Review 317: Godzilla
The world’s most revered monster is reborn in a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature, when the awe-inspiring Godzilla rises to restore balance as humanity stands defenceless.
The plot is brilliant, this is the proper, proper retelling of a Godzilla film done by Americans. I thought the film captured the essence of what Godzilla was about.
It is a really realistic depiction of what it would be like and what would happen if this actually happened in real life.
Godzilla and the MUTOs are just animals. Is it their aim to cause death and destruction: No, they just want to survive. All of this is shown from the human point-of-view which is the best way to sell a film like this, even though that gimmick has been done loads of times, director Gareth Edwards and the writers make it fresh.
What they capture so well about Godzilla is that they really portray him as terrifying force of nature in the style of the original Japanese Godzilla films as well as an allegory for a nuclear bomb as well as an anti hero which is the best way to portray such a iconic character, he does fight monsters and in doing so, saves humanity but he leaves a sea of destruction in his wake, it doesn't come freely, cities are decimated and innocent people are killed. He's restoring the balance to nature. We've taken an absured position on the planet as this alpha protector and the film suggests what happens if we aren't top dog. He comes along and puts us in our place. If you try and pick and fight with nature, you're going to lose.
The original Godzilla from 1954 was Japan's reaction to the nuclear holocaust caused by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and I read in an interview with Gareth Edwards that he was
The film also deals with powerful themes of the importance of family and man trying to control nature and it backfiring in the end.
The importance of family: Godzilla shows how important it is to stick together in a crisis. When scientist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is taken to prison for trespassing, his son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) travels to Japan to help him. When Godzilla attacks the American and Japanese coasts, the Ford family remain together or as close together as possible and remain calm and try to work out whats going on,
Man trying to control nature and it backfiring in the end: At the beginning of the film, all these scientist discover these monsters called MUTOs that feed off radiation and attempt to study them and control them and the Japanese initially attempt to kill Godzilla with nuclear weapons. However these experiments go horribly wrong.
In terms of structure and technique Godzilla (2014) feels very Spielbergian. Influences from Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind are very prevelant here. "Godzilla" doesn't just show, it unveils. Monster mayhem is built to gradually, withoulding vital information
Gareth Edward's direction is brilliant, the special effects are tremendous, the cinematography is terrific, the score by Alexandre Desplat is amazing, making excellent use of brass, Japanese drums, and electric violin to create a sense of omnicity and dread. The action scenes are engrossing, the scenery is breathtaking, the locations are beautiful, the production design is great, the costumes are colourful, the creature design is astounding, the sound effects are astonishing (just to hear the iconic Godzilla roar is really refreshing) and the ending was superb.
The acting is mostly well done. All the characters have simple goals and strong emotions, they never feel out of place or shoehorned in and are played by a likable international cast. Edwards recognises that the characters at the heart of this film shouldn't be superheroes and instead be relatable, emotional characters. With that said, Edwards seems more intent to see them as representives of the human race than complex individuals. You probably shouldn't get too emotionaly attached to them
The film also deals with powerful themes of the importance of family and man trying to control nature and it backfiring in the end.
The importance of family: Godzilla shows how important it is to stick together in a crisis. When scientist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is taken to prison for trespassing, his son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) travels to Japan to help him. When Godzilla attacks the American and Japanese coasts, the Ford family remain together or as close together as possible and remain calm and try to work out whats going on,
Man trying to control nature and it backfiring in the end: At the beginning of the film, all these scientist discover these monsters called MUTOs that feed off radiation and attempt to study them and control them and the Japanese initially attempt to kill Godzilla with nuclear weapons. However these experiments go horribly wrong.
In terms of structure and technique Godzilla (2014) feels very Spielbergian. Influences from Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind are very prevelant here. "Godzilla" doesn't just show, it unveils. Monster mayhem is built to gradually, withoulding vital information
Gareth Edward's direction is brilliant, the special effects are tremendous, the cinematography is terrific, the score by Alexandre Desplat is amazing, making excellent use of brass, Japanese drums, and electric violin to create a sense of omnicity and dread. The action scenes are engrossing, the scenery is breathtaking, the locations are beautiful, the production design is great, the costumes are colourful, the creature design is astounding, the sound effects are astonishing (just to hear the iconic Godzilla roar is really refreshing) and the ending was superb.
The acting is mostly well done. All the characters have simple goals and strong emotions, they never feel out of place or shoehorned in and are played by a likable international cast. Edwards recognises that the characters at the heart of this film shouldn't be superheroes and instead be relatable, emotional characters. With that said, Edwards seems more intent to see them as representives of the human race than complex individuals. You probably shouldn't get too emotionaly attached to them
Bryan
Cranston shows once again how great an actor he is as Joe Brody, Ford
father (even though his role is limited). His performance is filled with
emotion, he is a good father and brilliant scientist who
is determined to find out what caused the earthquake and meltdown at
the power station that killed his wife. He knows the Americans and the
Japanese are hiding something and he's trying to find out what it is.
Aaron Johnson is great here, he is more than just an average joe, he's a army Lieutenant, he's a father and protective of his family and the son of a scientist. He is also our audience surrogate which means we are learning everything though his eyes and Johnson does that really well.
Aaron Johnson is great here, he is more than just an average joe, he's a army Lieutenant, he's a father and protective of his family and the son of a scientist. He is also our audience surrogate which means we are learning everything though his eyes and Johnson does that really well.
Elizabeth Olsen is sensitive and lovely as Elle Brody, Ford's wife, she is a very dear wife who loves Ford, determined to keep her family safe. She is also quite strong willed, when disaster strikes, she keeps calm, doesn't get into a panic and start worrying, she remains calm, tries to do what she can in the situation and sends her son to safety.
Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche and David Strathairn round out the films eclectic cast .
Godzilla is a mind-blowing rebirth of the iconic monster, 4.5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche and David Strathairn round out the films eclectic cast .
Godzilla is a mind-blowing rebirth of the iconic monster, 4.5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
Comments
Post a Comment