SPOILER ALERT!! THIS REVIEW WILL PROBABLY CONTAIN SPOILERS! DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!
Overall, I thought the film was good. It is a great thrill ride and suspenseful drama!
For starters, I'm not the biggest Godzilla fan but I have seen my fair share. I was very excited to see this film since the first announcement. It has been so long since we last had a good Godzilla movie. The 1998 Godzilla that starred Matthew Broderick was a disaster! With this film starring Bryan Cranston and Ken Watanabe, I was very excited.
The movie starts out with the origins of the beast. At least we think. The opening credits with the archival footage and nuclear bombs was a nice touch and a great way to setup the film. Having recently re-watched the original 1954 film, it was very nostalgic for me. Bryan Cranston was great in his role. He really brought something to the character. The scene were he is frustrated and talking to them about what he knows was very emotional. Ken Watanabe was really good in his role as Dr. Ichiro Serizawa just like in the original film. What really drew me away from the characters was the fact that Bryan Cranston wasn't in it that much. From the trailers that I saw, I thought he would have been one of the main characters. Instead we get Aaron Taylor Johnson who you would know better from Kick-Ass. We follow him around trying to get back to his family back in the US. He was OK but I didn't feel like they promoted him correctly. Elizabeth Olsen who plays his wife was ok but nothing special.
The visuals and sound effects were great!! The size, scope and design of Godzilla and the other monsters are fantastic!! Once they reveal Godzilla, you are amazed! I know that at least 2 or 3 times, I verbally said out loud "OMG!" It was great! The disaster scenes were fantastic with the MUTO in Hawaii causing a tidal wave and Las Vegas breaking through the casinos. I also liked the scene with Aaron Taylor Johnson on the train tracks and the MUTO attacks it. Very intense! It was some of the best disaster porn I have seen since the movie 2012 or Olympus Has Fallen.
It was a great suspense build up to the reveal of the monsters. You get glimpses and you hear them a lot in the first part of the film but it takes a while to build. I liked that suspense. Now here is the problem with that though. I don't think most audiences will like it. They came to see a Godzilla movie and they want him from beginning to end.
I liked it but I didn't like it. It takes too long! And when the great action fight scenes with Godzilla and the MUTOs happens the director or the editor, cuts away! The monsters see each other and then the director or editor says "Ok, let's go back to the humans!" WHAT?!? I wanna see them fight!! I get it. You are teasing the audience. Ken Watanabe's character at one point says "Let Them Fight!" I agree! Let them fight and let us see it! We do get a great battle between Godzilla and the other monsters but it is a little too late. I wanted to see more and earlier. But let me tell you, when they do fight, it is awesome! Very big and EPIC! Godzilla is fantastic! VERY BIG!!! I kept waiting to see if they were going to use the atomic breath and they did!! It was so cool!! Godzilla's back lights up and then BAM!!! He even opens up the last MUTO's mouth and breathes down his neck! WHAT?!? AMAZING! That is what I wanted to see more of.
Overall, I would say it was good! The build to the reveal is good and the climax is great. But I just wish they had more. Like I said with Amazing Spiderman 2 and Man of Steel, it was good in parts but not amazing! I would have liked a little less human story. It kind of got into the way. I didn't care about them except Bryan Cranston but he wasn't in it enough. Also, there was a little too much convenience! Something bad was going to happen and then oh let's just let them get loose or find safety. Every-time! I understand it some of the time but all of the time?!? I didn't expect Elizabeth Olsen's character to live but she does. So convenient! Kill off some of the characters besides Bryan Cranston. I would say if you go see it, it should be in IMAX! I would recommend the film but lower your expectations some. I might actually bump up my review to 4 stars but I need to see it again.
3 1/2 stars out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment