"Godzilla" Returns! (And Doesn't Suck)

Godzilla (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, and of course, Godzilla

Directed by Gareth Edwards

The Story:

Joe Brody (Cranston) discovers some dangerous seismic activity at a nuclear facility. However, before it can be shut down, an accident kills his wife (Binoche). 15 years later, the activity is starting up again, and Brody is determined to find out what killed his wife. Meanwhile his son, Ford, (Taylor-Johnson) is trying to get his dad out of trouble one more time. However when the two stumble upon giant creatures that feed off radiation, while man may be powerless to stop them, perhaps there is hope in trusting...

Godzilla!

I found two things amusing in this movie, and there may have been more (un)intentional homages as well.

Brody's vs. monster creatures. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies!

A quick shout-out to Lone Pine, California. This is heavy, Doc!

That said, for a movie that featured the title character for maybe, maybe... 15 minutes of the 2 hour running time, it really wasn't boring.

The story kept moving forward at a frenetic pace, and similar to the aforementioned Jaws, much of the monsters are kept under wraps, under water, while the destruction that they leave behind is what is on display.

Sometimes less is more, and I think that may have worked in Godzilla's best interest.

The redesign of the big guy works, for the most part.

Definitely better than the Broderick film, but call me sentimental, I miss the old Toho suit.

I actually want one just so I can wear it and step on toys and chase my kids around.

:)

So now that we've established that Godzilla is a force for good, so what happens in the sequel?

Final Grade: B... B- range.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again down the road. It wasn't nearly as bad as I feared it could have been. That said, it could have been improved here and there also.

Happy Birthday Godzilla! "Godzilla: Final Wars"

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Rated PG-13 for monster violence

Starring: Godzilla

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura

The Story:

Aliens are attacking Earth.  They are unleashing giant monsters across the globe.  The Earth Defense Force decides to free a trapped Godzilla to fight each of these monsters and save the Earth.

Good plan.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Godzilla, Toho Films took apparently the idea of the great Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters, and fuse it with some of the Godzilla video games, to come up with a 21st Century monster battle royal.

Which theoretically would be enjoyable...

But this movie was soooo long and slow getting to that point.

Even at 1.5 speed on the PS3.  : /

If I rent a movie called Godzilla, I need to see Godzilla, in action, long before we do.

And I don't count the beginning of the movie where Godzilla is trapped in the earth.

By the time the monster throw downs happened, I was utterly bored, and really didn't care.

Plus, the monsters started moving and jumping around a little too unrealistically for giant monsters.

And yes, I realize how ridiculous that last sentence must seem...

But I expect some sort of lumbering, monster fights.  Not a parkour/ninja/pro wrestling Godzilla duking it out with similar monsters.

Now I want to see Destroy All Monsters again to see if they were as offensive in their fighting style, or if it was a more plodding fight style that I remember.

Very disappointed in the 50th Anniversary of the big G.

Hopefully the 60th anniversary version rectifies this blight.

Final Grade:  D+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No thanks.