"I bet he's here to restore balance. He can defeat them."

Rating: 6/10 (18 September 2014)

I have mixed feelings on this movie. I liked it but felt it could have been so much better. The first hour drags on but I guess that's because it's taboo to do a movie under two hours these days if you want to be taken seriously as a filmmaker. The biggest gripe I have is one I'm sure is shared by many other viewers. Namely that Godzilla doesn't become a big part of the movie until late and so we basically have over an hour of a two-hour Godzilla movie devoted to humans and a new monster (with a terribly boring design). Once he does show up, the action and special effects are good but never so impressive as to make you forget the long wait. Of the humans, Bryan Cranston and Ken Watanabe are both good, as you might expect. Cranston is not the star, as the trailers would lead you to believe. The star is Aaron Taylor-Johnson and he does a fine job though nothing particularly noteworthy. Elizabeth Olsen, whom I adore, is largely wasted in a supported part where her only purpose is to survive the movie to be reunited with her husband. So is it worth seeing? Yes but temper your expectations. It's not as good as the original Godzilla (either version) or as much fun as the sequels. In many ways it has more in common with director Gareth Edwards' previous film, Monsters, than it does with Godzilla. If you liked Monsters (and I did) you'll probably like this. Maybe not as much, though.