Total satisfaction.

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2014)

Godzilla 2014 is the second Western Godzilla movie and it goes without saying that this was a massive improvement over the 1998 version. Director Gareth Edwards, who also directed Monsters, respects the source material and succeeds in making a Godzilla movie. The CG in this film is outstanding and Godzilla has received a somewhat new design but retains the original design in most aspects. The score by Alexandre Desplat is second best to the Dark Knight composed by Hans Zimmer, in my opinion, as it makes the listener feel small and has a menacing feel. Bryan Cranston and Ken Watanabe are spectacular and prove that they can do a wide variety of roles. The story is deeper and, dare I say, better than the previous Toho movies as it includes conspiracies and military aspects. This movie is well directed and is really suspenseful and action-packed. However, for a movie called Godzilla, Godzilla is only in the movie for around half an hour, considering it is a 2 hour movie. Same for Bryan Cranston, who is also only in the movie for the first 30 minutes, considering he dominated the trailers and was by far the best actor in the film. Apart from Ken Watanabe, the other actors were quite weak and you didn't care about them. This mainly goes for Aaron Taylor Johnson, who I do like as an actor. But he is the main character and delivers a stale and emotionless performance. With that said, this movie was a good experience and is a love letter to the original Toho movies. Don't go into this movie expecting a massive Godzilla-fest, because you might be let down. If there is an extended DVD/ Blu ray release I will be really happy. I will give Godzilla 2014 an 8 out of 10, hopefully Gareth Edwards learns from his mistakes and delivers with the sequel.