Movie Plot – Godzilla: The appearance of monstrous creatures plagues the world, but one of them, named Godzilla, may be the only one who can save humanity.

Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Dave Callaham, Max Borenstein
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen

Welcome to the Godzilla/ King Kong Universe

Finally, there is a movie world where giant monsters like Godzilla and King Kong exist. Of course, they don’t cross paths yet in this film as this is the beginning of the Film Universe.

If you’re waiting for total Kaiju destruction of the caliber seen in Pacific Rim, some patience will be required. The film is roughly divided into two acts, with Edwards taking ample time in the first to build a story. In an extended prologue, we follow the events during a major disaster at a Japanese nuclear power plant in which scientist Joe Brody loses his wife. Years later, Brody is still searching for the secrets the government is keeping around the incident until suddenly, two giant insect-like monsters escape from the nuclear power plant. This marks the switch to the large-scale disaster movie.

Before the scaly menace itself makes its appearance, we’re almost an hour away. I understand that you should never show the monster directly on-screen but first build up the tension with a few short glimpses. Yet, it takes a little too long before we get to see the monster in all its glory.

Ford’s story

We follow the story of Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the son of scientist Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston). Fifteen years after the discovery of the fossils and the destruction of the nuclear power plant, Joe is still under the spell of the unexplained disaster and asks his son Ford), a military man, to help him prove his conspiracy theories. Despite his doubts, Ford decides to help him. What they discover next, neither of them could have imagined.

However, Ford’s story isn’t as interesting as I was expecting. The human characters in the story barely justify their part in the story. Mainly, the women in the play are short on detail. Even a talented actor like Ken Watanabe often does nothing more than looking off into the distance. What makes it extra wry is that in his debut, Edwards was applauded precisely for his self-described characters.

On the other hand, I understand that you can’t make a film that is purely focused on Godzilla and the monsters. The inclusion of human characters makes sense, but it doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t care that much about them.

Godzilla

Edward’s Godzilla is an immense, lifelike hulk that looks like it might burst through the screen at any moment. I for sure totally loved his look! This is the best design he ever had on the big screen.

Godzilla’s thunderous climax shows two other prehistoric monsters equally, which is the film’s absolute highlight. His positioning as protector of the Earth is cleverly found. You’re just short of cheering when he saves humanity from destruction. Add to this some breathtaking shots, and the shortcomings of the film are quickly forgotten.

Despite leaving most of the acting talent untapped, ‘Godzilla’ is the spectacle many a fan has been eagerly awaiting. The King of Monsters may sit contentedly on his rightful throne!

Conclusion

Everything about this new Godzilla design is excellent and exciting! However, the story around the humans is way less interesting.

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