I will judge this movie not based as a fan of Godzilla but as a fresh viewer and what is expected of a Godzilla film. I saw the 2D version so the following is based on my personal experience.
PLOT:
The plot isn't just monsters come, attack city, Godzilla shows up and saves the day, that's not it. There's more plot to it, the sub plot of Aaron Johnson's character and his relationship with his family, the relationship he has with his father Bryan Cranston, the government covering up the monsters, and the whole thing about Godzilla. It focuses mainly on Johnson and Cranston who have had their lives personally affected by the monsters in the past, this drives Cranston to do everything he can by proving that theres more out there than they know. Eventually the monsters do come out and are unique to the movie and they do have their classic battle with Godzilla as would be expected, most people might find the story to run a little long, or might bore them, but these people are the type that like an hour and a half comedies and think their Oscar worthy. This plot is good, great in fact and I love the direction the Director used for this movie focusing on the characters instead o the monsters. Yes it is true and I might warn you, Godzilla doesn't show up for quite sometime, but thats okay because the story is really good and you want to follow along with the character and see what happens, but he shows up and pops in and out, but by the end, trust me, you get your fill of badass Godzilla goodness.
CHARACTERS:
Johnson does a great job with his character Ford Brody, he's just a man put into extraordinary situations throughout the film, he doesn't come off as a super hero, more like an ordinary soldier. He brings all the emotion with him and delivers a great performance.
Olsen plays Elle Brody, Ford's wife, she gives us a look at the view from someone who is in the middle of the destruction of the monsters, she's relate-able and fun to watch. She doesn't go over the top with her performance in a monster movie and lucky doesn't make any stupid decisions based on her situation.
Crasnton plays Joe Brody, Ford's father, Cranston's performance was amazing in this, he brings his A game and is really fun to watch. It's not Walter White, it's something different which I liked, he's not a badass going after the monsters just to kill them, he is man who is looking for answers because he is dealing with his haunted past that they left behind for him. He is the only actor I would have liked to see in this role and he does a great job with it.
Godzilla, yes he is a character, I want to put everyone's minds at ease, he's not goofy, he's not a man in a rubber suit, he's a monster. Godzilla's personality is AWESOME in this, He's not a hero, he's an anti hero and they do it well, he doesn't have the “I'm here to stop you because your bad and I'm good” attitude, its more like “Looks like I gotta fix this shit you made, stay the [frick] out of my way” attitude, He'll save the humans, but thats not saying a few people will get hurt while he helps.
Villain monsters, their unique to the film, yes you can see references to to the old TOHO monsters, Gigan and Rodan stick out as inspirations. And yes they are worthy of going up against our favorite lizard, their not out to kill people just to do it, they are there to live, and well, that involves killing a lot of people in the process.
CGI:
The cgi in this movie was great, everything looks amazing and doesn't have a goofy look, it looks like if Godzilla were real, this is what it would be like. The monsters are done very well, the destruction is done perfectly, its amazing to look at and you don't want to stop watching it. Now as I stated before I saw this movie in 2D, it's what I prefer, and I don't know how this will look in 3D or IMAX, but my guess would be amazing.
Overall based on the as what people would expect, does this film achieve it? HELL YES!!!! People need to realize, at the end of the day, it's a monster movie, and a damn good one. It's not going to have political drama or shootouts with the police, it has military fighting the monsters and giant ass monsters going toe to toe in some of the most exciting fights in movie history, Godzilla fans will not be disappointed, they will love it as much as I did, I had high hopes for this movie and it surpassed them, this movie in my opinion, might become my favorite movie of all time, I didn't stop enjoying it for one moment because by the end, it had everything I wanted in it.
Godzilla gets a
10/10
You might think I judged it as a fan and it's unfair, ya maybe I did, but I can't get over this movie, it was everything I wanted in a Godzilla movie and the King has a mighty return, everyone can enjoy this movie, sit back and relax and just enjoy the film, even my friends who arn't Godzilla fans enjoyed this movie, but most people on this site look into movies to much to actually enjoy them anyway. oh well. This has been the best movie I have seen in a long time. Go see this as soon as you can. The king is back!!! And it feels good!!
Thank you as much as always and tune in next week for another review as I look at what might be the cure for a franchise that has had more continuity errors than any other frnachise in history.