Because Godzilla

RAWR! My thoughts and ratings after The Great 2013 Godzilla Movie Festival.

Showa Series: Main antagonists are King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla. Mothra and Rodan also had their own movies. Godzilla evolves to more light-hearted movies and a playful antihero.

Gojira (Godzilla) [1954] 4 stars – The effects are a bit crude, even by the standards of the time, but the black and white film and variety of angles are put together well to create the sense of a terrifying new monster on a rampage. Crude or not, the movie started it all and spawned one of my favorite franchises from my childhood that I still enjoy today.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters [1956] 3 stars – Dubbing the original footage from the 1954 movie and splicing in new footage with actor Raymond Burr, it tells the essentially the same story but from the perspective of an American journalist wounded by the rampaging Godzilla during a stopover in Tokyo.   I prefer the flow of the original movie, subtitles and all, but this is a classic and a must-watch as well.

Godzilla Raids Again [1955] 3 stars – Anguirus. The first of what would become many Godzilla sequels and introduces a second creature, Anguirus, and the traditional monster vs monster action. The American version was originally released as “Gigantis, the Fire Monster” and made several changes to the movie including renaming Godzilla as Gigantis, adding stock footage while cutting other scenes and some nonsensical lines including George Takei’s infamous “banana oil” line. This version is fine, but not as good as the Japanese original. The fight between the two monsters is pretty good and Anguirus is one of the best four-legged creatures. The story is good but in some ways the human characters seem separate from the actions of Godzilla and a couple times the action gets going but is then stalled.

King Kong vs. Godzilla [1962] 2.5 stars – King Kong, Giant Octopus. Marks many first for the franchise: the first filmed in color, in Tohoscope, and the first movie with a lighter tone designed to appeal to a younger audience. While I very much appreciate the message and seriousness that made the first movies superior films, this change in tone provides some humor and silliness that I have come to enjoy and expect in my Godzilla flicks; you have to chuckle a bit when the two great monsters toss a boulder atop of Mt Fuji like it was a beach ball. The silliest part is when the JSDF decides to lift King Kong via giant balloons and dump him where he can battle Godzilla. The US version uses a tactic similar to the US remake of the original, inserting footage of a newscaster from the UN Headquarters to report on the action. Stock footage was added, some scenes cut. I prefer the Japanese dubbed version but it can be hard to find.

Mothra vs. Godzilla [1964] 3 stars – Mothra. Mothra is a rather elegant kaiju, a champion for peace and harmony but, when she needs to fight for the good of man or to protect her eggs, she can fly at mach 3, create hurricane winds with her wings and can release a poisonous powder as a last resort. It is kind of hard to believe that this creature can go mano-a-mano with Godzilla but she does, even in her larva state with her signature moves of sucking on his tail or coating him with what must be mighty powerful silly string stuff. This movie is one of the better early sequels to the original movie, it is a bit uneven in pacing but picks up in the second half with some great monster battles. The special effects are pretty decent for the time but Mothra’s island is a bit off. I would probably like this movie more without the Shobijin Mothra song that kinda drives me nuts.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster [1964] 2.5 stars – King Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan. Poor Japan, Godzilla is back, Rodan has emerged from the lava, there is some in-danger Princess claiming to be a Martian and now a giant meteor turns out to be Ghidorah. With all three monsters stomping about, what can they do? Go to the Shobijin and ask them to get goodie-goodie Mothra to help, of course. So Mothra interrupts an epic game of boulder catch and reasons with the earth monsters, eventually convincing them to help, after all, there is nothing like a giant, three-headed monster to unite others to a common purpose. This is movie has some bad acting and plenty of flaws, but the monster sequences make up for it, especially Mothra riding Rodan. The movie is quite influential in the Godzilla series, it introduces one of Godzilla’s greatest foes, presents the first multi-monster brawl, begins the humanization of Godzilla and Rodan and introduces an alien influence that will become more popular in future movies. My favorite line is the Shobijin comment, “Godzilla! What terrible language!” Sadly, there is no translation for what it said. The movie is campy but a good lesson on cooperation.

