A crowd pleaser, but not what we were hoping for.

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2014)

10 years, I've waited ten years for this, there was no way it could live up to the hype. This is all I have been doing the last 2 months, scouring the internet for Godzilla this and Godzilla that. I see why people are complaining about this film, and nitpicking ever inch. This was supposed to be the standard for any monster film to come. But the little snots who cry because this was supposed to be a masterpiece of cinema, it's Godzilla, what did you expect. I have viewed this film three times already, so let's get into it.
Audience reactions: The Thursday crowd didn't show much excitement. But the Friday group was going bananas, they cheered and clapped three times, it was a sold out theatre doing this, that is the first time I had ever seen that happen.
The story: It's a very well laid out structure, all be it a little rushed. The first hour sets everything up, it's slow. But once the Muto breaks free, the film is lightning fast, forget time relevance or pacing. The monster madness happens so fast that you don't get time to savour it. The last 30 minutes was rushed beyond belief, the entire city is destroyed in like 30 minutes real time. The pacing really is the biggest down fall of this film. You get nothing, then they tease you, then nothing, then they tease you, they you get everything, but you missed it. This is why you need to see it a second time, it actually improves when viewed again.
Characters/monsters: I forgot about Bryan Cranston just about as fast as the film did. Aaron Johnson was alright, Olsen was good. Ken didn't have much to do besides his( nature, Godzilla) love speech. Sally Hawkins is virtually unnoticeable. And David, he's alright. This film should have been called Muto, they have the most screen time and character development in the film. Who am I forgetting.... I know there is something missing. Oh yeah Godzilla's in this, with all of his 15 minutes of screen time, but it is a glorious 15 minutes.
Effects: The effects are top tier, everything looks great. The most impressive effect goes to the Muto's, they look real good. Like real life good. The cinematography really makes these monsters look larger than life. Godzilla looks good for the most part, but I'm not used to seeing him move so fast. The sound design is really good. Godzilla's roar rocks the whole theatre.
Best scenes: Anything with the Muto's in it, the bridge scene, the climax. But the best scene is hands down one of the most well crafted pieces of cinema I have ever seen. The Honolulu scene, my Godzilla it was so well paced and shot, this scene alone is worth the price of admission.
Notes: It's worth checking out for the casual viewer, I don't see why people wouldn't enjoy it. The action is great, the set pieces are great. And yes, this film is the best monster film since King Kong(2005), hey why not Jurassic Park, yes it is the best monster film since Jurassic park. After viewing this film for a third time, I have come to the conclusion that Gareth dropped the ball. Watch the teaser trailer, that is what I wanted, that is what the people needed. If he had just done that, and then done this film as a sequel, it would have been perfect. We really needed a film to set Godzilla up first.