Not a total waste of time.

Rating: 7/10 (24 December 2014)

There are some spoilers. Don't read unless you have seen the movie.
I don't understand why most people hated it. Although it wasn't the best action/sci-fi movie compared to the other options available, Godzilla wasn't too terrible as reviewed.
1. Godzilla's appearance. Yes, Godzilla got a little screen time as hoped but it was for a valid reason. The movie portray Godzilla as nature's weapon against enormous creature. Its a basic logic of food chain. There can only be one predator who can be dominant. Godzilla, who had stayed dominant for years, needs to establish his power. Thus, he acts like a predator, tracking his prey and coming in for the sneak attack. Of course he is not going to get a lot of screen time! He being late for the party makes him adds more to his bad-ass character.
2. As for the characters, I felt that it was imperative that they kill off the scientist. In most sci-fi movies, it is the crazy maniac that drives the plot and the search for the solution to the conflict. The father dying was important for the son to gain closure and understanding of the truth of the creatures. Plus, because of his death, the story line became more original. It became a story of a soldier trying to get home to his family in midst of a crisis. He was willing to do whatever it takes to do so. Everyone else were simply bystanders to nature's course.
3. Military's failure to learn their lesson. The Japanese scientist mentioned that man's arrogance is that they think they can control/dominate nature. This movie depicts that very arrogance. They don't trust what they don't know. They use whatever they have at their disposal to take care of a threat. They think they are powerful enough to take care of any threat. Thus, they continue to do stupid mistakes because they are incapable of thinking beyond their ego and understanding that their power is limited compared nature. Their mistakes and put into positions where they are powerless was to show how little we are compared to the forces of nature.
Overall, I thought the movie did an okay job of displaying the theme- humans are not as powerful as they seem to be. Nature can take care of itself and should not be tampered with. Switching the perspective from a scientist searching for answers to a soldier. It made the movie original. A soldier trying to get to his family added a more human element to the mix which made it all the more enjoyable. The action sequences were intense and never a let down. The ending where Godzilla collapses out of exhaustion was realistic and I'm glad they added it. The movie was not a complete letdown as made out to be.