EXTREMELY Disappointing. Don't fall for the hype.

Rating: 5/10 (27 May 2014)

I am a huge Godzilla fan. I have been since I was kid, so obviously, this film had been on my mind for quite a while before it came out. I was very excited, hoping for a rejuvenation of a classic series. I was wrong. In no way is this Godzilla comparable to the original, both in terms of the contents of the story and the message the film tries to present.
First, I want to start with the fact that Godzilla only appears for a few minutes in the film. Many people who are praising this film are comparing it to "Jaws," saying that it's comparable to the idea we never see the shark to the end. I'm sorry, but "Godzilla" here has no resemblance with "Jaws" in that sense. In "Jaws" we are introduced to the shark the first five minutes of the film, we just don't SEE it. "Godzilla," on the other hand, revealed the existence of the monster 2/3 into the film, and only showed the monster in its completion for a fragment of that. Those who compare this to "Jaws" are incredibly misguided and don't understand what Spielberg tried to do in "Jaws." He wanted us to be aware of the shark's existence, just he didn't want to show it right away. Spielberg didn't introduce us to the shark at the end. I don't mind the fact we don't see Godzilla in his completion till later, but what I do mind is holding back the EXISTENCE of Godzilla in the plot to the very end. It makes me feel like this film should have been called "MUTO" than "Godzilla," since the film was more about the MUTOS it seems.
The fact that they dropped the nuclear warfare message was quite disappointing. Instead, they replaced this theme with a theme of nature and balance, an interesting topic to explore, however, that's just not Godzilla. Godzilla is historically recognized as an anti-nuclear warfare symbol. Stripping Godzilla of that quality is completely destroying what Godzilla was all about.
The acting in this film was SO BAD I could barely stand it. The only good performance in this film, was, of course, Bryan Cranston, but he, just like the monster, has very, very little screen time. A major ball buster. Everyone else, including Aron Taylor Johnson, are unbearably flat and expressionless. There is no emotion being expressed, and the facial expressions made remain the same it seems. The emotional content was simply not there. I wanted to care for these people and the disaster they are going through, like in the original, but this version didn't offer that, instead it only gives us 2D characters with little personality.
However, there are the good parts. The CGI, as you would expect, is amazing. I don't understand the complaints about the CGI, but whatever. And the final fight, as short as it was, was quite epic and exciting, and creatively done. Now, if they did this later on and had the story develop faster, the rest of the film could have been equivalently good.
To be completely honest, I found the 1998 remake of Godzilla MILES ahead of this one. The 1998 version was not exactly a good film, but compared to this, it's like a Stanley Kubrick film.
For those of you looking for an epic rebirth of the series, this is not it, unless you like bad acting and waiting to long to be INTRODUCED to our main monster. I though this film was called "Godzilla," not "MUTOS.". Go watch the original "Gojira" instead, it's a classic that will never be topped. Hopefully, if there will be another Godzilla remake in the future, they will be more faithful to the original meaning of Godzilla and have better actors.
Really is not worth the time or the money. A major let down for those looking for an epic rebirth of our favorite monster.
5/10