Godzilla

Godzilla returns in an installment that’s certainly better than Roland Emmerich’s disastrous 1998 effort, with the movie’s relatively subdued vibe ensuring that the film, at the outset, stands in sharp contrast to most contemporary blockbusters (which are, with few exceptions, overblown and oppressively frenetic). There’s little doubt, then, that Godzilla fares best in its opening stretch, as filmmaker Gareth Edwards, working from Max Borenstein’s script, does a superb job of immediately luring the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings – with the watchable atmosphere heightened by an unexpectedly enthralling early sequence involving a nuclear meltdown at a Japan-based facility. (It doesn’t hurt, of course, that this interlude features superb performances from Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche.) The movie does, however, begin to lose its grip on the viewer almost immediately after that stellar first act, as Edwards proves hopelessly unable to offer up a single interesting or compelling character – with the proceedings suffused with figures of an impossibly bland nature. (This is especially true of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s flat turn as the film’s one-dimensional protagonist, although reliable performers like Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, and Sally Hawkens are also left with exceedingly little to do.) It’s worth noting, too, that Edwards’ less-is-more sensibilities result in a handful of frustratingly unrealized sequences, with the most obvious example of this the title creature’s attack on Las Vegas (ie the viewer is primed for an exciting Sin City-based attack and rewarded with a few snippets and a shot of the post-rampage destruction). Godzilla‘s saving grace are a few last-minute battles that fare surprisingly well, particularly when compared to the usual CGI-infused moments that pop up in films of this ilk (ie even though it’s like watching a video game, here it is, at least, like watching an exciting video game) – which, when coupled with Edwards’ almost incongruously low-key directorial style, manages to just barely push the movie above its flashy, ADHD-inspired brethren.

**1/2 out of ****