Movie Breakdown: Godzilla

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing lead us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Godzilla finally makes his way back onto the big screen.

The Reality:

There’s good news and bad news with Gareth Edwards’ wonderfully paced and well made Godzilla.  The main bit of bad news is that if you’re looking for Pacific Rim-like mayhem, the film is probably going to disappoint you.  Yes, there’s massive monsters that duke it out and there’s plenty of cities and whatnot that get annihilated along the way, but the movie is far from being just an all-out action fest.

Now for me, the fact that Godzilla pulls a few punches is actually where the main slab of good news comes crashing in.  I liked that the film isn’t just battle after battle and is instead explicitly shown through its various characters’ eyes.  It makes the monsters bigger and scarier.  After all, much like the Toho entries, the film is completely driven by fear.  Only now it’s no longer nuclear fallout that is the main cause of concern, it’s sweet ol’ Mother Nature and what, if anything, mankind will be able to do the day she turns on us.

As long as you’re okay with the fact that monster madness is just a portion of what Godzilla offers, then it’s a film you should see immediately.

The Lesson:

Gareth Edwards gets Godzilla.