Movie Review: Godzilla
When, in 1954, Godzilla first stomped onto the scene (and into our hearts), it was as a harbinger of absolute destruction, a dinosaur-like creature born out of nuclear weapons testing that apparently had a violent aversion to Japanese architecture. The film became instantly iconic for both its cautionary message and rampant mayhem. Over the years — and many sequels later — Godzilla transformed into a kind of hero, a savior who protected Japan (while still harboring a resentment toward its buildings) from other, more fearsome creatures.
The reboot of Godzilla (
), helmed by newcomer Gareth Edwards, plays off the monster’s heritage as a… well, god. Godzilla’s the “alpha-predator,” the tip-top of the food chain. He’s the world’s protector designate. The film is haunting and beautiful and strange, not at all what you expect from a typical summer blockbuster. It strives to be more than the sum of its relentlessly movie-homaging parts.
But therein lies the problem — Godzilla might be a little too art-house for its own good. Yes, there are profoundly stupid moments — particularly a convenient “needle in a haystack” moment in Honolulu — and the script frequently borders on the eye-rolling. “The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around,” says one character before proclaiming, like a WWE Ringmaster, “LET THEM FIGHT!” The warring parties are, of course, Godzilla and a Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism, or MUTO, in this case a ferocious, EMP-producing monstrosity that looks as though The Predator had mated with the Chrysler Building eagles.
Godzilla, happily, looks (and sounds) just like the old Godzilla — without the man in the rubber suit aspect. (The effects are, in fact, breathtaking. See it in 3D, as Edwards has a real gift for using 3D as a visual enhancer.) And the cast is relatively high-end: Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), further reinforcing the movie’s art-house allure.
For a summer action blockbuster, Godzilla is oddly lacking in excitement for much of its two-hour running time. More than once, it leaves you impatient and bored, as Edwards revs up some good old-fashioned monster mashing and then abruptly cuts to the aftermath. It’s like having sex withheld. Yet the paucity of traditional destruction sequences turns out to be a shrewd move, as we’re more than ready for it by the time the magnificent climax rolls around. Call it Godzilla Interruptus.
Godzilla is rated PG-13 and opens Friday at area theaters.
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