The Real Deal

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2014)

This new version of Godzilla is basically Hollywood's redemption to the iconic creature after the fiasco back in 1998. To completely forget that awful remake, it goes back to the classic design of the monster, takes a more atmospheric tone, and stripping off the worst parts (mostly the bad humor) of the abomination. The achievement here is rather astounding. It's not the typical type of action movie that most of the time shoves the large scale destruction to the audience. It instead prioritizes the tension which becomes a totally breathtaking experience. Though, there are parts of the story that deserve a little more exploration to make it an ultimately compelling blockbuster, but then it's already compelling when it features the terror and the largeness of this awesome monster.
It didn't took that long for it to impress the audience. The first act is already a perfect movie. It focuses on a character with a real grief towards the situation. Even more interesting, there is a sociopolitical theme hidden behind the mission which makes an intriguing piece of commentary. But when it hits to the next act, it somehow abandons it and finally rises to the more bombastic points of the story. What comes afterwards follows a character who has a less interesting plight. The lead character, Ford, may have a pretty basic arc, but it wasn't nearly as compelling as his father's. Maybe if he had a solid one, it might have distracted the disasters going on and that is probably true. This movie is all about the monster, and the human element already lies on their scale and fear. The beginning is just a missed opportunity of something more. Otherwise, it's still an engrossing experience.
The film would have been a straightforward explosive extravaganza, but the direction decided to be much challenging. There is an obvious inspiration to "Jaws" and even to another giant monster movie "Cloverfield" (when it comes to politics). The film does have action, but displaying them aren't the only key to excite the viewers. In fact, the destruction often goes straight to the aftermath. People might feel that they're missing too much mayhem, but actually they're not. The mysteries actually make the threat much larger. Because it's not about how the cities get wrecked, it's more about acknowledging how absolutely formidable these creatures are. The camera also keeps giving tremendous shots of which compares between the scale of a normal human being to the monster.
The character development can still be complained at some point. Thankfully, the acting is splendid. Aaron Taylor-Johnson ends up being the weakest among. I'm not sure if it's his fault, the character is not well developed, but he could have improved and filled the gaps of the supposedly heroic Ford Brody. In contrast, Bryan Cranston is simply terrific in every single scene he is in that one would wish he could have been the main character of the entire film. The rest of the cast surpassed the script and somewhat elevated their characters.
The message is quite clear, Hollywood has learned their lesson. The rest of the drama may not justify the powerful first act, but the film finally succeeds at portraying the Godzilla everyone deserves. It's just full of love, not only to the original, but also to the genre. Other than the behemoth sized set pieces, the film takes plenty of remarkable inspirations from several creature horror movies, from Spielberg's to Reeves'. Even with all the intriguing politics and gravity, the King of the Monsters still stands as the landmark of the whole film. Godzilla is just amazing for reliving the original spirit of this genre.