Way back in 1998, a simpler time, director Roland Emmerich provided us with Godzilla (not the original, of course, but the version with which I’m sure most readers of this review are familiar). I say ‘a simpler time’ because, after seeing the movie twice, I feel as if Godzilla’s raw simplicity has almost been lost in the 2014 remake – shaped by the 21st century’s complex action movie demands . In the 1998 film, which I’m sure the majority of you remember watching, like me, as an awestruck child, Emmerich stuck to the basics: a gigantic, mutant lizard finds its way to Manhattan and tears shit apart. It was man vs monster (and baby monsters), in its purest form.
So, what’s so different this time around? The most prominent alteration made to the film is the character set. Yes, I understand that Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno probably didn’t fancy starring in a remake of a film they’ve already made 16 years later, but it’s not the actors I’m talking about. Godzilla, in 2014, is not the only giant, terrifying monster. Rather than man vs monster, the film now presents us with monsters vs man and Godzilla. The plot plays on the idea that some form of super-being is present on this earth for the sole purpose of balancing out the order of anything living, inserting two, completely original monsters into the world. As I’ve said (or perhaps moaned), this fucks with the 1998 Godzilla storyline well and truly, but is this necessarily a bad thing?
The idea of human beings not being the all-powerful, governing species on earth is certainly an interesting one and allows the film a certain element of ‘shit yeah, what if?’. As the film progresses we learn that we are at the bottom of the concerned food chain, with the two new monsters aiming to wipe us out, and Godzilla trying to wipe them out. The idea of Godzilla trying to kill something that’s trying to kill humans off pretty much teams us up with him, allowing us to support the big, scaly brute and even feel a bit teary when he gets latched onto by a giant spider/crab/bird/fuck knows.
Obviously, a film involving four hundred feet high fist fights in the middle of a densely populated area calls for some pretty special effects. They don’t disappoint. Godzilla, as always, stomps care-free through cities, crushing skyscrapers without giving a single fuck, blessing us with what almost looks like simply a very expensive set. The incorporation of the US military and Navy, to more of an extent than the 1998 film, brings the admittedly far-fetched storyline back down to earth nicely, and, of course, allows for some rather huge weapons which always gets a fat thumbs up.
The acting, and casting for that matter, seem to fit extremely well too. Bryan Cranston, although looking a bit weird to Breaking Bad viewers with a full head of hair, delivers as always. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who I’ll admit I’d never heard of before, fits the jarhead, world-saving protagonist nicely. And lastly, it seems director Gareth Edwards couldn’t bare to release the film without first including a Japanese character (Ken Watanabe) to utter the word Godzilla in its rightful accent, and bring back some nostalgic recollection of an elderly woman, lying in her hospital bed in 1998, introducing us to the big guy’s name.
In summary, the 2014 film is not really a remake of that film we all remember so dearly. It is, however, an excellent watch which provides viewers with beginning-to-end action, not one but three havoc-wreaking monsters, an excellent cast and Godzilla’s bad ass new power (I won’t spoil it).
Watch the trailer below:
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