GODZILLA 2014 (Review)

Godzilla (2014)

Director: Gareth Edwards

RATING: 3.5 / 5

After a 10-year absence, the King of the Monsters has returned -- with a vengeance! 

After its first week of release, Gareth Edwards's monstrous re-imagining of Japan's most famous monster is smashing its way through the box office to the tune of a $196 million worldwide opening weekend. Western audiences are obviously coming out in droves to support Godzilla's big-budget return to the big screen, but really how faithful is Edwards's take on Godzilla? And can it hold a nuclear flame to the other installments in the monster's 60-year career?

The short answer is a complicated one. I have never seen a Godzilla movie that I so thoroughly enjoyed while my butt was in the theater that I then so profoundly disagreed with while leaving the theatre. Talk about cognitive dissonance! This review is an attempt to bridge my enthusiasm with my disappointment. I guess I could say that I loved Godzilla the same way I love films like Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Gigan, and Godzilla vs. Megalon. They're all really fun and light B-movies, but they do not feature my preferred representation of Godzilla.

 SPOILERS from this point on.

Godzilla travels to the US to try out for the San Francisco Giants.

GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 30

GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004)

Go big or go home. 

That must have been director Ryuhei Kitamura's mantra when he signed on to direct the final film in the Millennium Series and, until this year, the last Godzilla film to be released in a decade. Featuring a record-holding 14 different monsters, nonstop John Woo / The Matrix-inspired action sequences, and a slate of classic Godzilla actor cameos, Godzilla: Final Wars is one of the most divisive films in the franchise. Released for Godzilla's 50th Anniversary, it may not have been the perfect Godzilla film so many fans were hoping for, but it's still one of the most fun and exciting films to bear the name "Godzilla."

TOKYO S.O.S. (2003): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 29

TOKYO S.O.S. (2003)

Let's not bury the lead here. Tokyo S.O.S. is the absolute best that that the Millennium Series has to offer. Godzilla movies are a tricky recipe to mix -- you have to perfectly balance the human story with the monster-driven special effects -- but Tokyo S.O.S. gets it right and serves up a mouth-watering spectacle of monster mayhem. It's not only a direct sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla but also a defacto sequel to the original 1961 Mothra as well. Blending new and classic Toho kaiju mythology with a perfect blend of CGI and practical effects, Tokyo S.O.S. is sure to please new and old Godzilla fans alike.

GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 28

GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002)

Mechagodzilla gets a much-needed upgrade for the new Millennium in a brand new story continuity that, oddly enough, is also a direct sequel to Toho's classic monster movies Gojira (1954), Mothra (1961) War of the Gargantuas (1966), and Space Amoeba (1970).

GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (2001): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 27

GODZILLA, MOTHRA, & KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (2001)

It's a monster movie so big and so crazy they can't even fit all the monsters in the title! Following the previous year's disappointing returns on Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Toho decided to go back to the monster vault and bring back not one - not two - but three of its classic monsters to battle Godzilla, but this time Godzilla's not the hero. In fact, he's your worst nightmare.

GODZILLA vs. MEGAGUIRUS (2000): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 26

GODZILLA vs. MEGAGUIRUS (2000)

Godzilla's had problems with moths before, but this time around he has another infestation to deal with. The King of the Monsters must contend with a swarm of giant prehistoric dragonflies that want to drain his energy. At the same time, those pesky humans are trying to blast his ass into an artificial black hole. It's all in the life of a Godzilla as documented in this so-so second installment of the Millennium series.

GODZILLA 2000 (1999): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 25

GODZILLA 2000 (1999)

aka. Godzilla 2000: Millennium 

Disappointed and offended by the indignity their most iconic character faced in America at the hands of director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin the year prior, Toho quickly brought Godzilla out of retirement with a badass new look for a brand new series. In December of 1999, Toho ushered in a new millennium with GODZILLA 2000.