Fuji reviews Godzilla (2014)

  • Welcome to "The New" Wrestling Smarks Forum!

    I see that you are not currently registered on our forum. It only takes a second, and you can even login with your Facebook! If you would like to register now, pease click here: Register

    Once registered please introduce yourself in our introduction thread which can be found here: Introduction Board


Fuji Vice

Hall of Famer
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
25,221
Reaction score
672
Points
118
Age
45
Favorite Wrestler
stanhansen
Favorite Wrestler
brusierbrody
Favorite Wrestler
rickrude
Favorite Wrestler
randysavage
Godzilla (2014)


In 1999, the Janjira nuclear plant was mysteriously destroyed with most hands lost including supervisor Joe Brody's colleague and wife, Sandra. Years later, Joe's son, Ford, a US Navy ordnance disposal officer, goes to Japan to help his estranged father who is still obsessed with discovering the truth behind the incident. The two are soon arrested and whisked to the remains of the plant, just in time to witness the reawakening of a giant monster. Soon another emerges, and as these monsters ravage the world, mankind realizes they need to rely on yet another monster, the King of them all.


Godzilla, released in 2014, is the 30th, yes, 30th film to feature the titular character. That’s even more than James Bond, so it can definitely be argued that Mr. Gojira has some serious staying power. While the movies have ranged from great (original, Destroy All Monsters) to horrendous (1998 version, Godzilla’s Revenge) one thing that’s been consistent about them is their fun factor. I truly believe there’s something for everyone in a Godzilla film, whether it’s unintentional humour, monster on monster violence or bad dubbing. Who the hell doesn’t like at least one of those things? I of course like all three, and it was with that mindset that I went into this version, not sure of what I was going to get but expecting at least something I’d enjoy. Well, to be honest, I did enjoy a lot of it, but I also found the movie to be severely lacking in the “fun†department, which is the first time I’ve ever been able to say that about a Godzilla film (the 1998 one included). While I’m a fan of the director’s minimal approach and style, I’m just not sure it suited the film properly and at times I was left wondering whether I was even watching a Godzilla movie at all. So, while it succeeds on the level of a summer blockbuster (high profits) and in re-inventing the genre (not necessarily a good thing) it still leaves me wanting more, again, something I’ve never been able to say about a Godzilla film.



"When giant monsters fight, insurance companies lose."

Directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Max Borenstein from a story by Dave Callaham, the film is certainly sharp and tight, but that just serves to further distance it from all of its older brothers. For starters, Edwards direction is so subdued at times that I wondered whether he was just remaking his previous film, Monsters, with Godzilla inserted for shit’s and giggles. While the minimal directing worked very well within the confines of that smaller budgeted film, it was very distracting in this big budget one. That’s not to say he totally failed either, because a lot of what he did was really cool. I particularly enjoyed the random cut-away sequences and felt they really built up the anticipation of seeing Godzilla wreak absolute havoc on the MUTO’s. However, as their eventual battles sort of disappointed when all was said and done, perhaps he shouldn’t have relied on the bait and switch so much. Still, he certainly knows how to make things tense, as evidenced in the train crossing sequence, perhaps the best in the entire film. Meanwhile, the screenplay is pretty weak as well, and BOREstein is a perfect name for a guy who seems incapable of creating anything for us but bland and boring characters. We’re supposed to be invested in the main army guy and his wife? Meh, I couldn’t care less because they were so cookie cutter that it just defied all forms of logic. A lot of people may say “but it’s just a silly monster movieâ€, to which I reply “I KNOW THAT PEOPLE, THAT’S WHAT I WANTED AND IT’S NOT WHAT WE GOT~!†Ok, so maybe I wouldn’t react that negatively, but in all fairness I just felt that the attempt to make this something more failed in a lot of regards.



"Not exactly what you want to see on your evening commute."

From an acting standpoint, Edwards and his casting people did get a few things right. First of all, they cast the always excellent Bryan Cranston in a supporting role and then did the same with Ken Watanabe. Unfortunately, they should have been cast as the leads, because they’re really the only two actors worth a damn here. I get why Cranston’s character was written out early, as it provides a “no one is safe†feeling to the film, but in my opinion that was the wrong move. I would have preferred a story that featured Cranston and Watanabe working together to harness the power of Godzilla, but that clearly wasn’t in the cards. Instead the actors and actresses are really just there as window dressing while Godzilla and the MUTO’s fight it out through various cities. Quick, can you name a single human character in this movie without looking? Nope, didn’t think so, and while we don’t really go to see the humans, it would still have been nice to identify with at least one of them. Instead I found myself trying desperately to identify with Godzilla, or at least the MUTO’s, who actually had a somewhat interesting story. Anyhow, I don’t want to list off bad performances but I will point out that while Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen make for a very attractive couple, I didn’t buy them as parents for a second. Hell, I didn’t even really buy them as human beings, which is kind of bad considering they’re the ones the film chooses to focus on.



"Hey look D&D geeks, it's a Zaratan!"

So with all of that out of the way, I’d like to take a moment to look at the positive things I took from the film and why I would ultimately recommend it to people. For starters, as I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed the train sequence and appreciated the tension that it brought to the film. I also thought the effects of Godzilla and the MUTO’s were extremely well done. Another thing that I touched upon was the little romance story between the two MUTO’s and the depressing realization that even though they were simply trying to procreate and keep their species alive, it could never happen. Stuff like that is pretty high-concept for a monster movie and while some of the other emotional themes failed to grasp me, this one did. I was a big fan of what fight’s we did get and for my money the final part in the fight with Godzilla busting out the radioactive breath right down that MUTO’s throat was worth the price of admission alone. Well, that and the fact that the IMAX format that I watched the film in just totally blew me away, well worth the few extra bucks for the experience. So in summary, a lot of it doesn’t work, a lot of it is just stupid, but at the end of the day it still managed to entertain me for a couple of hours. Is that enough in this day and age? I’ll say yes, but I’m hoping for a little more monster and a little less forced pathos next time. 6.5/10.

 

Wangman Page

Cowboy Shit
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
20,131
Reaction score
3,237
Points
138
Age
47
Location
Dancing
Favorite Wrestler
hulkhogan
Favorite Wrestler
ajstyles2
Favorite Wrestler
nwo
Favorite Wrestler
boots2asses
Only a 6.5? I would have given it a 7.1 at least on the Richter scale for destroying Las Vegas and LA. That has to be worth something right. Good review.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
 

Fuji Vice

Hall of Famer
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
25,221
Reaction score
672
Points
118
Age
45
Favorite Wrestler
stanhansen
Favorite Wrestler
brusierbrody
Favorite Wrestler
rickrude
Favorite Wrestler
randysavage
It got the extra 0.5 for the Vegas destruction. :lol:
 

Postman Dave

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2011
Messages
10,061
Reaction score
165
Points
63
Age
35
Location
UK
6.5 is about right. Didn't set my world on fire or anything, but was decent enough to kill a few hours.