Very disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (18 February 2016)

I understand that this is a film about Godzilla, and the masses buying their tickets want to see cities and landscapes smashed to a million billion bits. In this respect, Godzilla 2014 delivers outright. But there's no reason we shouldn't get a decent story as well. As soon as we see the eponymous creature, the humanistic side of the film descends into chaos. The characters are one-dimensional, the script is terrible and I can barely remember any dialogue. In addition, I couldn't help but note how intrusive Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack was. Gone is the tense, choral subtlety of the film's trailer and we are instead treated to Hollywood-standard booming orchestral pieces that actually make the monsters less terrifying.
But on a positive note, Godzilla himself was absolutely gorgeous, and Edwards bravely waits almost a full hour to unleash him in one of the best unveilings of any cinematic character of all time. It's mad to think how an entirely digital creation can become the emotional centre of a story. And someone definitely deserves some kind of award for the film's sound design. It's just a shame that Edwards loaded the film with walking clichés, while forgetting to give show-stealer Bryan Cranston anything to do. Very disappointing.