seriously 2nd best Godzilla movie ever.

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2014)

**Contains Spoilers**
When it came out that there was plans for another Godzilla, I thought "here we go again, someone somewhere just wants more money". Then I found out that Edwards was directing the film. I had already seen 'Monsters' with my fiancÃ© and both of us decided that for a movie neither of us heard of before and for a Netflix movie. It was pretty fantastic. So I allowed myself some room for hope. (1998 made me believe I would never see my Godzilla dreams realized). Bit by bit, I kept hearing snippets come out that Edwards was bringing it back, old school style. My levels for hope kept rising. Then the Halo jump trailer came out and I was sold. For me, I know who Godzilla is, I know what he does. I wanted more.
Then the Asia trailer came out, and I was hooked. Everything had a retro feel but darker more original. So I did what any self respecting fan did. I shut myself away from any news about this movie. Then one trip to cost-co gave me an offer I could not refuse. Gojira, the original Gojira sold with the bastardized American version, Godzilla raids again and Godzilla vs Mothra for 12 bucks. I couldn't resist. So for the first time ever, I watched the original Japanese Gojira in all of its amazing glory. The helplessness, the fear, the slow realization of hopelessness. The sacrifice. Everything. It was just perfect. Now onto the movie.
The movie sets up really quickly. It brings it so that Gojira is the actual starting off point. Godzilla dies in Gojira but here is the bigger badder one. Everybody is doing what they can to kill Godzilla. In the first 10 min, they explain what I already knew. Godzilla exists and we just cannot kill him. My first thought was fantastic, we are not wasting any time going over him coming out of the water again. We all know, that is what he does. This about what he does next.
Next introducing the characters, we meet Bryan who in character cannot be there for his son. He is too busy doing his civic duty at a Nuclear Power Plant, He is so busy that he never realizes that it was his birthday. The son is left feeling disappointed goes to school and unknowingly witnesses the death of this Mother. Turns out a MUTO who has a fondness for Nuclear Energy destroyed the plant. 15 years later, the kid who has been put off to the side by his dad, due to the dads conspiracy theories and lost his mother (essentially left alone) has to get his father out of jail for trying to break into the quarantined area of the broke down power plant. The son is a soldier, which explains his actions throughout the rest of the film. Dad convinces son to go on a trip to the quarantined zone where they successfully break in, and witness the birth of a MUTO. All chaos ensues and Dad ultimately dies, before his death, Dad tells son to go be with his son. Something the dad had never been able to do. And thus, I sit there with a man tear in my right eye. Realizing that this is what the story is. A man trying to get home to his son. I can relate to that. I would do that for my son. The helplessness conveyed in Gojira, is showcased here. Give a soldier a directive and he will do his best to achieve it.
Meanwhile Godzilla is down for whatever the MUTO's bring. Godzilla is an Alpha animal that will stop at nothing from being the top dog and for the first time in 50 years, he is presented "prey". So he stalks and attacks the MUTO's any chance he can get.
I personally loved the wait. I personally loved the focus on the MUTO's. When they screamed, I felt it deep inside my body. The suspense left me white knuckled, and wanting more. When finally allowed to witness Godzilla in all of his awesome glory, I ate in every scene. When it came to the final battle The son, doing his best to make sure he will be able to see his son again. Godzilla doing his best to make sure he is Alpha and the MUTO's doing their best to ensure their survival. It was amazing. When Godzilla got angry (and he did) you felt it. The minute long roar that felt like an eternity left you exhausted. When Godzillas fins started lighting up like as if the depths of hades fury were about to be unleashed (if only for a second), I let out a whispered "heck yes". When Godzilla tail whipped a MUTO, while bringing down a MUTO, I winched.
When the Female MUTO screamed at the sight of her babies being burned alive, you felt her pain. When Godzilla ended her, you felt his anger and you felt even for a second, that even though this is a complete fantasy made up ridiculous story that if you were Godzilla, you would have kept it going, just like he did, breathing radiation breath down her throat way longer than necessary.
I experienced another man tear at the end of the movie. When the son is finally reunited with his own son. That moment was very real to me. The main character went through hell. But he was able to fulfill his mission. He saved his family and 'came home'.
#2 greatest Godzilla movie only behind Gojira. Even 60 years later, you should not expect a greater one. This one never tried to out class the original, it merely did its very best to live up to that standard. And it succeeded in almost every way possible.