Invasion of Astro-Monster (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero) [1965] 3 stars – King Ghidorah, Rodan, Planet X. Unlike the original movie with the terrifying monster, here Godzilla is more of a protector and fun loving creature at times dancing a jig and doing fancy footwork while boxing. It is pretty impressive how much personality can be conveyed through a rubber suit. While the movie is fun and kitschy, there just is not enough Godzilla or Rodan or even King Ghidorah

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster) [1966] 2.5 stars – Ebirah, Mothra, Giant Condor. Godzilla doesn’t really show up until half way through the movie and then has a vigorous game of boulder baseball with Ebirah which was fun but then he suddenly moons over the lovely native chick for a bit which seems very out of character for the monster. There is a random giant condor that shows up briefly with no explanation. Mothra finally gets into the action after his worshippers have been praying to him the whole movie and has a brief tussle with Godzilla even though they are meant to be allies now. Turns out the script was originally meant for King Kong so that explains some of his weirdness but it is a bit puzzling if you are familiar with these movies. Good in some areas, lacking in others and it left me wanting some lobster and more Godzilla

Son of Godzilla [1967] 3 stars – Kamacuras, Kumonga, Minilla. My earliest Godzilla movie memory is from “Son of Godzilla” where little Minilla is trying to be like his giant dad with the roaring and atomic ray but all he can produce is little smoke ring puffs. It is so cute and probably the reason this remains my favorite memory of the original Godzilla movies; I even have a couple Minilla collectibles to go with my Godzillas. As with many of the Godzilla franchise movies and classic monster flicks, the scientists cause the problem and here they are working on a weather-controlling system. When the testing goes bad, we get giant praying mantises, a Godzilla egg, Godzilla and a giant spider for good measure.

Destroy All Monsters [1968] 3 stars – Anguirus, Baragon, Gorosaurus, King Ghidorah, Kumonga, Manda, Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Varan and The Kilaaks. Set in the future, all of the earth monsters are confined on an island and supposedly happy when they suddenly disappear and begin attacking earth’s cities. United Nations Science Committee, with their incredibly versatile spaceship, Moonlight SY-3, discovers the alien Kilaaks have control of the monsters and plan to invade earth. The story has a few confusing moments, footage is repeated and some of the acting not so good but the monsters look good and have lots of personality and there are great special effects making the movie a fun watch.

All Monsters Attack (Godzilla’s Revenge) [1969] 2.5 stars – Gabara, Kamacuras, Minilla, (In Stock Footage: Gorosaurus, Kumonga, Anguirus, Ebirah, Manda, Giant Condor) This tells the story of a young kid being bullied, as well as pursued by bank robbers, using his fervent imagination to learn how to deal with bullies as young Minya learns how to deal with his own bully, Gabara. Godzilla uses early 70’s tough love to teach Minya how to toughen up and fight his own battles and demonstrates his fighting skills against the likes of Ebirah, Kamacuras, Kumonga, and a squad of jets. The movie utilizes stock footage and Minya is dubbed in a rather cartoonish voice that is silly.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster) [1971] 2.5 stars – Hedorah. This is one weird monster movie. Following little of the traditional/expected elements of the previous entries, save for the kid always wearing short shorts, this movie employs cartoons, hippies and a flying Godzilla to tell the pro-environment story with new monster Hedorah, an extraterrestrial kaiju that feeds on pollution. Godzilla is full on hero here and often smarter than his human allies as they work together to defeat the creature. I like the story, although I did get lost a few times and some of the onscreen references to death and destruction didn’t really match what we saw. The acting, pacing and most of the special effects work except the hippies throwing fire at the beast, the scale seems off. The music is bizarre at times and it is unexpected to have silence while the monsters are fighting. I can’t say this is a good movie as much as it is a welcome, but strange, change-up to the formula. I am lucky, I can enjoy a Godzilla movie whether it is campy or serious or even as avant-garde as this one but I am not sure everyone will feel the same.

