'Godzilla' is an Epic Beast of Filmmaking Mastery

Last time filmmakers outside of Toho attempted to make a Godzilla film, we ended up getting a dull, brainless and inappropriately titled "Godzilla" film where Godzilla didn't even look like Godzilla! In fact, that film was so bad that Toho tried to ease the audiences' pain in one of their films afterwards by claiming that the Godzilla from that film actually wasn't even the real Godzilla! While it may have seemed like there was no hope for any North American studios to pull off a film featuring the king of monsters, I have to say that this one pulled it off perfectly. Godzilla is an epic and fun film with a great story, beautiful visuals and excellent directing.

Godzilla is a film that is all about build up. They build up to the third act where you see Godzilla really doing what he does best. Before the third act, there are some rather brief glimpses and a few minutes here and there of Godzilla destroying everything in sight, but this build up is what I feel makes the third act all the more rewarding and exhilarating. The fact that you wait for the final battle is what makes it so much more amazing, and when it happens, holy crap is it epic! Also, since they're reintroducing Godzilla, the build up needs to be huge to make his return as amazing as possible.

The central plot revolves around the human characters. While many critics and audiences would shudder at the idea of there being a story in a Godzilla film, I don't have a problem with it at all. What good is a movie without a good story? It can't just be Godzilla destroying stuff for 2 hours. There has to be a good story to tell, and this film has that good story, which is also quite heartfelt. It also makes the build up to the final act all the more suspenseful which only adds to the epicness of that final act. The story also does just enough to hold your interest throughout the film, with great characters and, for those who need their Godzilla fix before the final act, shots of him destroying stuff scattered throughout the film.

At this point I would like to point out that there are some possible spoilers here, so if you haven't seen the film and you want to keep away from spoilers, I will let you know when the review will go back to being spoiler free.

Anyways, there are monsters that Godzilla needs to fight in this film. At the beginning, he comes off as a bad guy, but I found it so amazing to see how he grew to be so much more sympathetic to the point where he actually saves people. There was this one shot by the end of the film where he walks back to the water after he defeats the monsters, and while he's walking, he actually dodges a building that is in his way rather than destroying it. It was a very subtle detail, but it shows how much Godzilla has developed by the end of the film and that was a shot that really resonated with me. Many of the Godzilla films depicted him as a good guy and had him fight off monsters to save Tokyo from destruction (almost all of the films do this, in fact), but here, he develops in such a subtle way and it feels so natural because of it.

I think the monsters in the film are great. The designs are really cool, but I'm a little surprised that they created new monsters, rather than bringing back monsters from previous films. I still think these monsters were awesome, though.

There are also a few of those lovely monster film clichés that actually work kind of well in this film. For example, there's that scene where everyone huddles around a projector and describes what is going on, which happens very often in this kind of movie. I'd be lying if I said that it didn't make me think "what a cliché," though. I didn't really mind it and it certainly didn't make me cringe, but that scene did kind of have a clichéd feel to it.

From this point for the rest of the review, there will not be any spoilers so there is nothing to worry about here!

The visuals in the film are amazing. Godzilla actually looks like Godzilla, which should be a no-brainer, but after the Godzilla film from 1995, I feel like I need to point out that they didn't screw up the design in this film like they did in that film. Rather than needing to put someone in a huge bulky costume and using camera tricks to make it seem like Godzilla is massive, the design is done using CGI and actually is massive! Unlike the original film in 1954, which had to meet a very tight budget, you can see that the filmmakers had so much more freedom here, which definitely works to their advantage, because Godzilla, and the film as a whole, looks unbelievable!

The film is also beautifully directed. There were some shots in the film that made my jaw drop and the cinematography was remarkable. There were some really epic shots, especially when he is first shown and the camera pans up from the bottom to his head and he lets out his signature roar. There were a lot of shots like that, along with many other shots that look absolutely amazing. There were also a lot of scenes during the film, especially during the final act, that had me so excited and filled with adrenaline that I was pretty much freaking out (quietly) in my seat. It was a really intense film. Much like the 1954 original film, Godzilla takes itself seriously and is much darker in tone than many of the other Godzilla films.

Godzilla is an excellent and eventful return to the big screen for the king of monsters. The story is awesome, with likable characters and beautiful visuals and directing. It's a truly wonderful film that I would definitely watch again.

Film Grade: A