Word Of The Day

So I saw Godzilla on the weekend. For the most part, I enjoyed it. The military was portrayed fairly well, if ineffective against the monsters. Ken Watanabe is excellent as Doctor Ichiro Serizawa, and compared to most of the other characters, I was actually hoping he'd get more screen time.

Godzilla was personified just fine onscreen,reminicent of his portrayal in the Heisei series of the late 1980's and into the 1990's. Not necessarily a villain, but don't get in his way.

Ultimately, the movie felt like a big budget Hollywood remake of Gamara - Guardian of the Universe. The plot felt very familiar. Flying monster terrorizes the countryside, another monster appears from the sea for combat and the military is caught trying to figure out which one is the lesser of the two evils.

If anything, the one thing that irked me was the monster battles themselves. I get the concept of the slow burn, waiting for the money shot when the creatures finally appear on screen. And there were more than a few times when I kept expecting that money shot. But just as the monsters are about to clash, the camera cuts to the humans somewhere else.

It reminds me of the film Cloverfield. When the monster appears, the guy holding the camera aims it everywhere except at the monster.

Still, when the climactic battle took place, it was a joy to behold, with carnage, monster action and atomic breath.