Godzilla (2014) on DVD

Godzilla (2014) 

[DVD Godzilla]

There’s a general rule of thumb among Godzilla fans that movie-makers should just let the Japanese movie studios make all the Godzilla films. This was especially true after the 1998 “reimagining” of the Godzilla mythology, starring Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno, directed by Roland Emmerich, which was pretty universally hated. It was therefore with some trepidation that I decided to watch the 2014 American-made Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards and featuring a large, mostly-American cast (including Bryan Cranston, fresh off his stint on Breaking Bad).

This version of Godzilla remains true to many of the standard Godzilla tropes, and the look of the creature is certainly an improvement over the the more lizard-like creature featured in the 1998 film. The special effects are tremendous in this film, as is the set design and especially the sound editing — Godzilla’s patented roar is back! The acting is fine — you don’t really expect top-notch acting performances in a giant monster movie — particularly Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ken Watanabe. But ultimately, the enjoyment of a Godzilla film comes down to how well Godzilla itself is done, and this version of the creature was done very well. That being said, my biggest complaint about this film is the limited amount of time Godzilla itself spends on screen. For a “giant monster” movie, I was hoping more of the action would actually feature the “giant monsters”, and not the humans who are reacting to them. Still, an improvement over the 1998 film, and a fun movie to watch. After seeing this, I’m happy to know that the producers of this particular version of Godzilla plan to do a trilogy of films (the others to appear in 2018 and 2020), the third of which will recreate Godzilla vs. King Kong.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try any of the classic Japanese Toho Studios Godzilla films — most available online!]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Facebook page for this Godzilla movie ]

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Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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