Ever since he first appeared on the big-screen in Ishiro Honda’s 1954 classic film Godzilla, the giant monstrous lizard has featured in dozens of films as well as comics and video games, generally becoming a Japanese cultural icon. Western audiences will probably know him best from the disastrous (no pun intended) 1998 film directed by Roland Emmerich, one that was equal parts silly as it was boring. But now we have a new Hollywood blockbuster telling of the iconic character from director Gareth Edwards who previously made, rather fittingly, the low-budget hit Monsters. What results isn’t the giant monster movie, or even the Godzilla incarnation, to end them all as you might hope for but nevertheless an entertaining experience of spectacle.
Fifteen years on from a tragic incident at a nuclear power plant in Japan, we follow Lieutenant Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a soldier happily married to his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) with whom he has a five year-old son. Just after arriving home from duty he is called away again, this time to Japan where he has to bail his father Joe (Bryan Cranston) out of jail after he arrested for trespassing. His father is convinced that the nuclear incident wasn’t the accident the government says it was and that they’re hiding something big from everyone.
Believing that his father is just being paranoid at first, Ford and the rest of the world soon discover there are giant creatures out there, dubbed “Mutos,” threatening humanity. As he tries to get back home to his family amidst the chaos, the government try to figure out how to deal with the dangerous creatures at the same time as the return of Godzilla, a giant lizard which the government tried to destroy decades prior.
Given his experience in creating impressive visual effects on a small scale, convincing us of a monster-filled world that wasn’t really there, Edwards is well placed to throw that creativity onto an even bigger canvas. And he, indeed, proves a shrewd choice of director for this American reboot of the famous behemoth, delivering just the right kind of monstrous spectacle you’d want from such a film. This particular incarnation is gone the ultra-serious route popularised in blockbusters by Christopher Nolan and his Dark Knight trilogy. And while some may find that sucks the over-the-top silly fun out of it – evidently Pacific Rim stole all the funny bones for its giants vs. giants carnage last year – it nevertheless takes the film down a different, perhaps more interesting route of placing it in a real world context.
Absurd as both the timelessly ludicrous premise and specific plot are, its serious take on the idea helps you to be able to invest in what’s going on in context, even if it may make less sense the more you think about it afterwards. It places the imminent disasters it presents in a threatening and believable way, making it a world event in which we don’t always see the titular monster in full-view but maybe just catch glimpses of him on a TV in the background or the slight glance of his tail as he walks between two buildings. It also provides an interesting perspective on the eponymous “villain,” shaping him somewhat in the misunderstand monster mould while never going so far as to crudely anthropomorphize him.
The visual effects and sound and creature design are stellar, seamlessly and convincingly creating a truly awe-inspiring 350-feet tall gargantuan monster with that all-important, ear-splitting roar that’s become so instantly recognisable. While the pace of the film is erratic at best, with long-stretches of monster-less waiting with sudden bursts of action, when the action does kick in it is equal parts entertaining, breathtaking and technically stunning. There’s a sense of momentum to the film – even in its slower moments that regrettably fall onto the shoulders of characters that simply aren’t that well written (more on that soon) – that builds until the typically outlandish finale which gives Man of Steel a run for its money in terms of sheer city-wide damage. It’s in the climactic battle, and the action beats peppered throughout the film before it, that finds all the most important elements of a film such as this aligning together to bold brilliance.
Unfortunately, the screenplay by Max Borenstein doesn’t allow for much characterization and so in between the spectacular action set-pieces we have to rely on a talented cast left out in the cold by paper-thin characters. Taylor-Johnson is bland in the lead human role, unable to carry the film whenever the action isn’t taking place, lacking the emotional depth for us to truly invest in his storyline to get back to his wife, a wasted Elizabeth Olsen, and daughter; Cranston is all shouty and over-the-top without the gravitas of Breaking Bad’s Walter White; Juliette Binoche redefines the term blink and you’ll miss her; Sally Hawkins only seems to be there to input every so often with info about seismic shifts and the like; and her scientist co-partner Ken Watanabe does little more than provide apocalyptic one-liners about humanity not being in control of nature and how we don’t know what we’re up against. There’s little character development to be found in the gaps between the action and it’s generally a shame to see such a talented cast criminally under and misused.
Very much a product of a post-Nolan blockbuster world, the latest Godzilla is the brooding one in the corner to Pacific Rim’s more hyperactive cousin. But they’re different beasts, so to speak, and Edwards’ serious take on the titular monumental creature provides a weightier blockbuster experience with as much as to enjoy on a pure visual and action level as in the way it places things into a global nuclear paranoia context. It’s not exactly a roaring success what with its inconsistent pace and lacking characterization but it provides old school monster action and spectacle on a fittingly massive scale and in the end that’s what really matters most.
Godzilla is released in UK cinemas on May 15th.
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