Taeng's Down-and-Dirty Review: GODZILLA 2014

 GODZILLA

I'm kinda lukewarm on the reboot of our favorite kaiju. Its different from the first 'boot' by Roland Emmerich, which it seemed was widely panned. I, for one, enjoyed the rollercoaster ride it took me on (the 1998 movie) but I do see the point of the negative reactions, mainly to two facts: 1) The design kinda sucked. It made sense, given the history at the beginning of the movie but it still kinda stank 2) Godzilla was always on the run & hiding VS attacking and mashing foam buildings...and HE was a SHE.
Anyway, the reboot is WAAAY more serious in tone. Gone are the funny characters and the close calls they get into. No high-speed chases and no targeting New York, for once (although our beloved Waikiki gets trashed). This monster movie takes itself VERY seriously. If you smiled at any time during this movie, it was UNINTENTIONAL.
This seriousness can be good and bad. Good because there is finally a Godzilla movie that isn't as hokey as all previous efforts (even the Japanese ones where its OBVIOUS there's a man in a suit). But then again the "hokey-ness" had its charms.
Its a bad thing because, well, there are no jokes and no real levity. Dark is what it is..or maybe a shade or two of gray.

THIS MOVIE IS SO DARK, I HAD TO USE MY FLASHLIGHT..

Add to that is the fact that I only liked ONE character in the movie: Bryan Cranston's Joe Brody. I was rooting for him, feeling for his loss and his determination to find out the truth. But the for 2/3 of the movie its his son, Ford, who is supposed to take the lead. But you know what? So little of his story as a young boy is revealed that I really had no feelings for him. He suffered the same loss as his father and they showed his reaction to this loss...but with Ford we pass over that by fast-forwarding 15 years so that now he's a grown man. Add to that he's pretty stone-faced all the time..we don't even see him cry when he supposed to. Maybe its the army training he had...who knows? But to me it made him robotic...I couldn't get behind him like I did his father.

Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody. Dude I was SOOO rooting for you!

But I wasn't rooting for your son! How sad!

As for the Big G himself, the design is much better this time around and the way they weaved him into the old film footage was a nice touch. And the story about what they were actually doing with those nukes...genius. Adding more monsters was also a nice touch and the grand scale in which we see the kaiju's wake of destruction was cool. The fights themselves seems a bit clumsy and dark (alot of the fights were during the night) but the final jawbreaker move was great.
Yet I am still lukewarm at this reboot because it seemed off-balance emotionally and not quite satisfying when it came to the monster fights.
Bottom line: This is monster movie that takes itself very seriously. For some its a welcome surprise (critic love this movie) but for me it wasn't as thrilling as I'd wanted it to be. I was waiting for something that would make me go "WHOOOOAAA". It never happened.
Not that I could do a better job, mind you. Director Gareth Edwards does a good job...its the characters, both big and small, that I have a problem with.
Would I buy it on blu?  Well, "lukewarm" means it could be yes or no. I really have no idea.