Godzilla (2014)

Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, CJ Adams, Bryan Cranston, Carson Bolde and Sally Hawkins.

Director: Gareth Edwards

Release Date: 2014

Running Time: 2hrs 3 minutes

Genre: Action/Sci Fi

Rating: 12

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

After an explosion at a nuclear power plant, Joe Brody goes in search of the cause. Was it just an explosion, or did a monstrous creature cause it? 

This is a reboot of the Japanese "Godzilla" series from 1954. It has absolutely nothing to do with the American remake that starred Matthew Broderick. In my humble opinion, this is more true to the original story. Is it a disaster movie? Essentially, yes. I would put "Godzilla" up there with, "Monsters" and Stephen King's "The Mist", in terms of it being a disaster movie. It's not a disaster movie in the sense that it's the end of the world. I also love the fact that you don't see the monster for the vast majority of the movie, it really builds up suspense. In 1999, the Janjura Nuclear Plant was mysteriously destroyed with lives lost including Joe Brody's colleague and wife Sandra. Years later, Joe still searches to find the truth, what happened to his wife that day? Joe's son Ford, a US Navy ordnance disposal officer must go to Japan to help his father discover the disasters secret.

I'll be brutally honest when I first watched the film, I didn't understand what it really had to do with Godzilla. This is what happens when you watch an awful, American remake. You expect to see exactly the same thing. This is very different to the American remake. I love the authenticity of it being set in Japan, just like the original series. The problem that most audiences have found in the past and for those that have never seen it, you'll go in expecting more then what you are going to get. This is where "Kong: Skull Island" comes in, Godzilla and Kong are in the same universe. The questions that you will probably find yourself asking are likely to be answered in future movies. It does take a while to get going, be patient with it. Chances are if you've already seen "Kong: Skull Island", this is going to make more sense to you. The storyline is very similar to that of Kong. It's no surprise, visually that the films are in the same universe.

Starring Aaron-Taylor Johnson as US Navy operative Ford, his wife is played by Elizabeth Olsen. Coincidentally, they both played brother and sister in Marvels "Avengers: Age of Ultron", Johnson delivers a good performance, it's not tremendous, but his character works well with the storyline. Elizabeth Olsen's role isn't fantastically big, again though her character works well with the storyline, I love the relationship that she has with Ford, and her little boy Sam. It feels like a very tight knitted family. To be honest, Olsen and Johnson aren't on screen enough together to determine whether or not they have a lot of chemistry with one another. None the less, their family environment appears very real.

Although it is explained briefly, we never quite understand where these's creatures come from, and if I am honest that's what I love so much about it. It reminds me of Stephen King's "The Mist", the story's are completely different, but I do feel like they are very similar. The first instalment in the Monsterverse. The special effects in this film are absolutely insane, Godzilla was made with a 3-D model that was made up of 500,000 polygons. You've got to admit, that's pretty awesome right? It would of been virtually impossible to create it on a single computer. The cinematography is very nice, however the only thing that did annoy me a little bit was that in some scenes, the lighting is that dark that you can't actually see what is meant to be happening. I respect it was probably done in order to create suspense, it's possible to go too far in the other direction too, in preventing the audience from actually seeing anything.

The performances from Johnson and Olsen could have been better, but it works well none the less. If I am honest, it was a great start to the Monsterverse. I'm really excited to see where they are going to take Godzilla next.

5/5