Our Hero?

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2014)

Greetings again from the darkness. Sixty years after Godzilla made his initial screen appearance, we get a full blown Hollywood special effects blockbuster version that will eclipse the $100 million mark in its first weekend. This is director Gareth Edwards second feature film (Monsters, 2010) and he juggles the modern day re-imagining with the Japanese roots and a hand full of other tributes throughout.
The cast seems impressive: Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Elizabeth Olsen, Sally Hawkins and David Strathairn. Unfortunately, most of these fine actors have little to do, and instead the dominant human presence (most every scene) is Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) who somehow keeps getting gigs despite lacking even a dollop of screen presence or acting ability. Of course, this movie is supposed to belong to Godzilla, and even he is usurped on screen time by two nuclear-feasting praying mantis creatures that share some attributes with the classic Alien. These screen hogs are called MUTO's (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) and are quite substantial ... crushing skyscrapers by landing.
The 1954 original film was an anti-nuclear statement, though the re-edited U.S. version replaced the political statement with Raymond Burr. Mr. Burr also appeared in the 1984 sequel which included a storyline of feeding off a nuclear plant (borrowed in this year's version). This film's prologue featuring Bryan Cranston working at a 1999 nuclear plant is an unmistakable nod to the recent Fukushima disaster, and sets the stage for the collision of science (Watanabe) and military (Strathairn). Director Edwards clearly enjoys his Jaws-like teasing of Godzilla, who finally shows up after almost an hour. And despite the Jurassic Park roar by our titular monster, this doesn't hold a candle to Spielberg's 1993 classic. We do get the quite familiar shots of bystanders running down the street, glancing back in fear - a must for any monster movie.
Having seen this one in 3D, I'll mention again that the enhanced effects offered by this technology do not offset the darkened, dulled look. Add that to the almost total lack of color - it's borderline Black and White - and there are simply too few breathtaking visual moments to consider this a monster classic.