THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When the Japanese film Godzilla came to theaters in 1954, the titular creature was a reflection of the 1945 bombings that occurred in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. When the film gained a slew of sequels, becoming a franchise in the progress, the character went from invader to protector. Hollywood’s first attempt to make their own version of the icon of Toho backfired in 1998, lacking creativity. However, a second chance paid off in 2014.
PLOT
This film first takes place in 1999, where an unknown creature hatched and leaves the Philippines. In Janjira, Japan, seismic activity occurred in a power plant, covered up as an earthquake. 15 years later, Ford Brody, who used to live there, has now grown up as a explosive disposal officer. After returning to his wife Elle and son Sam, he gets a phone call that his father Joe got arrested in Japan. After bailing him out, he explains that he has been searching for an explanation for what happened at the plant, grieving over his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) who died there. Based on his research of echolocation, he recently heard something talking. With the disks at his abandoned home, he can prove that it wasn’t a natural disaster. Ford chooses to go with him but after they retrieve the disks, they get arrested but are taken to the power plant. The plant is now a laboratory where Monarch agents Dr. Ishiro Serizawa and Vivienne Graham have been studying a giant organic structure, similar to the one they discovered in the Philippines. They look at Joe’s data in ‘99 and it is confirmed to be similar to what they’re experiencing now. Realizing that EM pulses are knocking out the lab’s electronics, Serizawa allows to end the program. When watts of electricity are triggered towards the chrysalis, a jolt of electricity destroys the organic pod. A winged creature emerges and destroys the lab after summoning an EM pulse of its own. Ford is able to survive but Joe is fatally injured. After the creature leaves, the US military takes over Monarch’s mission. Before Serizawa and Graham board the USS Saratoga, they request Ford to join him. After Joe dies, they reveal to him that Monarch has been around since ‘54 after uncovering Godzilla. The military failed to slay the ancient predator with the usage of nukes, covered up as tests. They’ve been studying and containing the now escaped MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) because of the fear that it would spread radiation based on how these creatures would feast on it. Ford only remembers his father’s research on echolocation, that he heard something talking. This deduces that if the MUTO was talking, something must’ve talked back. With no other information to provide, Brody plans to go home to his family. Near Hawaii, the MUTO is spotted heading towards the Pacific. Ironically, Godzilla is making his way towards there as well; Serizawa believes that it will restore balance when encountering the other monster. The MUTO is than spotted on the island of Honolulu, eating a Russian submarine. When in conflict with soldiers along with an airbone attack, it summons a EM pulse that causes a power outage in the island. Godzilla arrives at the island, causing a tsunami and the MUTO causes wreckage at the airport where Ford originally planned to head home. When both monsters collide for the first time, this delays his plan. The incident is spotted and published on the news, revealing to the world that monsters exist. As the MUTO heads to San Francisco, Serizawa is able to deduce that it was talking to another of its kind. The second emerges from Nevada and the scientists figure out the gender: The bigger wingless one is female and the smaller one with wings is male. Seeing that the female is heading to San Francisco as well, this means that a mating call is underway and they’re ready to lay a nest. The Navy wants to wipe out both of them and Godzilla with another nuke but Serizawa sees that it won’t work, believing that they should allow Godzilla to take them down. Admiral Stenz (David Straihairn) is against it because he refuses to risk civilian casualties. Ford is able to hop onto a Navy transport containing bait for the female. With his expertise, he shoehorns himself into the detail. The mission backfires as the female is able to take the warheads and kill everyone on the transport. Luckily, Ford survives the chaos that ensued. When Ford calls Elle again, he lets her know he’s on his way to San Francisco, begging her to wait for him. She decides to stay and allows her son to join a bus of other children that are evacuating San Francisco. As the male MUTO takes the bomb to the female, that is making its nest, Godzilla emerges only to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. Luckily, the bus containing Joe was able to pass through during the conflict the beast had with the military. Ford joins another group to defuse the bomb. When they arrive towards the nest in Chinatown via Halo jump, they see that Godzilla get mangled by both MUTOs. As the group takes the bomb, Ford destroys the nest by setting off an explosion from gasoline of a destroyed tanker. This gives time for Godzilla to recuperate and is able to defeat the male by smacking him with its tail into a building, fatally wounding him. The building however collapses on the titan short after. As the female wipes out Ford’s group, he boards a boat with the bomb and attempts to get away. She catches up to him but Godzilla gets up again and kills her by summoning it’s atomic breath into her jaw. Ford gets picked up by med-evac helicopter and is able to escape from the bomb’s explosion. He goes to a stadium converted shelter where he reunites with his family. The film ends with Godzilla entering the sea as the public questions whether or not beast is a savior to the city.
