"He picks up a bus and he throws it back down..."

Rating: 6/10 (22 May 2014)

From the offset, Gareth Edward's Godzilla sets forth to distance itself from the perpetual laughing stock that was Roland Emmerich's previous attempt at bringing the Japanese icon to life on the big screen. This is successfully achieved as the film proposes a darker, grittier and more authentic feel than its predecessor. Godzilla is sleek ,beautifully crafted and it's obvious that the studio spared no expense in rendering a Hollywood monster that would leave audiences wanting more. Unfortunately this is to the detriment of the film itself as the title character is more often than not overshadowed by both it's Kaiju and human opposition. Edward's attempt at blending both monster porn and a compelling story of human courage ultimately misfires as he fails to strike the mean between both approaches. These two primary concepts are underdeveloped and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's bland clichéd performance highlights the lack of attention given to characters who show less life than there primordial counterparts. However Edwards does step up to the mainstream with confidence and his Spielbergian influences add some degree of quality to an altogether under-whelming experience. The slow tease introduction of the showpiece à-la Spielberg's Jaws is certainly a step in the right direction but the lack of a payoff ultimately negates the positive intentions. This along with the never thoroughly explored 'Man versus Nature' angle only aids in emphasizing how much more this film could and should have been. Although sandwiched between some heavy hitting summer blockbusters, such as X-men, Godzilla is sure to attract significant audience numbers but with the final product delivering less Jurassic Park and more Lost World, it is undecided as to whether or not this is the film that will resurrect a franchise already dead in the water.