Godzilla

Godzillathon: 30/38 MUTO just wants someone to match his freak Goji makes a triumphant return, not just to cinema but to the west as Gareth Edwards proves an American adaption can be done. Redefining Goji once again, this time he’s cast a primordial force of nature. A calamitous beast of unimaginable scale and proportion. The movie carefully takes its time to build up to not just Godzilla’s reveal but also the MUTOs as well and even when we do see them, for a large stretch, it’s mostly from a human perspective. This establishes an incredible sense of scale, really lending weight and horror to these creatures. Inspiration is take from the numerous tragedies that we’ve faced in Goji’s 60 year lifespan. Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima all play a role in the opening act. The second act is all about the natural disasters, the numerous floods, tsunamis and earthquakes that have wreaked havoc on cities, families and people. Of course the final act is all about the kaiju battle and it’s an epic payoff for the steady and careful build up put in to it. A complaint I often see levied at the movie is that “Godzilla is barely in it!” or “They keep cutting away whenever something actually happens!” and all I can say is this: dramatic tension. It’s this movies life blood. Gareth Edwards really came in and stuck a middle finger up at Roland Emmerich. He not only crafted an amazing Godzilla movie but also a phenomenal disaster movie. With a talented cast that brought a lot of emotional weight to the playing field. The more I watch this movie, the more I come to appreciate what it tries and very successfully achieves. I wasn’t a big fan when I saw this a decade ago at release. But now it comfortably sits near the top of the list. One final note: Gareth Edwards has an eye for movies that is rarely seen nowadays in big tentpole productions. Every movie he makes, good or bad, is an incredibly well shot and well edited piece. A great director who deserves more acclaim than he currently gets.