History shows again and again how nature points up at the folly of men

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2014)

This film is the closest to perfection any Godzilla movie has been since 1954. That's a bold statement, but it's true. It's everything you want in a Godzilla movie, and everything you don't know you want, too. I've seen the movie twice as of writing, and I can tell you it's stayed with me since.
The film is already impressive off the bat with the opening titles. The opening titles are similar to the 1998 movie, with the titles being shown over footage of nuclear tests, but they're done way better here. We're shown old newsreel footage, and every credit is shown in paragraphs, designed to look like they're ripped straight from scientific reports. The non-credit parts are suddenly whited-out to show the "DIRECTED BY GARETH EDWARDS" type stuff. Alexandre Desplat's score is just magnificent. In fact, the score is very nostalgic throughout, with some influence taken from classic blockbusters and even Bernard Herrman's Hitchcock scores, with even a dash of Cliff Martinez.
The bulk of the film follows Ford Brody. Much of the first half deals with his complicated relationship with his father Joe (Bryan Cranston)- near the beginning of the film, we see the tragedy that has estranged them both- they lived in Japan in 1999, when Ford 12 years old. At the Janjira power plant in Janjira, something of a large earthquake happens which causes a radiation burst, causing Joe to lose his wife (Juliette Binoche) in the disaster. Fifteen years later, Ford is an EOD in the American military. the very night he arrives home from service, he gets a call from officials, telling him that Joe was arrested. So he heads to Japan to sort things out with his dad, who reveals that he was in the area where their house was, to get floppy discs containing data about the disaster. The conflict: the MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism). A pair of researchers named Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivenne Graham (Sally Hawkins), notice what he's talking about and realize he is indeed correct. The nest looks about ready to hatch, and officials order the workers to kill it- but they fail, and we get our first glimpse of the MUTO. These things look like a cross between tarantulas and bats- they're absolutely TERRIFYING. After an attack at the plant, the military is ordered to follow the MUTO wherever it goes.
Ford is brought into a room where they show him footage of supposed nuclear tests on 1954 that weren't, in fact, tests. They were attempts to kill the creature they call, "Gojira". It is revealed that Gojira is on the move too, but they don't know where. In Hawaii, the MUTO from earlier in the movie and a wing-less MUTO attack. One has knocked a submarine into the rainforest and another is attacking the airport. At the airport is where we see the titular creature. After a tsunami, he appears, and stomps over to the airport in what might be one of the coolest reveals I've ever seen. A full pan up his body to his face revealing a horrifying sinister grin, before he lets out his infamous roar that has made him such a household name.
It's true that Godzilla's screen time is mostly limited to the final act, but the thing is, that is hardly a problem because the rest of the film surrounding his appearance is so good. There's tons of suspense and intrigue. One thing the film really does good is show how substantial the damage is- not by showing the attacks outright but showing the aftermath- the presence of the MUTO attacks is felt through those shots, which only makes the actual attack that much more horrifying. The film does a good job at making us care for the characters too, and you also really hope that Ford will make it home on time too.
The cinematography in the film is just magnificent. Gareth Edwards' direction is magnificent and he has an eye for detail. Whereas most monster/disaster movies show the attacks and what not outright, he chooses to limit your perspective of the attacks and what not to small doses. This is incredibly effective so then you won't feel tired of the film by the time the final battle swings around. It's just a few minutes over two hours, and it goes by very quickly.
By the time Godzilla shows up for the final battle, you've gone for so long without him that you don't even care he's been out of the movie for so long, and that is because the scenes with the MUTOs are satisfying, the drama is satisfying, and the characters work. The final battle is spectacular. We see a whole battle in full when the HALO Jump bit as seen in the trailers begins. The battle itself is just wicked, if you're like me and you took great joy in watching a guy in a ridiculous rubber suit battling another guy in a rubber suit, the battle feels almost like an updated version of that. Gareth's attention to detail also shows here- when we finally see his atomic breath, his spines light up one by one, only making it more exciting. Oh, and the final minute of the movie is amazing too. I won't give it away, but it's chilling. Synced with Desplat's score, it's just beautiful.
Overall, I give the film a 9/10. Not since The Avengers has the summer season started off so satisfyingly. If I had one gripe, it's a small one at that, it's that there is a bit too much MUTO screen time, but that doesn't take away too much. I for sure look forward to seeing it a third time, and eventually owning the movie when it comes out on blu-ray!