Godzilla vs. Gigan [1972] 2.5 stars – Anguirus, Gigan, King Ghidorah, (In Stock Footage: Rodan, Gorosaurus, Kamacuras, Kumonga, Minilla, Mothra) This is one crazy movie! An out of work artist and his buds, including his karate expert, “hard bitch” girlfriend as he calls her, discover something is amiss at the proposed peace-themed park, World Children’s Land, with its “Godzilla Tower,” and eventually uncover another invasion plot, this time from the Nebula-M aliens. This leads to an epic tag-team battle of Godzilla and Anguirus, who actually TALK! in this movie, against Gigan and King Ghidorah. The battles are long and hard-fought but I often wondered why one creature just hung back watching instead of jumping in, I guess there were some agreed upon battle rules of which I was unaware. The movie has some humor and the reveal of the alien’s true form was amusing. My biggest issue with the film is the way the new director shot some of it from so far back that the creatures and Godzilla tower seemed puny. The music was mostly stock but it was pieced together well. Gigan is a formidable new adversary and King Ghidorah must be a mercenary, as he seems to work for any alien that asks.

Godzilla vs. Megalon [1973] 2 stars – Gigan, Jet Jaguar, Megalon, Anguirus (In Stock Footage: Rodan) Godzilla vs. Megalon is one of the worst of the Godzilla movies thereby making it the most fun to mock…as done superbly by the MST3K team. The story of the undersea civilization, Seatopia, using Jet Jaguar, a humanoid robot to seek revenge for the destruction to their environment, is never fully developed which creates a cast of shallow characters and a lot of repetitive action. Plenty of stock footage is used, the effects are not very good and the score adds little to the movie. The new kiaju, Jet Jaguar was created via a Toho contest and seems a rip off of Ultraman but with less personality; he reminds me of the Green Goblin in Spider-Man. I like the idea of a Henshin hero paired with Godzilla but this movie just feel slapped together will little care. Watch it for pure entertainment value and mockery practice…or watch the MST3K version and enjoy the laughs.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla [1974] 3 stars – Godzilla, Anguirus, King Caesar, Mechagodzilla (In Stock Footage: King Ghidorah) Overall, this is an entertaining Godzilla movie with a good story, some fun fights and a lot of stuff blowing up. There were some funny moments in the beginning with Mechagodzilla pretending to be Godzilla and happily crushing things; it was quite out of character for the real G and a nice fake out for the viewer. Mechagodzilla is an excellent new foe but King Caesar made me laugh, as I could not tell if he was fighting with or against Godzilla at times. The alien leader reminded me of a cross between a Bond villain and an ape from Planet of the Apes. The music was well done and even had some surprises, but the song to wake King Caesar was long and annoying. The special effects were quite good and the movie is well-paced. Oddly, there is no crowd in the movie; other than the actors in the film no one else seems to exist in Japan, which is too bad cuz they missed some good battles.

Terror of Mechagodzilla [1975] 3 stars – Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Titanosaurus (In Stock Footage: King Ghidorah, Manda, Rodan) My enjoyment of this movie depends on which version I am watching. The Henry Saperstein cut, running about 89 min, is my favorite with its “History of Godzilla” prologue, mostly uncut footage from the original and adequate dubbing. The 78 minute version is just not as good, cutting 6 minutes from the original that makes most of the story difficult to follow. This movie, the last of the Shōwa series, is a direct sequel to the previous year’s “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” and brings Titanosaurus to the mix to join with Mechagodzilla, some aliens, a cyborg and a crazy scientist to battle Godzilla. While there is not much monster action in the beginning, there are some awesome bits when the monsters finally do clash. I love the monster fights that resemble a classic wrestling match with some boxing and kicking tossed in for good measure…and of course stomping. The story is more adult that some of the earlier movies with a rather tragic female character taking the lead. Ishiro Honda directed the first Godzilla movie and here has some cool low-angle shots of the monsters and an awesome shot of Godzilla walking out to sea that I wish I had framed. Trivia, Akihiko Hirata who played Dr. Serizawa in the original returns as the mad scientist in this one.

Heisei Series: First movie made as a direct sequel to the original movie. More focus on origins and the morality of genetics. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah included first concrete birth story for Godzilla, featuring a Godzillasaurus that was mutated by radiation into Godzilla.

The Return of Godzilla (Godzilla 1985) 3 stars – Shockirus (Giant Sea Louse), The Super X. Coming nearly a decade after the final Showa series movie, “Terror of Mechagodzilla,” “The Return of Godzilla” is a franchise reboot returning Godzilla to an antagonist, eliminating all of the mythology after “Godzilla Raids Again” and marking the beginning of the Heisei series. In addition to the darker tone, this movie evokes the original movie with a strong anti-nuclear war message and scientists not bent on destroying the creature saying, “Godzilla is a warning and I’m just trying to send him back home”. The special effects are pretty good and the story cohesive while the pacing is a bit uneven and some of the acting is too melodramatic. As with the original, a US version heavily alters the movie and adds more characters including Raymond Burr who reprised his role from the first remake. Some editing choices were successful improvements and Burr was a nice touch but all of the military characters were cartoonish and brought down the movie.

