Transformers with dinosaurs. Only better.

Rating: 6/10 (29 May 2014)

Do you remember the hype and build up to Roland Emmerich's much-anticipated Godzilla in 1998? Do you recall the disappointment that followed? Did you catch the hype and build up to Gareth Edwards' take on the behemoth? Does it follow the pattern?
The short version is yes. And no. Godzilla doesn't live up to the hype, it doesn't match expectations and, yes, it is mildly disappointing. But as for it being a let down, nope, not so much. Edwards, in his second outing as director after 2010's low budget blinder, Monsters, gives us a big budget B movie packed with effects that thrills and entertains even if it doesn't excite, terrorize and inspire awe in the manner we'd like. Part of that comes down to Edward himself. Monsters was such a fine, unexpected delight and he set the bar so high for himself that it was unlikely he could surpass it with so much of other people's money and the pressure and interference that presumably brings.
The Godzilla aficionados will possibly find much to howl at, but for the casual viewer and happy bystander amidst the havoc wreaking there is much to enjoy here with the nuke-crunching prehistoric monsters. A little more backstory and reason is given for the emergence of Godzilla and his prey, and the human interest story is given a fair run with the relationship between scientist-cum-embittered-conspiracy-theorist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) and his estranged, cynical, soldier son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
Though Taylor-Johnson has come a long way since Nowhere Boy and makes a reasonable focal point, Godzilla hangs on the name of Cranston, the biggest 'star' on screen here. That comparatively little is made of Joe is something of a surprise and the greatest disappointment. The charisma he threatens to exude is wasted in a lack of screen time and Taylor-Johnson's Ford has neither the impact to be truly memorable nor the circumstances to really shine on this occasion.
Godzilla is sprinkled with a few actors who deserve more, but Edwards wastes them, or rather doesn't waste time on them when he can focus on monsters ripping cities to shreds. Elizabeth Olsen as Ford's wife, Elle; Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa; David Strathairn as Admiral William Stenz; Sally Hawkins as Vivienne Graham; none of them are allowed to really sink their teeth into their characters or dominate the screen. Hawkins is particularly wasted (and more than a little wooden, alas), disappearing for a vast chunk of the movie and reappearing almost as an afterthought as though Edwards suddenly remembered she was on the payroll. Not that I'd noticed she had gone AWOL.
Yes, Godzilla is the star of this franchise, but then so were the dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park series, but that didn't stop Crichton and Spielberg from making the human characters count for something.
There is some lovely camera work on display and this is where Edwards' Godzilla really shines. Frequently we are positioned behind people or objects, jostling for a view of the monsters, our vision frustratingly blocked by heads and obstacles, placing us right there in the action and causing us to unconsciously move in our seats to look around the obstruction. But is it enough?
Will you enjoy Godzilla? Think of it as Transformers with dinosaurs (and a smidgen of Alien) only better and if that grabs you, take a punt. Better still, take the kids. And stand by for the sequel.
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