100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 63: Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards

Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure

Runtime: 123 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Elisabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Straitharn, Richard T. Jones

Description: The world's most famous monster is pitted against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

Review: The Japanese movie monster is already sixty-years old. His debut in 1954 is one of the highlights in cinema history. In 1998 the Americans made a movie about this beast, but it wasn’t very memorable. A reboot was very welcome.

Director Gareth Edwards made such an impression with his low-budget “Monsters”, that they trusted him with this task as well. By adding names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche to the castlist, the expectations were high. But in a movie called “Godzilla” there is only one star.

While a gigantic fossil is found in the Philippines, a nuclear reactor in Japan is damaged by unknown causes. This leads to a disaster for scientist Joe Brody and his family. Fifteen years later Joe is still trying to explain the happening and asks his son Ford for help. What they discover next is unexpected.

After an engrossing opening, where Bryan Cranston steals the show, director Gareth Edwards intentionally stalls the big entrance of the main star. It’s a risky strategy, but totally worth the wait. When we finally get to see Godzilla, it’s just jawdropping. This is definitely a movie that you experience better and to the fullest while watching it on the big screen. The climax and final fight scene is the absolute highlight of the film. I almost started clapping, that’s how amazed I was. I also liked the role they gave Godzilla in the film, as the protector of mankind. That’s how you can see Edwards is a fan of the original. He stays very close to that story.

“Godzilla” is a treat and finally gets the movie it deserves. Everything shows that Edwards made this movie with a lot of love for the original. I absolutely loved this movie!

Rating: 4,5 / 5