Seismic activity caused by some creature brings down the Janjira nuclear plant. Plant supervisor Joe Brody’s wife Sandra loses her life in the carnage while he along with his son escape the ordeal. 15 years on, the whole area is kept under quarantine but Joe who senses a cover-up keeps investigating. During one such search when he is joined by his son Ford, he gets captured by security within the quarantined zone and there he discovers the massive cover-up both literally and figuratively.
Language:
English
Running Time:
123 min
Rating:
PG-13
Release date:
16 May 2014
Directed by:
Gareth Edwards
Produced by:
Thomas Tull
Jon Jashni
Mary Parent
Brian Rogers
Written by:
Max Borenstein
David Callaham
Starring:
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Ken Watanabe
Elizabeth Olsen
Juliette Binoche
Sally Hawkins
Based on:
Godzilla by Toho
Music by:
Alexandre Desplat
Shot by:
Seamus McGarvey
Editing by:
Bob Ducsay
Distributed by:
Warner Bros. Pictures

What’s Hot

  • Bryan Cranston (of ‘Breaking Bad’ fame) as Joe Brody is majestic and he lights up the first half with a brilliant performance. His sequences with his wife Sandra, a cameo role from the enchanting Juliette Binoche, are heart-wrenching. His relentless quest to get to the bottom of the cover-up is well captured.
  • Ken Watanabe plays the role of the scientist, Ishiro Serizawa who is in charge of studying the unidentified creatures and he delivers in a very well scripted role. Other supporting characters such as Elizabeth Olsen & Sally Hawkins have done adequately.
  • The VFX work behind the unidentified creatures and of course Godzilla are mind-blowing. The very look of them brings out the shrieks from the younger audience. The disaster sequences also look very authentic on screen.
  • The excellent first half where the creatures are linked with the seismic activity, radioactive material and nuclear tests show the marvelous creativity of the writers, David Callaham & Max Borenstein. The original score by Alexandre Desplat, dominated by drums and violin, plays a major part in sustaining the viewer interest.

What’s Not

  • Until the creatures are revealed, the film moves like a thriller and is really riveting but the pace in the second half really nose dives in spite of some well-written sequences highlighting the intelligence of the creatures. In trying to create an eerie atmosphere, the creatures’ fighting happens in dim-light on most of the occasions and this is a downer.
  • Unlike the previous Godzilla films, here the protagonist, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ford, looks lost on most of the occasions and is unable to hold the viewers’ attention. Basically it looks like all the humans are placed just to shriek and scram. This brings the film down.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

The 2014 version of Godzilla does possess an intelligent first half as it delves into nuclear tests and radioactive waste, but the predictable second half drags the movie down and it ends meekly.