{"id":14425,"date":"2014-05-13T10:27:31","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T17:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgp.ykq.mybluehost.me\/cinephiled\/?p=14425"},"modified":"2014-05-13T14:08:34","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T21:08:34","slug":"review-godzilla-redux-serves-monstrous-action-human-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinephiled.com\/review-godzilla-redux-serves-monstrous-action-human-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u2018Godzilla\u2019 Redux Serves Up Monstrous Action, Human Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

While it remakes the original Godzilla<\/em> film (the mid-’50s classic\u00a0King of the Monsters!<\/em>) to a certain degree, the more obvious comparison for the new Godzilla<\/em> is to Pacific Rim<\/em>, last year\u2019s science-fiction\/action-thriller that also featured giant-sized monsters fighting their way through the homes and cities of large human populations.<\/p>\n

But the two movies actually couldn\u2019t be more different, at least in terms of their approach to that material. The latter treated it in cheeky, somewhat cartoonish fashion, with ridiculous characters and situations that served strictly as place holders to showcase in between the action set pieces, and it possibly suffered for that decision. (While it had its enjoyable moments and it still has its share of very loyal adherents, Pacific Rim<\/em> wasn\u2019t exactly a box-office blockbuster.)<\/p>\n

Godzilla<\/em>, on the other hand, treats the material in considerably more serious fashion. Like Monsters<\/em>, the 2010 breakthrough film from its director, Gareth Edwards, it creates more flesh-and-blood characters and then, when it dispatches them, there\u2019s a real feeling of loss. It\u2019s not only diametrically opposed to Pacific Rim<\/em> in that regard, it\u2019s also the antithesis of recent, \u201caction-porn\u201d hits like last year\u2019s Man of Steel<\/em>, which had less emotion and depth of character than your average video game.<\/p>\n

And in doing so, this science-fiction thriller just might be too smart for its own good. It doesn\u2019t really give us a full look at the title \u201ccharacter\u201d for more than an hour, and the concentration is largely on the actual, flesh-and-blood cast. Also, the film is not without its silly, credibility-straining sequences. But, given the premise, you shouldn\u2019t exactly expect it to be as smart as, say, Inception or its like.<\/p>\n

As explained by Evans and screenwriter Max Borenstein (through their human character creations), the title creature apparently belonged to supposedly long-extinct animal species that roamed the Earth in its earlier, more radioactive state. Nuclear testing awakened this \u201calpha predator,\u201d which has remained mostly out of sight since then.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, those tests also awakened gigantic, insect-like parasites that emerge in 1999-era Asia, first setting off earthquakes near a Filipino mine and then destroying a nuclear power plant in Japan. While that information has been kept from public knowledge, it\u2019s been uncovered by an American engineer, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), Having lost his wife, Sandra (Juliette Binoche), in the resulting meltdown, Joe is still consumed with rage and guilt more than a decade later.<\/p>\n

Cut to the present day. The couple\u2019s son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), is now grown, and is employed as a member of the U.S. Army\u2019s Explosive Ordinance Disarmament teams, and a family of his own (his wife, played by Elizabeth Olsen, is a nurse who takes care of their infant son while he\u2019s away).<\/p>\n

Currently on furlough, Ford would like to have some quiet family time. Instead, he\u2019s headed overseas to retrieve his estranged father, who\u2019s been arrested for trespassing (he claims he\u2019s trying to go to their former home to retrieve photos and other family heirlooms). Having sneaked into the supposedly irradiated ground zero, both Brodys are there to witness the first of the \u201cM.U.T.O\u201d (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) <\/em>parasites start its destructive rampage.<\/p>\n

It turn out the M.U.T.O. is a male, and is seeking out nuclear \u201cfood\u201d with which to help its recently surfaced female partner, and possible begin breeding. The combined might of the U.S. Army and Navy prove insufficient to stop them the duo. And the Earth\u2019s last best, chance may lie with another giant creature, nicknamed \u201cGodzilla\u201d by a pair of scientists (Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins) who have helped keep the beasts\u2019 existence secret while still studying their unique physiology.<\/p>\n

Again, there are plot holes galore and some very convenient, contrived elements (most of them involved Taylor-Johnson\u2019s character). And the pace may prove a bit challenging to younger audiences, as the destruction and battle scenes comes in bursts, followed by sometimes involving human drama.<\/p>\n

Luckily,\u00a0Edwards again uses some of the creature designers he employed for Monsters<\/em>, and as a result, Godzilla and company look terrific and very unique. They also sound very menacing \u2013 the first time he \u201croars\u201d your ears will be ringing and your flesh will be adequately goose-pimpled.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the film\u2019s sound, it gets an especially effective score from Oscar-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat, who clearly references Bernard Herrmann here while still knowing when the film needs to stay quiet \u2013 to let the action \u201csing,\u201d so to speak.<\/p>\n

Edwards also gets some particularly good performances from the primary members of his cast. Breaking Bad’s<\/em> Cranston is very believable and sympathetic, even when he\u2019s being portrayed as being a bit of a crackpot. Taylor-Johnson, still muscled up from Kick-Ass 2<\/em>, is best in a sequence in which his character comforts and then saves a young boy endangered during the male M.U.T.O.\u2019s Hawaiian frenzy of destruction.<\/p>\n

(Character actor David Straithairn is also quite good as the U.S. Navy officer in charge of the monster-suppression operation. Watanabe and Hawkins are a bit neglected, as the clearly awed researchers.)<\/p>\n

Jeff Michael Vice can also be read reviewing comics and television for Big Shiny Robot! (<\/em>www.bigshinyrobot.com<\/a>), be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (<\/em>www.thegeekshowpodcast.com<\/a>), and be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity\u2019s Big Movie Mouth-Off (<\/em>www.facebook.com\/BigMovieMouthOff<\/em><\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While it remakes the original Godzilla film (the mid-’50s classic\u00a0King of the Monsters!) to a certain degree, the more obvious comparison for the new Godzilla is to Pacific Rim, last year\u2019s science-fiction\/action-thriller that also featured giant-sized monsters fighting their way through the homes and cities of large human populations. But the two movies actually couldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":14429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,16,99],"tags":[1852,8,9,1409,1851,1602,267,1853,306,76,270,230],"yoast_head":"\nReview: \u2018Godzilla\u2019 Redux Serves Up Monstrous Action, Human Drama - Cinephiled<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinephiled.com\/review-godzilla-redux-serves-monstrous-action-human-drama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: \u2018Godzilla\u2019 Redux Serves Up Monstrous Action, Human Drama - Cinephiled\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While it remakes the original Godzilla film (the mid-’50s classic\u00a0King of the Monsters!) to a certain degree, the more obvious comparison for the new Godzilla is to Pacific Rim, last year\u2019s science-fiction\/action-thriller that also featured giant-sized monsters fighting their way through the homes and cities of large human populations. 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