THOUGHTS
When seeing this film in theaters back in 2014, this was easily another film where I just said ‘Whoa’ proving how much fun I had. I was not a super fan to Godzilla at the time of this film’s release. I had only seen the ‘54 and ‘98 versions of the character, where I knew the basics. But it was after this film where I truly became invested with the franchise. Many films of this character always tend to focus on him which is the point, but this takes a massive shift as the focus is on the ground floor, the humans. The reason why our titular character has minimum screen time is because they want the perspective in fold, reminding us how these creatures affect us. Sure you could show a building collapse and maybe we’d understand the dynamic, but I think this take is better. The problem is that when they repeat this attempt in the 2019 sequel, it feels misused. Alexandre Desplat gives us a pretty solid score for this film. Since this is a monster movie that arrived in the 2010s, you’ll definitely have yourself a CGI delight. I enjoyed what I got out of the third act but I know people complained of the dark setting it has. So if you watch it at night or adjust your TV when watching it at day, than you’ll definitely get a good view of what’s happening. Despite the minimum screen time, Godzilla owns the spotlight when it is on him. When you hear his roar, see him pass through the Golden Gate Bridge or use his atomic breath, you will be blown away of him. The MUTOs are interesting new characters introduced in the Kaiju lore. The fact that we get to see two of these things is goddamn frightening. If you’re gonna a ask me what makes them so besides their height, I’m gonna have to say their eyes because I’ve never seen eyes that glow like that before, making it more creepy. Before my praise continues, I still admit that there were a few flaws in the story. First off, why did Joe and Ford get taken to the plant rather than go back to jail? I know they technically drive the plot but that made no sense to do. Also, if Elle is worried of her husband’s whereabouts after the plant’s destruction, she should not leave her phone on vibrate. I mean it threw me off since she was understandably worried when hearing about the news saying there was an earthquake in Japan. And lastly, how does the military not listen to Serizawa that the nukes don’t work? I know they want the situation to end quicker and technology has advanced, but they were just lazy on figuring out other attempts to take out these monsters. The second you ignore all of this, you’ll still enjoy this monster movie for what it is. Getting back to the goods, this movie doesn’t have an amazing cast but it has enough names to keep you somehow invested. Bryan Cranston wasn’t the lead like I hoped, but he was a scene stealer here as Joe. The guy is broken, guilty of his wife's death and Cranston owns the depiction. It is a shame of killing off this character because he would've fit right in with Monarch. As for the leading man, we like Aaron Taylor Johnson as Ford because his stoic, level headed attitude makes him determined to do what has to be done. And in this case, stop monsters from destroying San Francisco. If I'm gonna give credit for Elizabeth Olsen, I think she does good reflecting the stress Elle has, worrying of her husband. She didn't have to stay behind because she knew she could've got killed, but that proved how strong her love and hope was for him. It technically became worth it because she luckily survived and got to reunite the people she dearly loves. The best thing I can say of Sally Hawkins is that she expresses eagerness with Dr. Graham. She looks like she is about to cry when seeing Godzilla in the climax because she is in awe, because honestly who wouldn't be? And as for Ken Watanabe, he presents Serizawa as one who respects these creatures deeply. He sees Godzilla as one to restore balance because his existence is supposed to be the good in nature. Plus, it sounds badass when he says 'Let them fight'. In short, Gareth Edwards' depiction of the king of monsters is a home run on Hollywood's standards. If you're getting into this franchise, don't hesitate checking this out.
Kommentarer