The way that Godzilla was created is something that would need to be addressed for a 21st century audience. In 1954 it made sense to use atomic testing but in 2014 this wouldn't have worked so they came up with the idea that the atomic bombs weren't tests but intended to kill Godzilla. I liked the idea very much and thought it did something with what we knew about Godzilla's creation without making it seem silly.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is ok as Ford. This is probably one of his better performances but the character is at his most interesting when his dad Joe is in the story. After that he comes somewhat boring.
The trailer made it seem like Bryan Cranston was going to feature more in the film that he ultimately did. I know this was around the time Breaking Bad was on TV so they were probably cashing in on his fame but even now, it would have been nice to have more Cranston because he is such a good actor and his characters grief was a good driving force for that part of the story. Juliette Binoche was also someone that seemed destined for more screen time but her involvement was even briefer than Cranston's. Elizabeth Olsen was fine but was reduced to an almost cameo role being saddled with the kid which wasn't very interesting but I think she did her best.
I actually thought the supporting cast were rather good. Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe were really good and the best of the supporting actors as Vivienne Graham and Ishiro Serizawa respectively. It's always good to see David Strathairn in a film and cause the first thing I saw him in was the Bourne films, I always expect him to play a bad guy and being a military man didn't stop that expectation.
One of the main things that people didn't like was the fact that there isn't very much Godzilla in a Godzilla film which makes me think that they haven't seen many Toho Godzilla films. I think that the fact we don't see him for quite a long time is a good thing because it means that we build up to the epic Godzilla moments.
The score is by Alexandre Desplat and whilst it is good, it isnt his best but it does what it needs to do and there are some great moments that are helped by his score. The fights between Godzilla and the Muto are well done and I thought that the Muto design was really cool and in keeping with the style of the film.
I really like this film. This is the sort of Godzilla film that Hollywood should be making. It does a great job of making Godzilla seem like the monster that he is. It's not a perfect film but it starts off the Monsterverse very well and in retrospect is the best that Godzilla would be in these movies. The pacing is good enough although I think that the whole Ford trying to get back to his family is somewhat underwhelming and I don't think that it would have been done better by someone else.
Godzilla is a great film on its own but as the first part in a currently five part franchise (with the sixth coming out in 2027), it gets the franchise off to the best start.
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