Godzilla : a solid mix of drama and destruction
“Godzilla” is one of those films that plays more like an adventure than a simple sit-in-a-chair-and-watch movie, thanks to a strong story and characters. Also, as you might expect, there’s plenty of destruction to go around.
Everyone’s favorite giant sea monster is long overdue for a new movie adaptation: 2014 marks Zilly’s 60th anniversary, and Roland Emmerich’s much-reviled 1998 treatment left a bad taste in the mouths of fans and critics alike. Now it’s director Gareth Edwards’ turn, who is most famous for 2010’s “Monsters”, a British science fiction film that received positive reviews and acclaim for Edwards. (As of this writing, it’s also on Netflix streaming, and while it’s less exhilarating than “Godzilla”, it’s a compelling twist on the giant-monster story that’s worth watching to see what put Edwards on the map.)
This “Godzilla” is more of an origin story, and according to uncredited script contributor Frank Darabont, focuses on Godzilla as “a terrifying force of nature”. Meanwhile, there’s a solid cast at work with a solid backstory for Godzilla. After scientists find a strange, colossal skeleton in the mines of the Philippines, suggesting something may have escaped, nuclear physicist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is called in to take a look, along with his wife (Juliette Binoche). Tragically, his wife dies while exploring the core thanks to an explosion caused by the escaped monster. We watch not only from Joe’s point of view but from his son Ford’s, sitting in his classroom as three nuclear reactors crumble and poison the entire town. Despite what trailers and posters might suggest, the film is less about the destruction than the human cost behind the destruction, which separates “Godzilla” from other big-budget action films.
Flash-forward 15 years and Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has a family of his own, including wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen). Dad’s still around, but the hundreds of newspaper clippings he keeps pinned to the walls suggest that he’s not doing a great job of living in the present. He insists that what killed his wife was no earthquake as the government suggests, and from there on out, the adventure begins, as it turns out that the creature that killed Joe’s wife was also being hunted by a much larger creature (hint: name starts with a G) and that we’ve really got two monsters for the price of one.
One of the strengths of the movie comes not just from the visuals but from the cast’s performances. Ken Watanabe, as Japanese scientist Ishiro Serizawa, and David Strathairn (forever associated in my eyes with Edward R. Murrow in “Good Night, and Good Luck” — thanks, Mrs. Saremi’s intro journalism class!) as U.S. Navy admiral William Stenz clash over what to do about the warring monsters. Serizawa says let them fight it out, and the U.S., in all its infinite wisdom, goes for the “let’s shoot it” plan. It’s a realistic battle of ideals, which lends weight to the film.
However, Cranston’s performance is the major highlight here. He doesn’t play completely crazy with Joe’s quest to uncover the truth, but there’s a glint of unhealthy obsession in the way he’s focused on it for so long. His theories about cover-ups and strange seismic activity are hard to believe, especially when we’re seeing him through the other scientists’ eyes, but then the earth shakes, the lights go out, and yeah, maybe we should’ve given this guy a listen while we had the chance.
But admit it: the main reason we see a “Godzilla” movie isn’t for the drama. It’s to see a hundred-foot sea monster destroy stuff, and this adaptation delivers in spades. It’s like Godzilla’s comeback Tour of Destruction, from Japan to Hawaii to San Francisco (get those tickets now, people, because I’ve heard this one is killer). At the very least, it’s worth a trip to the theater for this film, because Edwards does an excellent job of putting viewers in the middle of the action: you’re running for cover from a giant tidal wave with so many Hawaiian-shirted citizens; you’re watching from afar as Godzilla devours a train car as swiftly and quickly as one would devour an Olive Garden breadstick; you’re narrowly avoiding getting stomped on as these creatures tromp around the city (a handful of others aren’t so lucky).
For the big guy’s 60th, he really couldn’t have asked for a better creature feature: it’s got enough smashes and bangs to awaken your inner kid, with enough human drama and strong characters to back it all up and make you realize, oh yeah, there are lives at stake here. It’s also a movie dealing heavily in endings: if you’re into this kind of thing, you’ll know that it’s the final film in the co-production of Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures (“The Dark Knight” and “The Hangover” trilogies), through which the Brothers Warner have received their biggest box office grosses ever. It’s also my last review for The Prowler, and it’s only fitting that we go out with a bang — or, in the case of this film, a roar.
