"Let them fight!"

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2015)

Not having been able to go out to the theater too much last year, this was one of many films that I missed then but am catching up on now. While it wouldn't have made my top 10 for the year, this was definitely one of the best monster/disaster movies I've seen in recent memory. The story follows Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor Johnson), a Navy bomb disposal expert, who travels to Japan to get his father out of some trouble. His father used to work for a Japanese company, but after a cataclysmic event 15 years ago the area has been quarantined off, yet he still thinks that there's something going on besides the official story that it was a natural disaster. The "thing" actually turns out to be a MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) that they've been keeping contained. However when it escapes all hell breaks loose, and chaos and massive destruction ensue. Of course, you might be wondering where Godzilla fits into all of this. Despite the title of the movie, Godzilla only appears on screen for about 10-15 minutes. Still, the those precious minutes are worth it as he takes on the MUTO. One thing I appreciated about the film was that it didn't overexpose the monsters, instead letting the human drama take center stage. You get to spend time with the characters you'd most identify with, and the effects of a disaster were dealt with in a very realistic, down-to-earth way, even amongst all of the chaos and destruction. In fact, there was quite a large human cast such that I'd almost wish they'd delved a little deeper so that more time could be spent building things up. The worst offender is probably the prologue which set everything up. It was very effective in establishing a baseline, but not so much in terms of character building. Of course, all complaints aside, all of the performances were excellent. I just wish there had been more Bryan Cranston. In terms of visual effects and spectacle, this film stands head and shoulders above everything that came out in 2014. Scenes of destruction and mayhem were handled very well, and the creatures were also very well-animated. I should also mention the outstanding score by Alexandre Desplat, which hit all the right beats and fit the tone of the movie perfectly. Overall, I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't see this on the big screen but it was still an exciting viewing experience. It pays attention to its human characters and while the monsters don't take up too much screen time, when the action comes it delivers big time. Highly recommended.