film review: Godzilla (2014)
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It’s been almost 16 years since Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla graced the screen, so you could say that Hollywood was ripe for a new one. You could also say that no-one was asking for one… but sure, why not? Can’t hurt right?
I have to admit, I am a fan of giant stuff looking to destroy the Earth, so… I was always going to be relatively easy on this new Godzilla. I was also curious about what Gareth Edwards would do with the budget. Monsters – his low budget first feature which he wrote, directed and created visual effects for – won him a lot of credibility but a Hollywood blockbuster is a whole different kettle of fish. Maybe he would rise to the challenge.
That said, I wasn’t enamored with the idea of Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the lead. Let’s be honest, have you ever seen him in anything that he wasn’t just about getting away with it? At best? And Bryan Cranston is in it… but he’s got so much stuff on, how much was he really going to be in this?
I guess there was a lot of question marks over it really, but the giant stuff was a big enough draw for me.
As it turns out, new Godzilla is… pretty decent. Depending on how discerning you are about your giant stuff movies. I’m not terribly discerning to be honest.. I even like the Transformer films. All of them. Seriously.
So… if like me, you’re not terribly discerning about giant stuff… and if all you want out of the Godzilla is a bloody giant creature beating the crap out of stuff… then you’re sorted.
Well. You’re mostly sorted. There is a plot there, a relatively substantial plot… with a damsel and a whole father son thing. In fact, you probably won’t see Godzilla quite as much as you think you might. But I’d try not to worry about it too much. Apparently the scriptwriters didn’t anyway. Quite the waste of both Elizabeth Olson and Bryan Cranston if you ask me.
There’s also the whole thing where Aaron Taylor-Johnson is not entirely convincing as a marine, despite being pretty buff in fairness. But he gets away with it. They should have got Zac Efron. Or Ryan Gosling. Or… you know… someone else…
But we’re off topic here. The fact is, when I left the cinema I left thinking “That was good fun”. Lots of stuff happened and the plot holes could be… well, ok there’s one massive one but I could live with it. In any case, I particularly liked all the times where the monster stares at us for a second then roars at us really loudly. Really loudly. Great roars. And there are a few good set pieces as well. So that’s something.
Ok, ok, maybe Godzilla isn’t exactly grade A material but let’s face it, it’s a Godzilla movie.
What were you expecting?
7/10
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