Godzilla definitely roars

Rating: 8/10 (14 May 2014)

The neat opening credits set the tone for the movie really well combining old military footage and redacted documents for great effect. This movie's approach is more serious than Pacific Rim's for example but not too much so. Visually the movie is absolutely tremendous. The beautiful cinematography conjures up some jaw dropping scenes and the CGI monsters and the destruction they cause are quite awe-inspiring. The way they dealt with the fighting between the monsters and the soldiers also made sense and really highlighted the enormity of these creatures. I'm glad they set a good part of the monster action at night so the monsters aren't always blasted front and center on the screen so we can use our imaginations to fill in the gaps. When the monsters are truly revealed, it's hard not to get chills at that point. I thought there was just the right amount of Godzilla in the film but for those who expect this to be another Pacific Rim there might be too little of the big guy.
I perhaps wanted more heart from Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Ford Brody who was a bit generic as the movie's protagonist (though I think that's due to the script because Johnson put in a great performance in Kick-Ass). Bryan Cranston delivered the best performance in this film with great emotion as the nuclear engineer and Ford's dad Joe Brody. They also play well off each other. Elizabeth Olsen plays Ford's wife who is also a nurse but we don't really see much of her in that role despite all of the destruction around them. I have no doubt some of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor but I guess something has to give when you try to get this many characters in and keep the movie at two hours. I also wanted to see more Ken Watanabe, I thought his character was a tad under used. Then again this movie is more about how humanity overall would deal with a situation like this so it's understandable that all of the characters don't quite have the depth we might hope.
Despite some of the underdeveloped characters, I did get really immersed in the movie and had chills in many places. The great sound design and rousing score together with the truly awesome visuals definitely helped there. I was gripped by the movie throughout and the buildup to the showdown in the end was expertly crafted by director Gareth Edwards. If you're looking to have a good time at the movies, Godzilla definitely fits the bill.