Godzilla vs. Biollante [1989] 3 stars – Biollante, Miki Saegusa, The Super X II, Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria. I enjoyed the movie and appreciated the new story aspects and I also thought Godzilla looked really good in this film in close-up and in the too brief fight sequences. I have mixed feelings about Biollante, the first iteration with the rose head was just too odd for me that I had to laugh, the second was quite daunting but was not on screen enough and still seemed no match for Godzilla even being much larger. Some of the dialogue of the English dub and subtitles are hilarious, mostly unintentional, and the assassin character was trying hard to be an action star and failing miserably. The ending fell flat…as did Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah [1991] 3 stars – Dorat, Godzillasaurus, King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Miki Saegusa. After creating a new monster to tangle with Godzilla in “Godzilla vs Biollante,” Toho brings back one of his greatest foes, King Ghodorah, in this twisty time travel tale that provides an origin story for both of these creatures. A UFO arrives carrying people from the future, cleverly called the Futurians, who convince the Japanese leaders that, to save their country, they must travel back in time and snatch the dinosaur that will eventually be nuked and become Godzilla; of course they are not being completely truthful. Their shenanigans eventually lead to the introduction of Mecha-King Ghidorah who I think is Mecha-Fing Awesome. The story is pretty good but as usual the English dub version provided some truly laughable moments. The special effects work nicely and the monster battles are more believable than the human ones. The score in this movie is excellent. A highly enjoyable Godzilla movie.

Godzilla vs. Mothra (Godzilla & Mothra: The Battle for Earth) [1992] 2.5 stars – Battra, Mothra, Miki Saegusa. Actually the highest grossing Godzilla movie but I think the rushed production to capitalize on the success of “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah” is evident making this a okay but not great Godzilla flick. The movie begins with an obvious nod to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and continues by borrowing the plot of 1961’s “Mothra” and adding Godzilla, Battra and bickering a divorced couple forced to work together…I prefer the monster additions. I like the Mothra cocoon scene but not sure I buy all these extra powers it is suddenly sporting. Battra is pretty cool looking especially after sprouting wings. I am not really sure who is supposed to be the antagonist and why the monsters are even fighting other than it is what they are born to do and it gives an excuse to show the two moths flying with Godzilla in their clutches.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2 [1993] 2.5 stars – Baby Godzilla, Rodan, Fire Rodan, Mechagodzilla, Super Mechagodzilla, Miki Saegusa, Garuda. Having previously brought back other Showa creatures with success, this Heisei series movie reboots Mechagodzilla, Rodan and baby Godzilla. Instead of Mechagodzilla coming from aliens, here we have scientists creating it based on the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah and it seems Rodan and the baby gozillasaurus, annoyingly called “baby” all movie, were nest buddies so they have a strong psychic bond. The story is okay but a bit muddled at times and once again people do not leave the giant eggs on the remote island but take it to a populated area, begging to be stomped upon.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla [1994] 2.5 stars – Mothra, Fairy Mothra, Little Godzilla, MOGUERA, SpaceGodzilla (In Stock Footage: Battra, Biollante) Kind of a mixed bag: The story is overly complicated, including a silly love story component and the pacing is uneven, as is the musical score, but there are some great monster battles and plenty of destruction to make this worth watching. SpaceGodzilla is a pretty cool looking monster having evolved in space from Godzilla cells, black holes and a bunch of space radiation but he is clearly the biggest jerk-face kaiju ever beating up poor little Godzilla for no apparent reason at all. Die jerk die. Teaming up with Godzilla to take it on is another classic Toho character, Moguera from The Mysterians. An uneven movie but there are some good battles and a must-watch if you intend to take in all the Heisei series and you want to see the baby godzillasaurus grow up to Junior in the next movie.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah [1995] 2.75 stars – Destoroyah, Godzilla Junior. A much more somber Godzilla movie than others with some rather sad and touching moments. The music gives it an almost operatic feel at times and the battle at the end has a finality appropriate for the conclusion of the Heisei series of movies. This movie ties directly to the original bringing back the Oxygen Destroyer which creates the mutated Destoroyahs, and even has a cameo from Momoko Kōchi as Emiko Yamane. It also continues the Heisei series with Megumi Odaka as Miki Saegusa, the JSDF/psychic with some pretty intense feelings for Junior, and Godzilla Junior who has grown from a baby to an adult Godzillasaurus throughout the series. This is a pretty good movie with a mostly cohesive story, good effects and a unique monster to add to the Godzilla enemy list. There is very little of the cheese factor of earlier movies which I actually miss, especially in the fights.

