MadCap At The Movies - "Godzilla"

Well now, the real new one this time.  Not that black and white, poorly dubbed over monstrosity, we're seeing the real return of the real King of Monsters!  He's back and he's...carefully cropped in shots so that he's not completely seen for a good part of the movie.  Now, don't take this the wrong way, of course.  I'm not a Godzilla fan.  In fact, until the new movie was announced, the only things I had ever been exposed to concerning him were the 1998 film and clips of the Japanese films out of context.  But still, Godzilla has been a massive and undeniable impact upon our culture.  So, when Legendary Pictures (y'know, the guys who managed to save Batman from Bat-Nipples and the Bat Credit Card) and Toho were gearing up to bring the King of the Monsters roaring back to the big screen, I definitely wanted to get in on some of that.

The film begins with black and white shots of military moving about in formations at sea, and set ups that make it very clear we're in the Bikini Atoll circa 1954.  We see massive, imposing spikes along some creature's back as it rises just below the waves...before seemingly being destroyed by atomic fire.  Forty-five years after that, the action picks up in - where else? - Japan.  In the Janjira Nuclear Plant, seismic disturbances have picked up that are putting the entire plant at risk.  Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), the head of the plant, is forced to watch as his wife and a team of specialists are burned alive by radiation after what is dubbed as a "reactor breach".  However, it quickly becomes clear that this was no simple mechanical error.  Or rather, it becomes clear fifteen years later.

Joe is joined by his son, Ford (Aaron-Taylor Johnson), who comes to Japan to bail him out of jail for being caught in the restricted "Quarantine Zone"...which they find out is not suffering at all from radioactive fallout as was believed.  Captured by the authorities whilst retrieving data from their old family home, they are witness to the release of a creature from a state of hibernation that is...not Godzilla...but he is soon on his way as he has not one, but two brand new beasts (dubbed "MUTO's" by the government).

I'll go ahead and be blunt here, if you're looking for a good monster fight, then you're in for a wait.  The first confrontation between Godzilla and one of the MUTO creatures is set up brilliantly.  The meet in Hawaii and are face to face...when it cuts away to Ford's son (Carson Bolde) and wife (Elizabeth Olsen) watching on television as apparently someone has managed to not only get footage of the fight in the chaos, but edit it into a highlights reel and end with Godzilla quickly jumping back into the ocean...for some reason.  At the very least, he's not running away from the military, which is something.

And I'll take a minute here to talk about the characters that aren't the giant, lurking monsters.  I don't really care for any of them.  Sure, I have some sympathy for Joe following the death of his wife (Juliette Binoche) and in his search for the truth about her death, but that link is severed with the death of Joe after the first MUTO breaks free and, after that, the film very quickly devolves in Alien vs. Predator syndrome.  I understand the need for a humanizing element in these films, that's what makes us relate to them as an audience.  That being the case, make us relate to them.  Give us reasons to care whether these humans live or die.  Johnson's Ford spends his time moving from place to place so we can see either destruction or the after-effects of the monsters passing through, all that Olsen's Elle really does is react by worrying and crying and doing absolutely nothing to contribute to the plot, and their son doesn't even really seem all that connected to things.  Not to rag on a child actor, but c'mon kid, show some emotion!

As for the creatures themselves, one can't go far without talking about Godzilla himself.  He looks great, though he's a little on the chubby side as many people have noted.  When you actually do get a full look at the majestic grandeur of the beast, you can really appreciate the work that went into rendering him.  This isn't a mutated French Polynesian water Iguana eating a lot of fish, this is Godzilla and he takes that title with a mighty roar and a proud stomp as he lumbers in to bring down your entire world down around your ears, pal.  We also get a showcase of the Atomic Breath - something the '98 film was severely lacking in - and let me tell you, it was the highlight of the film for me.  Of course, that was when they were getting into the actual monster fighting.

The MUTO creatures aren't really anything to write home about.  They kind of remind me of the creature from Cloverfield, and I almost think that was the intention.  Still, with one winged and one land based, they prove to be worthy adversaries to the title monster, if only because it's his first outing in ten years (yet, somehow, from about fifty years in the future - what the hell, Japan?) and he's a little out of practice.  The destruction is largely caused by them as well, in Japan, Las Vegas, and then in San Fransisco for the final bout.  The main focus in the plot is the pair of them are getting together to mate and bring a new race of not-Cloverfield babies to the Earth to repopulate.

Between this and his lack of appearance in the film, this makes Godzilla both a cocktease and a cockblock, if you can believe that.

But in the end, the eggs are destroyed, the city is saved from nuclear armageddon and, after a nap, Godzilla gets up and lets out that triumphant and iconic roar before lumbering back to the ocean until the day of the inevitable sequel humanity needs him once again.  It's enjoyable, if spending way too much time setting up Godzilla with very little pay off.  But the pay off that we do get is awesome and enjoyable.  If you're willing to wait for it, the final fight in San Francisco is pretty freaking awesome.  That doesn't excuse the rather slow and non-invested ride getting there of course, but it does deliver on the promise of giant monsters fighting it out for supremacy as humanity can only watch agape in horror...if only for a little while.

Godzilla is now in theaters from Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Toho.

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