Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Aaron Taylor-Johnson | ... | Ford Brody | |
CJ Adams | ... | Young Ford | |
Ken Watanabe | ... | Dr. Ishiro Serizawa | |
Bryan Cranston | ... | Joe Brody | |
Elizabeth Olsen | ... | Elle Brody | |
Carson Bolde | ... | Sam Brody | |
Sally Hawkins | ... | Vivienne Graham | |
Juliette Binoche | ... | Sandra Brody | |
David Strathairn | ... | Admiral William Stenz | |
Richard T. Jones | ... | Captain Russell Hampton | |
Victor Rasuk | ... | Sergeant Tre Morales | |
Patrick Sabongui | ... | Lieutenant Commander Marcus Waltz | |
Jared Keeso | ... | Jump Master | |
Luc Roderique | ... | Bomb Tracker | |
James Pizzinato | ... | HALO Jumper |
In 1999, the Janjira nuclear plant was mysteriously destroyed with most hands lost including supervisor Joe Brody's colleague and wife, Sandra. Years later, Joe's son, Ford, a US Navy ordnance disposal officer, must go to Japan to help his estranged father who obsessively searches for the truth of the incident. In doing so, father and son discover the disaster's secret cause on the wreck's very grounds. This enables them to witness the reawakening of a terrible threat to all of Humanity, which is made all the worse with a second secret revival elsewhere. Against this cataclysm, the only hope for the world may be Godzilla, but the challenge for the King of the Monsters will be great even as Humanity struggles to understand the destructive ally they have. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
I really like this Godzilla movie. Granted it's not as good as the original 1954 version, Mothra vs Godzilla, the Heisei era flicks, or GMK but it's still good. The effects were amazing with everything conveying a strong sense of scale as all the monsters move slowly like larger than life forces. Also they made Godzilla a nigh- indestructible force of nature with his signature durability and atomic breath. Surprisingly the kaiju have lots of personality expressing moments of joy, love, despair, weariness, and wrath. In fact, I'm willing to look past the dull look of the MUTOs because they act like real animals and show so much emotion.
Yet as much as I enjoy the movie, there is the main downside everyone brings up: Godzilla doesn't show up enough. Granted there are lots of creature features that focus more on the humans like Jurassic Park, Aliens, Predator, and Jaws. However, those movies at least had characters that while neither the deepest or most complex, were at least likable and recognizable.
Here the main human characters are generic and lifeless. Aaron Taylor Johnson's performance as Ford is boring and lacks the stoic intensity of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Clint Eastwood. They could've made Ford have an angry grudge against Godzilla and the MUTOs that would clash with Sherizawa's respect for Godzilla. Ditto Elizabeth Olsen's Elle,she never seemed to show emotionally heartache or depressed concern for her patients or her family. Their bland characters would've had been so annoying had they not overshadowed Bryan Cranston's Joe and Ken Watanabe's Sherizawa.
If the creators are going to make another Godzilla flick, then they should either increase Godzilla's screen time or at the very least bring in better actors and create more memorable characters. That said,it's still a fun movie on its own merits and I'm looking forward to the sequel