"I'd pay to see the trailers than the actual film again!"

Rating: 5/10 (28 July 2014)

When the teasers, trailers and TV spots were first released, I was nothing short of amazed and chomping at the bit to watch this much anticipated summer blockbuster. I'm not exaggerating when I say the previews were absolutely epic! Bryan Cranston and the big man (Godzilla) showcase a promising spectacle and I thought surely this will deliver.
If anything, this type of film is to be enjoyed only in cinemas, but to be honest if I watched it anywhere else I would have disliked it even more than I already do. Gareth Edward's Godzilla doesn't deliver. In fact, I'd pay to see the trailers than the actual film again!
The actual Godzilla monster is impressing. He's frightening and a whole lot bigger and taller than the Godzilla of 1998. His roar was the recognisably iconic roar that we all know and love to hear. Its overwhelmingly heart dropping presence was one thing that kept me watching the film. Visually, he looked really convincing and that's one thing I praise the film for - its visual effects were incredible. The skydive scene was a real apocalyptic spectacle.
However, one thing I noticed straight away from the film, was that there were certain shots and actions featured in the trailers, which I thought were brilliant, were replaced or missing in the actual film. E.g. The general's big speech to his troops before the skydive; "Gentlemen you are being sent it by a halo jump! Now I realise not all of you have had hands-on experience... frankly none of us have faced a situation quite like this one before. But I would not be asking any one of you to take this leap, if I did not have complete faith in your ability to succeed. Your courage will never be more needed than it is today."
That is one hell of a speech to give to someone, who is about to put their life on the line against a monster as tall as the Burj Khalifa! Yet it was absent from the final cut. This is just a small portion of what I disliked from the film but it's certainly pivotal to my overall opinion. It wouldn't of hurt to add a little more dramatic tension to the film by including brilliant cinematic features such as this, but hey!
Another thing that frustrated me was how early Bryan Cranston's character was killed off as well as being killed off in the first place! He was the ONLY character worth watching. We have the luxury of enjoying Cranston's brilliant heart felt performance for a short amount of time, approximately 10-20 minutes. That is irritatingly premature. I'd go as far as saying he carried an equally powerful presence in the narrative as Godzilla did, but we never get to witness him and Godzilla on screen simultaneously, which is a real shame. So when he dies, so does a big human portion of the film too. I for one would have loved to have seen him lead the narrative throughout, but instead we were stuck with a lack-luster Aaron Johnson. I was very disappointed with his performance. His character wasn't interesting and hard to engage with, purely because Aaron doesn't give enough raw emotion and conviction as Bryan did to his character.
I kid you not when I say I actually started to fall asleep at some point during the film for a short while. The plot lacks quite a bit of weight to it, which rendered me to have 'heavy eyes' syndrome. I guess you'll be surprised to know that I actually went to see this film TWICE with different people. I suppose I was hoping I'd actually like it if I saw it at a cinema again...