 

Godzilla[1998] 2.5 stars – I don’t hate it, can’t really say I like it though either. The acting, especially Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno and Hank Azaria is good and there are some nice special effects and a couple laughs (lots of inside jokes for the director) but the movie is bloated, like most Roland Emmerich films, and the story lacks soul. One of the themes of most Godzilla movies is that mankind has brought this monster on itself through our disregard for nature and the destruction caused by nuclear testing; there is contemplation and a reluctance to just outright destroy him. Here is it acknowledged that he is a new animal created by radiation but then that is quickly swept aside with orders of “fire!” It is hard for me to root against an animal not on a destructive rampage but just trying to lay some eggs and feed his young. Go Godzilla go, I say! As far as the creature itself, I get the desire to reinvent and make something new, but it didn’t excite me or scare me. The movie is okay, not a must-see Godzilla movie or a popcorn, action flick either.

Millennium Series: All films use the original as the starting point. There were three different timelines in the millennium series.

Godzilla 2000: Millennium (Godzilla 2000) [1999] 3 stars – Orga. The return of the Toho Godzilla movies after the US version in 1998, marks the beginning of the “Millennium Series” of the franchise. There are three organizations that come into play with their actions creating the non-monster story and the conflict of scientific study vs. military might. An alien ship is raised from the ocean’s depth and the aliens are after Godzilla’s DNA and the recent discovery of how it regenerates, and using this they create a squid like creature called Millennian which eventually mutates into a new monster, Orga. I found the story easy to follow, even if it had a few holes in it, but many of the characters lack development especially the head of the JSDF who became a caricature at the end. I liked the look of Godzilla and the movie has a fun nod to Jurassic Park when we get our first good glimps at it. Orga is a formidable beast plus there are some nice special effects as the monsters battle and throughout; the final confrontation was great. Not a perfect movie, but I still found it quite enjoyable. Side note: the US version has a much better pacing that the Japanese version and makes for a better movie.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus [2000] 2.5 stars – Meganulon, Meganula, Megaguirus. When will humans learn? First the experiments on a weapon that fires miniature black holes, called the Dimension Tide, opens a wormhole for a prehistoric dragonfly to wonder thorough and then we find out, despite being banned, there is a secret nuclear project going on that attracts Godzilla. Sorry humans, you were just asking for it. I really liked the new monster, first as the Meganula swarming Godzilla and then as Megaguirus and I thought the final battle was good and had some welcome humor.

Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack [2001] 3.5 stars – Baragon, King Ghidorah, Mothra, Varan Anguirus Uchujin Hamtaro. I really enjoyed this movie! As with all the Millennium series movies, this is a direct sequel to the original movie reviving Godzilla as a monster set on destroying Japan with three guardians, Mothra, King Ghidorah and Baragon joining efforts with Yuri and her Admiral father’s Japan Self-Defense Forces as they try to stop him. The movie is action packed with plenty of fights and destruction and there is some great dark humor tied to the destruction; while other movies made you wonder if people we squashed, here you know it happens. The story is cohesive balancing the human efforts with the monster action with just the right touch of humor and cheesiness.

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla [2002] 3 stars – Mechagodzilla, Absolute Zero System, Hamtaro. This entry into the Millennium Series of Godzilla movies is a direct sequel to the original movie, “Gojira” in the timeline of other films including “Mothra” and “War of the Gargantuas” and reboots Mechagodzilla as a protector built off the bones and DNA of the first Godzilla. To help separate this Mechagodzilla from the past, it is often referred to as Kiryu. The story is solid balancing the human story with the monsters and the movie is well paced with a strong score. There are some great special effects, notably the absolute zero weapon’s impact, and monster fight scenes especially the unexpected actions of Kiryu make for an even more entertaining movie. Both Godzilla and Kiryu were so well done I was not sure who to really root for and agreed with the little girl that they should be friends not enemies. I really need to get me one of those sweet Kiryu Squadron baseball caps!

