Review: 'Godzilla' (2014)

If you may recall back in my review of 'Pacific Rim', I mentioned how that movie reminded me in many ways of the Godzilla movies from my youth. Well, almost a year later, we got the Godzilla I didn't think I'd be dying to see... until that first teaser trailer a few months back. Holy Smokes. At the end of that trailer, when that giant mass of destruction emerges from beneath that cloud of ash, soot and who knows what else, then lets out his earth shattering roar (which received an incredible re-imagining from the sound department) I had to sit down after watching it. And I was already sitting down in the first place.

This new Godzilla brought back a shipload of good memories for me, from the early generation Godzilla movies (1954 to mid 1970's), Godzilla 1985... And yes, regrettably, even the 1998 Roland Emmerich version (gasp). Let's just leave it at that.

Elements of this movie are both an homage to the original films, yet at the same time rather fresh and new. In many ways, this movie is like a direct sequel from the very original film, 'Gojira', from 1954. A key clue to this is the name of Ken Watanabe's character: Serizawa. The same name belonged to the doctor in 'Gojira', who created the one chemical weapon that could destroy Godzilla. The question(s) is if Watanabe's Serizawa is a descendent from the original. My guess is he is, since they never actually reveal so in this movie.

The biggest surprise about this movie, and it's a great surprise, is that: SPOILER ALERT: Godzilla is not actually the bad guy (or bad monster; you decide). Oh no. SPOILER AGAIN: There is actually another monster, wreaking havoc all over the world. This makes for an even better movie than expected. By the looks of the trailers, it looks as if it's only Godzilla causing all the destruction, making him exactly as he was from the '54 movie. That would have been interesting, but this film took the alternate approach. This movie went for the classic 'Godzilla versus insert-monster-name-here' approach. Those were always the most fun, after all, when Godzilla was the one who saves the day.

Godzilla was my hero in my childhood. Many other kids chose Batman, Superman, Comic-book heroes galore. Even the Transformers toys got a bigger reputation, before those trash movies of theirs. But as for me, it was always Godzilla. And hopefully, with this new re-introduction to American audiences, young kids will look up to the King of the monsters as well.

It may not have as strong a storyline as it should, unfortunately, which keeps me from giving it a higher rating. But as far as entertainment goes, this is pure, solid king-sized gold. Especially for a Godzilla fan.

Oh, and I should mention that I saw this movie in IMAX 3D. Hands down the best decision on how to see this movie! When Godzilla's foot descends from above and stomps on the ground, it literally feels like he's right in front of you. And when that roar of his is let out, your seat will vibrate like almost never before in a theater. See this movie on the Godzilla-sized screen!

 

My rating: 3 / 4