"Godzilla" (2014)

Something increasingly lost in the sequels and general feeling towards Godzilla as a character since the 1954 original film is how terrifying and awe-inspiring his initial appearance was. That was likely inevitable but it’s tainted the character as an adaptable property making him silly and goofy, the butt of a joke befitting his rubber-suited stomping. It’s also exactly the reason the most recent, 1994 Roland Emmerich-helmed adaptation was a dud; Godzilla may be a bit unbelievable but he’s also, ya know, a giant fucking lizard racking up property damage. This 2014 version plays the story straight and sincere, and it’s tremendously successful for it.

A fair amount of criticism has been laid upon Godzilla for the sketchy nature of it characters. It’s true that the destruction brought about by the giant beasties is the film’s primary interest and it provides that in spades. But I’d counter that the film provides a surprising amount of humanity and warmth amongst the rubble and wreckage at hand. It’s limited by the necessities of blockbusters, and especially a giant monster film, but the film is smart to always contextualize the action on display so it has a recognizable and identifiable human face at stake.  

This begins with Bryan Cranston as a scientist who loses his wife (a murderously underused Juliette Binoche) at a nuclear power plant and becomes suspicious of a cover up that proves to be related to kaiju-business; this extends to Cranston's son (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and their son (Carson Bolde). But Max Borenstein’s script writes in other scientists, soldiers and concerned individuals to fill out the edges, and while rarely ever given much to do, the film has some largely superb casting with actors adding so much to rote roles (One of director Gareth Edwards’ favorite shots is a medium close up shot of people looking off into the distance; it eventually becomes overplayed but it emphasizes people’s awe and fear in the face of such overwhelming circumstances – and it simply feels very raw and real). 

Edwards also has a very strong visual sensibility. He shoots action so it almost always has the greatest sense of wonder. In this regard, Edwards has an extensive amount in common with Steven Spielberg; making big blockbusters feel humanly grounded and yet still allowing for visual splendor. 

Godzilla will likely get compared to last summer’s Pacific Rim, another throwback to giant monsters brawling at the expense of human life and large cityscapes. It’s not entirely unwarranted; both are incredibly earnest about their storytelling, almost archetypical in their visions and affectionate towards the genres they inhabit. But Godzilla, to an extent, has smaller ambitions. The scale is less global and it has a more consistent interest in the humans on the margins of its spectacle. In in its final twenty minutes, my argument will seem like it’s grasping for evidence, but the fact is that the film wisely pushes back so much of its mayhem until then (and there’s a good thirty or so minutes before any monsters are revealed whatsoever); more importantly: it’s the undeniable raison d’etre. 

Grade: B+