Godzilla | Movie Review

Everyone’s heard of Godzilla, right? That massive lizard/dinosaur thing that knocks down buildings and kills people? Well, prepare to be amazed. Godzilla is the goddamn opposite.

It was one of the obvious blockbusters of the summer (even though it’s May and a bit rainy). Among all the other superhero movies that were out this year, Godzilla was going to be a dark horse, or well, lizard. With most of the hype with the film being that Godzilla was too fat there was less coverage on how the film actually was.

To sum up, it’s a very good film, but also a very slow and confusing film. It takes about an hour before you see Godzilla himself, which is strange for a film called Godzilla. And it’s filled with scientific and geographical terminology, which is really off-putting. What the slow part does contain, which is a whole hour, is Bryan Cranston with an absolutely outstanding performance, as what would be expected from Breaking Bad’s Walter White. The problem is he sets a very high bar for the rest of the actors in the film. Any other actor in the film, even Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Elizabeth Olsen, never grasps that bar. 

There could have been so much more brought out of Olsen, but she is just cast aside as a screaming woman extra when Godzilla strikes. Taylor-Johnson is also loosely utilised. He could have been a complete Action Man copy. This doesn’t happen however, as he is used as a pretty hapless soldier who doesn’t really understand what’s happening but somehow becomes an expert.

And the monster, he may be a big’un, but he’s one of the most kickass out of any kaiju. If you see the enemies in this film, they are just about as badass as Godzilla but not quite.  The big budget for this film has helped knocked the previous Godzilla out of the water, which was expected for a 2014 production. They did bring a very good twist to the film, which was completely unexpected, so look out for that.

With a sequel already in the line up, there’s a lot more Godzilla-y action and destruction to come from our favourite giant lizard thing.

8/10