Finally, Finally, FINALLY! A Godzilla (and Godzilla Movie) to Be Proud Of!

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2014)

As I have written in my Amazon.com review of "Pacific Rim", I had always keenly wished for a mega-million, state-of-the-art, blockbuster treatment of the legendary lizard. And boy, is this 2014 spectacular rendition of "Godzilla" ever IT! To put it succinctly, I think Gareth Edwards and company succeeded in rescuing Godzilla from the emasculating abyss of chintzy camp and restoring him to his mighty symbolic status as not only a nuclear, near-supernatural, vengeful force of nature, but also, ironically enough, of natural, balanced harmony.
In other words "Godzilla 2014" first pays respectful, meticulous homage to the 1954 (cult) classic and then expands the lizard's mythic status. As in the original, to the likely dismay of attention-deficit sufferers, Godzilla wisely doesn't pop onto the screen full-blown right away. At the beginning of the film, we merely get a sepia-toned photographic glimpse of his scaly back towering above the waves as the product of World War II nuclear deployment. We soon move forward to an apparent nuclear accident at the Janjira nuclear plant where nuclear physicist and engineer Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) works. Like in at least some Toho Godzilla productions, Joe assumes the role of the "Cassandra scientist", which is a scientist who really knows what's going on, but can't convince other, skeptical scientists, government officials, or anyone else of the truth until it's too late.
Yes, the plant does emit nuclear radiation, enough to claim the lives of several radiation specialists, including Joe's nobly self-sacrificing wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) who fiercely urges the tearful Joe to seal the breach so that the contamination doesn't spread. At first, plant officials seem merely to want to cover-up a run-of-the mill nuclear disaster. But Joe eventually convinces his initially disbelieving son Navy Lieutenant Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) that something even more threatening is looming. The power-plant radius has no lethal radiation whatsoever. Also, during the accident, Joe picks up electromagnetic pulses of biological origin, almost as if two creatures are communicating. As the movie ominously and deliberately progresses, the monstrously REAL truth literally comes out. Within the quarantined plant, some weird cocoon has absorbed the ambient nuclear energy. It eventually hatches and a tremendous "Alien"-like/praying mantis-like insectoid thing goes on its destructive march - and flight (it has wings). With the knowledgeable help of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe), who seems to know a lot about these monster matters, the U.S. military eventually determines that the big bug male is flying toward a rendezvous with its wingless mate, which was incubating thousands of larva at a nuclear waste containment facility in Nevada. She breaks out impressively as well.
Okay, it's time for Godzilla to show up, and when he does, people, honest to goodness, I was just overwhelmed! Magnificent! He intercepts the winged male in Honolulu for a relatively brief but devastating tussle. The winged male escapes somehow and continues toward his rendezvous. The military determines that the three "things" will converge in San Francisco where at least a contained nuclear detonation in San Francisco harbor should take care of all three, right. But as Dr. Serizawa reminds them, these creatures thrive on nuclear energy (even though the blast itself MAY kill them). Furthermore, he says that it is just possible that the lizard monster is mankind's only hope for salvation and that it may be better to just "let them fight." Oh boy, do they ever fight! The humans somewhat predictably recede a little into the background, although Ford resourcefully and heroically does his best to evacuate San Francisco, discover and destroy the insectoids' brood, help detonate the nuclear missile, and return to his family. We may have had to wade through some exposition, mystery, and set-up to get to the battle royal, but I think it was certainly worth the wait. There's no 1998 "Zilla" here. Godzilla's got all the goods, and he'll need them, because the insectoids are both formidable, ferocious enemies. What's the outcome? I heartily suggest you see this for yourself.
"Godzilla 2014" through its measured, solemn, deliberate pace re-establishes the "Lizard King". It's an infinitely satisfying monster mash, to be sure, but it also manages to allude to mankind's destructive tendencies and its presumption to tame nature, rather than realize that it is at nature's whim, as Dr. Serizawa comments. And it even suggests that while Godzilla seems to side with the humans, that could be a tenuous alliance. Toho, Godzilla, "Pacific Rim", and monster movie fans should gobble up "Godzilla 2014". Others, like my Amazon.com friend and prolific reviewer Andrew Ellington may understandably and reasonably dismiss it as crazy, stupid fun, as he did in his "Pacific Rim" review. Nevertheless, for its genre, Godzilla is INTELLIGENT, rational, crazy, stupid fun!