I’m not going to spoil Godzilla in this early bird review. Instead I’ll focus on the fun factor, the nostalgia, the way both of my sons said they almost cried tears of sorrow and tears of joy during the movie. Yes it was that good.
This is the way you make a Godzilla movie. Political message about the dangers of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons? Check! Disaster movie? Check! Story telling through excellent character development? Check! Sympathetic human characters? Check! Big Battle Kaiju? HELL YEAH!
I was worried about this movie, the hype, the previews, everything was being set up for this to be a joke, a flop, endless previews seeming to show the whole movie. And a history of floppage with American studios trying to make Godzilla appealing to American audiences. Let me assure you, this is none of that. This is an incredibly well done movie that pays that utmost respect to the 1954 movie, the Showa era, Heisei era Millennium era as well as the American releases. Gareth Edwards and Max Borenstein made an incredible movie. There is nothing but love and respect from these two as they tell us a new tale of the King of the Monsters.
Bryan Cranston is phenomenal, I honestly think he could make reading the white pages of the phone book interesting and engaging. Juliette Binoche is as beautiful as ever and Ken Watanabe outcools cool. Elizabeth Olsen is good, and succeeds in her main objective being the emotional anchor for Taylor-Johnson’s character. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a surprise as the film’s lead and most of the story is told through his perspective, he’s a great looking young actor who holds his own against a stellar cast including some rather large monsters.
The monsters don’t disappoint. You know about Godzilla and M.O.T.U. and without a doubt they are awesome. Their presentation, size, scale, effects, everything, is perfect. Beautifully done. The background and history, perfect. I was concerned about the elephant footed Godzilla, and after about a hundredth of a second, forgotten. Edwards pays so much respect to the ages of Godzilla in this movie that I found myself wanting to cry tears of joy.
The story itself was solid, good, engaging. Borenstein does a great job of mixing sci-fi, disaster, Big Battle Kaiju and humanity into a rather complex subject. There is something for everyone and the focus on the human element is what is needed to keep this movie from being “just” another giant monster movie. There is no “camp” in this movie, no silly humor, no joking to make the audience laugh. Go watch the ’98 if you want that.
A fantastic experience, my kids bouncing off the walls wanting to discuss it further, the feeling of hell yeah after the movie and waking up wanting to see it again. A full theater cheering at the end. Wonderful experience.