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. [2003] 2.5 stars – Kamoebas, Mechagodzilla, Mothra, Gezora Ganimes Hamtaro. “Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” is a direct sequel to “Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla” and, while not as successful, it is still a fine entry into the series based mostly on the great special effects, score and the excellent monster battles. Joining Godzilla and Mechagodzilla in the foray is Mothra and her twin larvae; it always cracks me up when a Mothra larva latches onto Godzilla’s tail and goes for a ride. The plot of the movie serves to quickly set up the monster battles, while I normally would not complain having less humans and more monsters, it does make for an uneven film. The three monsters all look amazing especially Mothra from her introduction in the clouds, to her wing flapping to her final scene she looks better than I have seen in any movie. Each monster has moments to shine like the last movie they are portrayed with enough emotion you do not want to see any destroyed.

Godzilla: Final Wars [2004] 2.5 stars – Anguirus, Ebirah, Gigan, Hedorah, Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah, Kamacuras, King Caesar, Kumonga, Manda, Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Zilla, Hamtaro. “Godzilla: Final Wars” is the final movie in the Millennium series and the last movie before the American film, Godzilla (2014). This pseudo farewell movie brings back many actors from previous movies as well as the stable of Kaiju monsters along with an alien race called Xiliens bent on invasion. This is not a perfect Godzilla movie, the mutant soldiers of the Earth Defense Organization feel a bit too Power Ranger-ish and their supposed American leader looks like a thicker Russian Freddie Mercury. The story was a bit disjointed plus the various stock footage meant Godzilla was changing locations often and quickly. The fight scenes with the humans and aliens were cool but went on too long.
But, the monsters were awesome as always even if some appeared too briefly; even the mutated iguana in the first American Godzilla movie showed up. The newest addition, Monster X, was cool before and after he was revealed to be “Keizer Ghidorah” Worth watching for the monster bits.

 

Godzilla [2014] 4 stars – M.U.T.O. After years of anticipation, the new Godzilla movie finally hit the theater and I was one of the dorky people waiting for the doors to open for the first screening. I loved it. It was obvious the people making the movie are fans and it was fun to see my favorite monster updated.
The things I enjoyed most about the movie are the same I enjoy in all my franchise favorites, although there was a disappointing lack of jig dancing, the fights, destruction and a cohesive story. I always want more Godzilla, and this movie is no exception, but the anticipation of his arrival and first roar probably enhanced the moment. Godzilla looked great and effectively conveyed an array of emotion; his roar and atomic breath were used perfectly.
The story was cohesive, well paced and included plenty of elements found in many of the previous movies including kids in peril, annoying love stories, clash of science and military sensibilities and main characters that are miraculously always in the middle of the action.
I prefer when Godzilla’s main antagonist is another monster; it allows him to be both terrifying and sympathetic simultaneously. The M.U.T.O. are a welcome addition to the kaiju club and have a strong story and distinctive look from past foes. They will not replace King Ghidorah as my favorite, but I was glad to see a new, fully realized creature and not a recycling of the past or a lame foe. The monster battles were awesome and I loved how some of them were revealed via background action and newscasts.
I had a few nits, I always do. While I enjoyed the M.U.T.O., I did not love their facial/eye design. Bryan Cranston’s wig was a bit wonky. Lead actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson bores me and seems interchangeable with many action actors of his generation; I hope he is more interesting as Quicksilver in the upcoming Avengers movie. While I liked the story, I wish Godzilla had a bit more to do in the beginning and that the M.U.T.O were not the sole cause of the early destruction; I don’t mind waiting for my movie monsters, I just want them to be the focus.
Overall, I am a huge fan of the movie and had a lot of fun watching it. The audience was really into it and there were many pockets of discussion all of the theater as people were analyzing it in depth. The only problem with seeing the movie first thing is I had to patiently wait for my few monster-movie friends to see it as well so we could compare thoughts. Looking forward to the sequel!