Decent monster movie

Rating: 5/10 (15 March 2015)

Godzilla (org. "Gojira" in Japanese, which gets corrupted to Godzilla in English by the untrained ear) makes a reappearance as a truly cosmopolitan monster, and not just the bane of Tokyo. I've sure the Japanese are relieved not having their capital city destroyed yet again.
The effects are very good, and this is of course what holds the movie up - with any disaster or monster movie, disbelief must be suspected to enjoy the movie. That being said there are some scenes that are not just dubious and silly, but outright stupid (had me rolling my eyes a couple of times), in various ways, not just what is possible, but what is meaningful or makes military sense. Seriously, do the soldiers really think that a measly assault rifle will do anything whatsoever against a monster the size of a skyscraper?
The acting is overall fair, but superficial, and handicapped by that the scriptwriters didn't do any character development or meaningful interaction with each other. No significant show of emotion is on the big screen, which makes the human part completely forgettable (apart from the opening of the movie, but that stands alone).
Worst of all is Ken Watanabe's part - which is more that of a prop than an actor. He spends a lot of his time just standing around, looking dumbfounded, and not saying a word. Why did the scriptwriters waste his talent such? Why did he agree to taking this role in the first place? Didn't he read the script? The movie wouldn't have lost much if the humans were cut out. Annoyingly, the most we see of the human race here is the brave American military (smirk).
Overall, this is quite watchable for your typical movie night, but also quite forgettable. Only re-watchable for fans of 'ol 'zilla.