Godzilla (2014)

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1. 

   Scratch47

   Frustrating. But with moments of brilliance. Edwards' touch for images is undeniable - the camera lingers and paces itself in a way which recalls vintage Spielberg. In fact, its' closest cinematic cousin is Spielberg's take on 'War Of The Worlds' though you can also see touches of Jurassic Park, as well as Cloverfield, Super 8, and the King Kong remake. There are some truly fantastic moments where things land definitively; the opening credits, the jump, the final fight, and many chilling shots, and by God(zilla), they got their big hero right. There's one astonishing moment in the climax, where, emerging from clouds of smoke amidst the lanterns of San Francisco's Chinatown to sparse piano, he bends and roars with a primal force that incites sheer excited terror, that causes even Pacific Rim to shit itself.
   Things become more polarized in the script department - Bryan Cranston is sterling,

   but bows out after the first act, and beyond that point

   the rest of the characters are mere archetypes in comparison, content to run in terror, have a sex scene interrupted by a phone, have to get on a plane to break their dad out of jail, make tearful appeals to military commanders, get separated in time for a joyful reunion, or all just deliver ominous soliloquies and exposition. It's standard stuff for the genre.
   Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a better actor than I gave him credit for, and it's quite surprising how Ken Wanatabe's face can convincly convey so much dread. Yet, whilst nothing I've mentioned is strictly a dealbreaker, it's not enough to avoid pulling you out of the moment, puncturing the wonderful biblically dark mood that sometimes seems to arise spontaneously, underselling some of the cast and the nuclear backdrop, and curiously dragging and lurching in such a odd way you're left feeling dulled, and in need of some levity.
   What is far more of a dealbreaker is that we get precious little of our monstrous hero. During all of the fights - the camera cuts away, at the point of contact no less, from the brawl to the human drama, and though this helps to build the anticipation for the final battle and is a brave directorial move, I was left feeling undersold every time - to be reminded of the last Hobbit film was a slight for me. One more brawl in full view would have made all the difference here.
   Overall, the character development simply doesn't stand up, and isn't as dramatic as, well, seeing G-Man make another monster shit itself. But, this being essentially a modernized version of a Toho film, essentially a monster throwdown with cutout humans, I guess I couldn't have expected more, and it does succeed on that level, and more besides, with moments of perfection in atmosphere, and a truly great final scene. It just can't quite escape it's frustrating flaws.
   
   It was good to see Vegas get trashed, though. 9 years 11 months ago
2. 

   jktomas

   Feels so much like a Toho Godzilla films. Godzilla himself seems very legit too and when he's on screen I held my breath. That's a movie I always wanted to see and it's finally here.
   Many people seem to be disappointed which is their own fault. The movie is fine, but you have to have realistic expectations before seeing it. It's a Godzilla film, none of them were particularly great, but they are entertaining. Although I will say Godzilla 2014 is probably the most subtle and well made of them all. A lot of respect went into making of this film and it shows.
   Godzilla isn't on screen for very long, but when he is on screen it's glorious. Every single shot of Godzilla in this film it's beautiful to look at and it wouldn't be the case if he was constantly showing-off.
   This movie leaves you hungry for more, but it's better than nothing at all or even too much. At very least you should celebrate that Godzilla is finally back and he's not ruined.
   I'm personally very happy. 9 years 11 months ago
3. 

   piratediscoking

   It hit me halfway through that it was paced exactly like a Japanese Godzilla film - lots of build-up and blue-balling before a single final battle. I feel as though viewers lacking the experience of Toho Godzilla films will leave disappointed. 9 years 11 months ago

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