and tell her something along the lines of "I don't want my son to go through the same pain I went through losing my wife." It would've added a nice little character arc for Cranston's character, even for a monster movie. After the HALO drop, Ford could've reunited with Elle in the city, only to be separated again within the chaos, and have Ford trying and save Elle trapped in rubble or, even better, vice versa (at least to give the female character something more to do and raise the stakes). Further more, despite it being very clichéd, there should've been more emphasis on the tensions between Dr. Serizawa and the General (David Straithairn) on their outlook on using nuclear weapons, thus, bringing back those themes that made the original 1954 film stand out. This tension is hinted at in the final cut of the movie, but is never again brought to the fore front.
What should've been done with Pet Peeve #2: If you're going to re-introduce Godzilla, he should still be the main threat. After dealing with the two MUTOs, he should've then turned his attention to devastating the rest of San Francisco, therefore making him much more of an "anti-hero" and ambiguous, rather than forcing the idea he could be an unintentional "hero." Again, raising the stakes, it would make the human characters react with "ok, we got rid of those two guys, now how are we going to deal with Godzilla?" All of the promotional materials for the film suggested that this Godzilla was going to be dark and that he was still the main threat (much like the Heisi films of the late 80's/ early 90's). If this is a re-introduction, we should be reminded that we should be scared of Godzilla. There has yet to be a truly, scary, Godzilla film ("Godzilla 1985" comes close).
The Negative: You get the feeling that the film was trying to please every "kind" of Godzilla fan. Those that wanted a dark serious film with social themes (1954), those who grew up with, and wanted to see, the monster brawls (1960's), and those who enjoy seeing Godzilla as "The Good Guy" (1970's). Because of this, there are constant tonal shifts throughout the film. Lastly, though he is credited at the end, it was unfortunate to see Akira Takarada's cameo cut from the film (was there really no other way of integrating it in when other scenes could've been cut?)
The Positive: Fortunately, the "Good" outweighs the "Bad" in almost all aspects. Despite many characters being there just for exposition, Aaron Johnson was able to carry the film. Bryan Cranston was the most interesting character, and you felt his heart-ache. Following a distant second in "most interesting character" is Ken Watanabe as Dr. Serizawa. You can tell Gareth Edwards was going for a Spielberg feel, it shows as he conveys that sense of awe with the reactions of bystanders, children in jeopardy, and the build up of tension. The first half is heart breaking and has a tone similar to the 1954 film, with its bleakness, visual images reminded the viewer of recent real life disasters and government cover ups, while the last half makes you feel like a kid again. In a crowded, hyped up theatre, many scenes induced cheers and applause (something the 1998 Sony Pictures films failed to do). The intentional build up works to the film's benefit and there are some very tense moments (a night scene on a deserted train track bridge comes to mind) that harkens back to the kinds of Spielbergian thrillers of "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park." On a scale of 1-10, it is a strong 8 (B+). Some of Alexander Desplat's music score feels like a hybrid of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams and Akira Ifukube's scores. There were at least two jump scare moments that worked, and that's always a plus, especially for a Godzilla film, which is a rarity. And of course, unlike the 1998 version, they got "HIM" right! Looks, mannerisms, even the atomic breath!
This is probably not the darkest Godzilla movie. That kind of Godzilla movie still has yet to be made, and the 1954 version still owns that title. But this is probably the best Godzilla movie we're going to get in a very long time.
