U.S. "Godzillas" Go 0 for 2!

Rating: 2/10 (15 May 2014)

(SPOILERS) - Best to Read if You Have Already Seen It, or Don't Care!
I thought the new "Godzilla" was disappointing. The original Toho "Godzillas" are so much more fun. Or, should I say, they actually TRY to be fun. This movie is a turgid slog, filled with boring characters that you couldn't possibly care about. Whoever decided on the casting needs to get a new job! Honestly, the dude from "Kick-Ass?" An Olson twin? Good heavens!
After the hilariously nuts Emmerich-Devlin "Godzilla," you would think this one HAS to be better! But, it isn't. At least the 1998 "Godzilla" was entertaining, in it's own goofy way. Here, it's about as much fun as "Saving Private Ryan!"
I get it. Director Gareth Edwards was trying to recapture the feeling of the great original Japanese 1952 "Gojira." Note that I am not talking about the Americanized 1954 "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," which was marred by its choppiness.
In the original "Gojira," there is really only about 10 minutes or so of actual Godzilla crushing stuff. The rest is the human drama with the well-drawn characters. But, in that movie, those characters are very well realized. They are fully fleshed out, and the drama that plays throughout carries through to the emotional conclusion.
The problem here is that all the characters, except Bryan Cranston's, are bland and uninteresting. Plus, there isn't a compelling storyline here, as there was in the 1952 "Gojira." And, most critically (MAJOR SPOILER) Cranston's character dies early on. He could have been used as that tragic character who has to sacrifice himself. But, unfortunately, he just dies and that's it. (END SPOILER).
I almost titled my review "Godzilla Without Godzilla," since there isn't that much Godzilla in the movie, and when we get to see him, it's mostly in the dark. You would think, 16 years after the 1998 "Godzilla," we'd technologically be at the point where we didn't have to stage the monster action in the dark and/or the rain. But, the $160 million spent here doesn't seem to be enough to make that happen.
Hopefully, since Godzilla lives to fight another day at the end of this movie, we'll get a sequel where we get to see some good old fashioned monster action. In the daytime, please!
***** (5 Out of 10 Stars)