Godzilla – Really, Really Cool…and the literal definition of Cocktease

I’m just back from watching this movie. Although my head hurt due to dehydration, the movie kept me hooked completely.

 

Now, long before its release, it seemed, at least to me, that the trailers were telling us that this was basically going to be a horror movie with action undertones. This didn’t seem to be the case  -much to my disappointment, might I add- but the movie was strong on its own.

The highlights of this movie are performances by Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Strathairn, Binoche, along with the ambientation and the production as a whole. The music is perfectly fitting for this movie, and the sound is so well done it sometimes outdoes the already-excellent visuals of the film.

My one gripe with this movie, however, is how they were trying to force us to like and care for two otherwise useless and pointless characters in the movie: the wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and the kid. There was absolutely no point for them to be in this movie.

On the other hand, Bryan Cranston’s character is the most enjoyable and sympathetic character in the movie, while Dr. Serizawa, played by Ken Watanabe, has an air of the “old wise sage”, but with modern SCIENCE.

Another slight complaint I’d have, perhaps, is how they handled certai encounters between the featured monsters: for instance, in one of the encounters between Godzilla and MUTO, the two monsters are facing each other akin to the duelists of the Wild West, slowly stepping towards each other, Godzilla roaring, MUTO screaching. And then, all of the sudden, it cuts to the stupid little kid watching news footage of the fight.

And this isn’t the only time it happens.

However, the true battle -the final battle- of this move…completely makes up for the cocktease some of the previous ones were. They were glorious, well choreographed, well ambientated, well visualized. There’s also enough fanservice for fans of the original Japanese movies, and they might even catch some (possible, mind you) references to a few of those movies.

Overall this movie is a great experience, even for someone who isn’t big into Godzilla, or Kaiju, movies in general. I seriously recommend it to anyone who wants to have a great time.

• cinema
• cocktease
• gareth edwards
• godzilla
• gojira
• japan
• japanese
• kaiju
• movies