Monday, September 10, 2018

Movie review: Godzilla (2014)

 
 Janjira, a Japanese nuclear power station, is destroyed by mysterious forces in 1999. Now decades later, a father and son team trying to understand how their wife and mother died in the accident realize the government has been keeping a big secret even they do not understand.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Ford), CJ Adams (Young Ford), Ken Watanabe (Dr. Serizawa), Bryan Cranston (Joe), Elizabeth Olsen (Elle), Carson Bolde (Sam), Sally Hawkins (Vivienne), Juliette Binoche (Sandra), David Strathairn (Stenz), Richard Jones (Hampton), Victor Rasuk (Morales).

Godzilla (2014) begins nicely by rolling out character introductions and plot setup simultaneously. The plot quickly finds solid depth before stepping back and letting focus shift to the action. Years after a Japanese nuclear power plant is mysteriously destroyed, while Joe and son Ford search for answers, they find the government has been experimenting on the cause without realizing it was a live creature which is now calling another creature from slumber. Sensing the danger, Godzilla rises and the military quickly realizes he is trying to protect humanity. The rest of the film is a nice action ride that does a great job of updating the original story while retaining the feel of the original film.

Acting was good with Taylor-Johnson and Cranston both delivering well. Watanabe fit his role nicely, while Strathairn, Jones, and Rasuk rounded things out with good depth. The remainder of the cast was enjoyable and interesting.

The real gem here was the CGI with which the film would have been difficult. Action scenes were solid with good creature designs and movement. Camera work, sets, and backgrounds accented the CGI nicely. Dialogue was good thought a bit more depth in a few scenes would have been nice. Sound and soundtrack are well done.

Overall Godzilla (2014) is a nicely done remake of the original that retains a lot of the feel of the original film. The storyline adds a bit of depth but again, retains much of the feel of the original. Godzilla fans and those who enjoy well done CGI should enjoy this one.

Released: 2014
Reviewed: 8.27.18
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Monsters

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

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