Rewards patient viewers with a ROARING climax.

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2014)

Let's start off by saying that I, a part-time kaiju lover, was excited for this movie. Like reaaaallllyyy excited. Mr. Emmerich's 1998 MortalZilla was...disappointing. And, as such I had very high hopes for this one. Maybe a little too high. In all fairness, Gareth Edwards is still learning the ropes, so we can excuse him for not making a masterpiece.
So, is the much awaited film worth watching?
MOST DEFINITELY.
Now, let's hear why.
*warning* as this is my first review, inadvertent(minor) spoilers may follow. Sorry people*/warning*
The movie begins pretty much exactly the same way as the 1998 version, with Nuclear tests in Bikini Islands accompanying the opening credit sequences. But the little twist provided is....interesting.
Movie proper begins with introduction to Dr.Joe Brody(Bryan Cranston). A geo-analyst working for the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant, Japan. What follows is a tense sequence as some mysterious force causes earthquakes to erupt and the plant suffers a reactor meltdown.
If anything, the sequence only serves to show just how dark and embedded in realism the movie wants to be. Cranston, unsurprisingly, brings out the best in, what would normally be a bland character. To say his acting is convincing, his fears, relatable; would be a vary large understatement.
The next hour or so is dedicated to the events which happen in retrospect, following that one fatal day. The movie takes its time introducing, and bonding us to its other cast members. Aaron Taylor Johnson's character, Ford Brody(Joe's son), a US Marine and a bomb- disposal specialist and his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen). And rest assured, Johnson has really put up his best for this movie.
The pace is deliberately slow here, surreptitiously exposing the various conspiracies and cover-ups enacted by the Authorities to hide uncomfortable truth. As it is, such a slogging pace may disinterest some. Even after the first major monster fills the screen, it takes a good half-hour before we get to see the titular character in full form.
Again, the slackened pace is for the better. As it creates a palpable sense of dread, suspense and tension. Borenstien's clever screenplay mean you only get a few, sparse and dreadful glimpses of the King of Monsters, before a spectacular reveal. This makes Godzilla all the more of the frightful beast he ought to be.
Those(like me), who came for the monster fights...will have to wait till after the interval. After, the motivations of all those involved becomes known. The battles that follow surely rivals Pacific Rim's monster- cuffs. With destruction aplenty, ROARS and surround sound booms and bangs to get your heart racing.
About the sound. Its impressive. This may not be(technically speaking), a horror movie..but the sound design(The menacing monster grunts, accentuated during quite moments) certainly keeps you at the edge of your seat. Fantastic.
That's not to say the visuals aren't impressive as well. This is one movie, where the 3-D has been used well. There is nothing quite like gaping at the approaching bulk of the gigantic dorsal scales of Godzilla, as it powers through the sea. Also, as I said earlier, the climactic battle,(with the HALO jump sequence, you might have seen in the trailer) is truly 'see to believe'. Good news for longtime Gojira fans, the battle sequence features some very clever(and plentiful) references to their favorite films. Prepare to be Amazed!
So, where are the flaws, then? As great as the last 30 mins were, I can't help but feel that Edwards could have sped up the opening a little. Yes Cranston owns the scene's he is in, but, he makes every other non-Cranston, non-monster scene pale by comparison.So expect to be bored a little as the details take their time to emerge. Also, try as it might to be realistic, the film falls right into the cliché of the military making stupid decisions in the face of an unprecedented threat and ignoring the advice of the 'intelligent' specialist/scientist, Dr. Serizawa(Ken Watanabe).
Speaking of Ken Watanabe. I felt his character was merely a support role, dishing out story details and acting as the default exposition man. He has only one memorable line in the movie. He ought to have had a bigger role than the guy who knows where the monsters are going next. The same goes for plenty of other, top-billed cast members who have a very insignificant roles.
And, ardent fans/observant viewers will notice plenty of other inconsistencies. Really, they are forgivable. Scriptwriter, Dave Callaham wrote a pretty competent monster story. There's only so much realistic a goddamn monster movie can be. But flaws nonetheless...I'll spare you the details; plot holes will only matter to you, after you have seen the movie.
And that's all. No other bad news. [:-p]
Godzilla is described as an apex predator. A force of nature. An agent of Balance. The nail biting climactic sequence did nothing but reinforce those notions. What I experienced in the last half hour of the movie, raised my expectations of, and the standard of what monster/disaster movies should be capable of. And that more than made up for the sophomoric pace of the first hour. Congratulations, Mr. Edwards, for a job well done.
Thanks for reading...And go watch the damn movie already!