Should have been better...for a monster movie

Rating: 4/10 (21 May 2014)

Sorry, but this Godzilla was a letdown in terms of expectations. Sure, the monsters looked great, and Godzilla itself was looking like the real deal, compared to the 1998 dud; but it's a MONSTER movie, not Terms of Endearment. It's supposed to be summer slam-bang entertainment, not one of those Oscar seeking type. The preview hype made me expect something along the lines of the first Transformers' movie - brawn AND brains. When it should have had more throat grabbing monster fights, Godzilla ended up being given less screen time appearance than some of the actors. One moment he appears, and you adrenalin goes up expecting a big pow-wow; next, the scene cuts to Elizabeth Olsen's character- not the kind of letdowns you want in a summer movie! And the acting - other than Cranston & Binoche, everyone else was wooden - including the great David Strathairn and the usually dependable Ken Watanabe. Look closely, and you'll find unreal expressions from the likes of Sally Hawkins. Aaron-Taylor gives an almost perpetual blur look for the duration of the movie. The Plot too- weak. Sections of the script seems to borrow from a typical Syfy channel do - why is it always down to one scientist who discovers the 'plot'? What are the guys at NASA or the UN doing? And why is it nobody believes that scientist until everything goes kaboom? You think with a budget of some $160m, they'll at least try to bring the script up to date in this age of the internet, but no. I'm giving it a 5 and not a 3 or a 4,only cos of Cranston's short but effective appearance, and cos of Godzilla's monster-awesome looks. Otherwise, this is a biggest letdown since The Dark Knight Returns.