I am a child of the sixties and I was pretty much raised on what I call monster movies. So for me, Godzilla is not only very familiar but is like reconnecting with a grumpy old friend. The original was released less than ten years, 1954, after the bombing of Hiroshima. At that time there was great anxiety in Japan about, radiation, radioactivity, just about anything to do with nuclear technology. Godzilla, or Gojiira in Japanese, is a reflection of that fear in a very specific way. He eats radiation, was born of radiation, heck he even has radioactive halitosis. Any Boomer worth their salt "knows" to stay away from the radioactive breath. Since he first lumbered out of the sea, there have been 28 Japanese movies, and 4 incarnations here in America. This is what is defined as a "franchise". Trivia tidbit: Two years after the original Godzilla, the film was reedited for the American market, adding narration and additional scenes with a new actor, Raymond Burr. It was retitled "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" and henceforth, "king of the monsters" became it's tag line.
Flash forward to 2014: we are now being presented with the 32nd installment of the franchise. It could make one wonder if there is any new ground to cover or fresh views to renew the series. But this is a MONSTER MOVIE! Who cares? I want to see buildings ripped apart, cars and buses tossed like toys, cities demolished, and mayhem like only, well, Godzilla can deliver.
The $64,000 question is, after some fifty years can Godzilla still deliver the destructive chaos we have come to love? Short answer is an emphatic YES! To up the ante instead of one mega monster, there are two others besides the beast from the east. Lest not forget, in addition to being hell on urban areas, Godzilla loves to fight other mega monsters. Once he hits this mode he suddenly goes from destroyer to protector. This happened in many films over the years. In the final analysis, Gojiira is a sympathetic character in film. Least ways that's my take.
What's wrong with the movie? Instead of less being more I think they should have gone with more being more. More screen time for Bryan Cranston, in his first role since "Breaking Bad", more eye popping special effects and definitely a whole lot more Godzilla. In an effort to create mystery the director, Gareth Edwards, has chosen to take the approach of playing weird music and hardly ever showing the creature. Showing a foot here or and arm there is supposed to create suspense. The creepy music and the fact I couldn't get a good look at Godzilla only made me annoyed. I wanted to yell out "it's a dang Monster Movie....show us the freaking monster"!!
But once the big guy gets full frontal, it's "look out"! It's more like a full frontal assault; on Waikiki Beach, on an island in Japan, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Godzilla does what he wants to do and time sure flies when you are watching "monster mayhem"! This is a really fun movie, not too deep, and a good popcorn cruncher. I would say a good date movie. If she gets scared she will hug you and hold your hand. :)
I give Godzilla a grade of a solid: B
No comments:
Post a Comment