Entertaining, but obviously could have been much better..

Rating: 6/10 (28 August 2014)

Having been a fan of Godzilla and in general monster movies (like the "Gamera" ones et al) I was really looking forward to this incarnation. Recalling back to the pre-internet, before DVD - even before VHS, days..you had to meticulously comb your local "TV guide" for a chance to see once of these late night or early morning weekends.
Now over all I found it pretty entertaining, but had a lot of holes in it where it probably could have been much better.
First the movie sort felt like it took it self too seriously. Maybe the idea here was to capture the essence of 1956 (USA) version. Where you are sort of a bystander to the story, seeing it from a third-person point of view.
To it's credit it captured other parts of the spirit of the movies like where the in the progression of the originals Godzilla is the hero. Also the acting and choice of actors was well, except I don't feel Ken Watanabe was the best role for a "Dr. Serizawa". In the original Serizawa hard this dark, sort of maniacal edge to him. After all he was some sort of scientific genius, and thus would be geeky/nerdy, with that weird edge you would expect.
Where I think the movie ultimately fails to it's potential was too much of this third-person view. In all of the Godzilla movies I've seen (most if not all of them) more of the focus was on the fights and interactions of monsters. It was one of the thrilling parts. Even being limited by the SFX technology of the time (rubber suits, detailed miniatures, etc.) one of the more interesting aspects. In this movie very downplayed.
Also part of the Godzilla experience was about character. You could see Godzilla had this personality, human like emotions, etc. He showed intelligence other then say just animalistic. Severally lacking in this movie.
Finally another classic part of the formula this movie misses out on is Godzilla's interaction and affinity for children. In some of the movies you would see a young (in the 8 to 12 year old range) boy talk with and be be bonded buddies. It connected this kind of special understanding, sincerity, and innocence of the child's point of view. A connecting of fantasy and reality and adding more of a personal/human touch.
As I write this I feel more and more that the creator's vision of this movie was fairly out of tune with what is/was really great about Godzilla. As if they should have studied more and could have consulted fans of the originals for advice, etc..
In the end is was entertaining and worth watching!