Pathos and Cool Retro Vibe

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2014)

LOVED IT!! One of my best childhood memories was watching monster movies with my Dad on his old black and white TV in the back office (Mom did not want to hear it) of our house. It was our special thing-holed up in his dark, masculine office, munching homemade popcorn while being mildly terrified by various creatures and fiends, but Godzilla was my hands down favorite- he wasn't a warm fuzzy dude, but he fought with passion and he was misunderstood. What is great about Godzilla 2014 is that despite the high tech CG arsenal at his disposal, director, Gareth Edwards, with amazing restraint, created a pleasing retro vibe in tune with the original film and capitalized on the pathos and mystery that is the essence of Godzilla. Bryan Cranston is brilliant, as is Ken Watanabe. They are the human soul of this movie. Sentimentalism aside, I took my 14-year-old son to see Godzilla and he loved it too! He is in that Hollywood age demographic that Summer movies are designed for and like most kids his age, he is a tough sell-jaded by the CG, steroid pumped movies that have proliferated in recent years. Godzilla is a win-win- grownups, teens and kids will enjoy it.