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.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin

MadCap's Trailer Reactions - "Godzilla"

Godzilla.  Everybody knows the name.  Even if, like me, you've never sat through one of the long running Japanese produced daikaiju (“giant monster”, for those of you reaching for your Google) films.  But we all know the iconic monster.  A towering behemoth, with an iguana-like face and body, a cowardly approach to facing off against the military, and a bizarre fixation with eating a lot of fish…okay, yes it's a cheap shot at the 1998 film.

Needless to say, when stacked against the actual towering behemoth, “Zilla” – as he is called by both Toho and the fanbase – really doesn’t stack up.  After all, the real Godzilla was more like a force of nature than any sort of animal.  Bred and mutated by nuclear fallout, this wasn’t some Jurassic Park reject.  Godzilla stands tall, muscled and powerful, ready to crush any that opposed it with the weight of its own body, smash through buildings with its tail, or burn enemies to a crisp with his atomic breath.  Nothing can stop it…and for the last ten years, it had thankfully lain dormant…but now…

…The King of Monsters comes roaring back to the American movie screen, to be combated by the United States military, Heisenberg, Ensign Pavel Chekov, and the Scarlet Witch (the real one.  No, FOX, I don’t care if your movie has Jennifer Lawrence in it, it’s still going to blow…).   First off, and I know this seems like a weird thing to point out but bear with me, I like how you never clearly see the titular monster. 

Eh, well...still looks terrifying...

Unlike, say Batman: Arkham Origins where we already knew who the Joker was and there was really no reason to hide the fact that he was in the game from the general public (not that they tried, or anything…), Godzilla comes to us from a joint Legendary Pictures and Toho effort after the last Godzilla film ten years ago, allowing them to give an air of some mystery back to the character…provided they hadn’t plastered him on the front of Empire magazine, revealing the new form of the creature and…oh, oops.

Not to say that it’s bad, I really do like the design, I just almost wish they would have taken a page from the advertising of the 1998 film and not have it clearly seen until the film premiered.  That being said, again, I love the look.  This looks very much like the terrifying beast that the original film first brought to the screen and definitely something to strike fear into the hearts of the wee humans that will be caught in the path of its destruction, and that’s one of the best parts of the trailer:  humanity is clearly making some efforts to combat the beast, but we see a lot of shots of the human protagonists simply staring on in terror at things just off-screen – presumably Godzilla and/or the destruction it has caused -   reinforcing something that the 1998 movie had just been unable to.

The fact that, no matter how hard we try, we may be facing a creature that even all the power and ingenuity of humanity will be unable to stop.  A terrifying, gargantuan beast that can cause the very Earth to crumble beneath its feet, and whose roar can cause the very pillars of Heaven itself to shake.  Yes, Virginia, the King of Monsters is indeed back…and it looks like the summer has yet another excellent blockbuster coming up…

But yes, the teaser itself gives us very little and yet just enough to whet out appetites for that film.  Besides the beginning dialogue spoken by the leader of a military strike team dropping on what looks to be a Godzilla-wrecked Manhattan, there is no spoken dialogue.  Simply a few quick scenes to be seen flashing by that, without context, can only really be speculated at the meaning of.

Until we got the extended trailer…

Protip, America.  When Heisenberg is telling you that you need to stop what the hell you’re doing, you had best do it.  We get to see more of the film to come, as well as Bryan Cranston bringing some awesome prophet of Doom narrations over scenes of destructions as he warns about humanity’s inevitable return to the Stone Age because of the monster.  We also get the realization that the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests (which inspired the Gojira films to begin with) were not tests at all, but an attempt to kill the creature.

…oh, yes.

And, of course, more of what we got from the trailer.  More almost reveals of Godzilla – the closest full shot we get being of its head as what appears to be bay doors on some sort of vehicle as it lumbers forward to cause more destruction.  Even the dialogue itself within plays up the whole “force of nature” aspect, claiming that humanity’s own belief that it can control nature is entirely wrong, and that maybe it’s been the other way around the whole time.  Really, I like that they’re playing up that angle, because it’s definitely more fitting with what Godzilla is.

When the King of Monsters comes roaring back to theaters on May 16^th, I think we’re all going to have an awesome movie to look forward to.

Godzilla is set to be released on May 16^th, 2014 by Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, and Toho Co.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.