Godzilla (PG-13)

Monster movies are a staple of big, Hollywood blockbusters. They’ve been around for almost as long as film itself. You have “Dracula,” “The Mummy,” “King Kong;” but one monster stands out among the rest. That’s the giant lizard we all know and love by the name of Godzilla. When I heard that they were remaking “Godzilla” after the terrible Matthew Broderick version, a wave of excitement went through me, closely followed by the thought that they were going to make another “Ferris Bueller” stinker. The trailers soon came and calmed my nerves a little as it showed Godzilla to be the city-crushing, fear-inducing, ground-shaking mega-monster that he needed to be. Director, Gareth Edwards (who did a fantastic little indie gem called “Monsters”) crafts a film that actually can be held in the same vein as classic the Godzilla who rampaged through downtown Tokyo.

The plot is very basic – but let’s face it, the plot in “Godzilla” means next to nothing; you’re watching for the sheer carnage and don’t deny it. However, there is actually a plot for anyone interested. Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) works in a nuclear power plant in Japan with his wife Sandra while their son, Ford (Aaron Tyler-Johnson), goes to school there. There is an accident at the plant, which is officially deemed an earthquake. It leads to the death of Joe’s wife. This then leads Joe to look into the events and believe that there was something else in play, something bigger. He spends years and ruins his reputation trying to find out what really happened and in the mean time, Ford has grown up, found a wife and joined the military. Everyone thinks Joe is insane until he actually finds proof that something strange was going on in that a giant, winged creature emerges from the rubble of the plant and then Godzilla comes in to fight it while the human population is helpless to do anything.

“Let them fight,” the line uttered by Ken Watanabe’s character when faced with the problem of getting rid of the giant monsters known as MUTOs. That one line pretty much sums up the film. It’s disaster porn at its finest. This movie is dumb, like really dumb. It’s “Pacific Rim” levels of dumb, but like “Pacific Rim,” I turned off my head and enjoyed the spectacle Hollywood has given us for what it is, an in-your-face blockbuster. Yes, the characters are pretty terrible and pale in comparison to Edward’s last film, “Monsters.” Yes, the plot doesn’t really make much sense. Yes, the dialogue can seemed a bit forced at times and certain characters exist to only spout exposition. To all that I say, who cares even the slightest bit? People in the cinema were clapping, not just at the end of the film but at parts where you would expect clapping in a boxing match. The atmosphere really did make the film in this case. I mentioned “Pacific Rim” because of the similar nature of the film.

Another big comparison to “Pacific Rim” are the levels of special effects. Godzilla has been brought to life and frankly has never looked better. I mean, the Japanese guy in a latex suit rampaging through a model city will always hold a place in my heart, but there is something about seeing a Godzilla that towers above even the tallest buildings looking so crisp it’s just beautiful.

Considering my love for this film, I was hard pressed to find something wrong, but on reflection there were a few problems with it. The major thing that bugged me was that it felt more like a film based around Godzilla rather than about Godzilla. I mean, when you have an eponymous character, you would expect there to be more about said character. Even what the film is about, the characters that aren’t Godzilla, there is a weird trend where the acting quality goes down the further you go into the film. It starts out with some honest to god emotion but ends up rather stale.

In summary, “Godzilla” is the biggest, dumbest, and most fun blockbuster likely to be released this year. Just go in, and don’t think. That’s how you’re going to get the most out of it.