Decent movie, not that great.

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2014)

I will cut to the chase -- the movie wasn't that great in my opinion. Definitely over-hyped by fans, the trailer and years of hiatus. Sure, the CGI was top notch. I will agree with any other reviewers regarding the fight scenes and CGI. The movie felt very dark and epic. Godzilla was Godzilla, not the one in the 1998 movie (that looks more like a dinosaur) than a radioactive lizard. One thing I want to point out was that the fight scenes lasted 30 sec to 1 minute, until the ending. It felt annoying to see something so epic only to get a feel of a "commercial break".
I will confess I haven't read any of the graphic novels or watched the old Godzilla films except for the 1998 American version. For once, I would like to thank the writers for not making New York City the target of monster destruction. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Destruction takes place in parts of Japan, Hawaii and California.
If I didn't know any better, Godzilla was more of a cameo. The movie doesn't explain how Godzilla came to be, why it was protecting the humans and why it wanted to "balance" out humanity from the brink of destruction by the other two MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism.) Seriously, Godzilla appears out of nowhere then proceeds to do its iconic roar/screech which, I swear, made some of the audiences wet. Despite getting shot by American soldiers when it first made its appearance, Godzilla brushes off the damage and continues to fight the MUTOs. Towards the end, the Japanese scientist says to not attack Godzilla and let it fight the other MUTOs. Oh, like that was so helpful. After Godzilla kills both MUTOs, it falls to the ground, which made the audience think it has died from all the fighting. But, it wakes up and walks back to the ocean, but not before roaring one last time. THE END. What the ----??? Okay, I understand that's what Godzilla is known for -- it comes out of the ocean and saves the humans from giant monsters, then walks back into the ocean. Apparently, there will be a sequel with Mothra since there was one scene that hints it.
Out of all the characters, Bryan Cranston played out his role the best. The trailer made it seem like he was the main character, but it was to mislead us. He had such a minor role, in which he performed so much better than the other characters combined, including his son (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Kick Ass). His son specializes in EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), but in the movie, he barely did anything with the nuclear bomb. So, what was the point of mentioning his skill anyways? Once again, I just wanted to say that the fight scenes was really good, but the story lacked solid details. I guarantee majority of reviewers rated this only for the CGI and not the story plot.