Good. Not Great

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2014)

I did not know what to expect.
Before watching the movie yesterday, I was constantly reading the reviews here which generally praised it to the skies. Did this really work? Was the last fight really worth gushing about? How did it feel? Read on...
Instead of preaching awesomeness or uselessness, I will provide some observations. These observations are by my standards so remember your mileage may vary. Let's go!
GOOD THINGS:
1. I am middle aged. I've seen LOTS of monster movies, and I mean LOTS! But NOTHING prepares you for the sheer SIZE of Godzilla. Think he's as big as the Empire State Building? Well, Think again! I could *NOT* believe I was actually WHISTLING and SHOUTING.
2. No other monster has ever made a grander entry! Godzilla's entry is preceded by a Tsunami, out of control winds and darkened skies! Mind Blowing!
3. When the monsters fight, damn they REALLY fight. This is not Japanese Godzilla where he uses Kung-Fu (if you think I'm joking, one Japanese Godzilla movie even had him doing a break dance!). Not so here. Fight of the Titans? Nope, the titans look positively diminutive here. And there is lots of clawing around (love it when the MUTO shoves it's claw up Godzilla's mouth and drags him around like a ragged doll!)
4. Atmosphere - When San Fransisco is transformed from city to a prehistoric rubble (with radioactive lightning and clouds!) the sight is a jaw-dropper.
5. Atomic Breath - Well, we've seen atomic breaths on Godzilla before, but not like THIS! See as his scales glow, and chest Balloons to incredible proportions, before he let's one loose! I feel sorry for the MUTOs.
6. A first in a monster movie. A real first! --- NO CRINGE WORTHY MOMENTS! NONE!! You do NOT go... aw... come on man, move on or find a room or 'what an idiotic kid'. Nope. Zilch. Nada! Nothing!
7. Another first in a monster movie. A real first! --- SUPER INTELLIGENT MILITARY!! Oh yes! From the Captain to the soldier to the Admiral! All of them super smart AND pragmatic! None of the 'destroy the monster!' nope. Fantastic idea to pull back and let them fight out each other. And instead, focus on evacuating the citizens. BRILLIANT!
8. And YET ANOTHER FIRST in a monster movie. A real first! --- No 'NEWBIE' SOLDIER, who points gun at Godzilla then sweats, then gets nervous and fires. Nope. EACH soldier has nerves of steel. REALISTIC portrayal.
So very good. Now here are the baddies:
1. You feel like you are playing DOOM and wish you can up the GAMMA a bit. Every fight, EVERY FIGHT is in darkness, doom and gloom. The Japanese versions of Godzilla are ridiculous, laughable and campy. But ALL of them have fights in broad daylight. here Godzilla and MUTOS fight and fight and fight... in the dark.
2. Think fighting in the dark is BAD enough? Well, in order to make a... ahem, realistic portrayal, there is a lot of dust that comes up when they knock over building during their Wrestling bouts. Dark. Can't see. AND DUSTY on top of that? Not *my* idea of a fight. Heck, even DARK KNIGHT had a climax during the day.
3. How does this sound? A movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger AND Sly Stallone? Hot? Awesome? Sure. Then you watch the movie. And wait... and wait... and wait... and wait... (all in the name of 'suspense' and 'build up' and 'character development et all)... and wait... and wait...and THEN....still wait.... before Godzilla shows up. You get the idea!
4. Also, in the same movie, how about having Arnold and Sly.... for a total of only 10 minutes? WHAT????!!!!!! Yes, the 2h 3m movie has ONLY 10 minutes of Godzilla time! that is if you include audio and rumbles. IF you want only the bad boy, sorry, that about 7 minutes in ALL!
5. Imagine watching a BATMAN movie. Not from Point of view of Batman, but of an outsider who sees batman and Joker fighting. THAT thing. So we have a movie about people, with Godzilla being incidental.
Overall, I came out... disappointed.
The fights were great. Godzilla Godly. But still, the impact of Godzilla's time, and the dark, cloudy "heck if I do this, dumb cine goers will ooh and ah as they really won't be able to understand this trash" fights were... well, like diluted.
Ultimately, it's like sitting for a meal, getting a salad, glimpsing at the prime steak, smelling it, even cutting it to pieces with your knife --- but then pushing the plate back, knife, steak and all.
An excellent movie, that I found disappointing.