Godzilla

Though man has tried to understand - and in essence control - nature, there is still quite a bit that we cannot even begin to understand. However, all of our knowledge could not have prepared humanity for what was to come, a problem that began in 1954. You see, on a little island there were reported nuclear tests, but nobody realized the "tests" were actually trying to kill off something terrible; a force of nature which if left to its own devices, was feared to be detrimental to humanity. Unfortunately, those nuclear attacks only made the terror bigger and more dangerous.

Fast forward 50-plus years later, and a new threat has emerged. A Japanese nuclear plant is destroyed by what was thought to be a natural earthquake, forcing people to evacuate the area. It turns out that "earthquake" was caused by a terrible monster called a M.U.T.O. (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Object), and it just so happens that the M.U.T.O. feeds off of nuclear energy. Both the U.S. and Japanese governments try to contain and cover up the existence of the monster, but are eventually unable to do so. It isn't until they have exhausted all their options that they realize their only hope lies in the very force of nature they tried to kill off 50 years earlier.

That force of nature? A giant creature named Godzilla.

"The arrogance of man is that nature is in our control and not the other way around...Let them fight!" That sentence alone pretty much sums up Godzilla, especially those last three words. It took quite a bit of convincing from friends who saw it before I did to get me to break down and see it for myself. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by a great story or acting, and Godzilla for the most part met my expectations. The acting was almost completely wooden, what felt like a waste of talent. I was hoping that the star-studded cast, as well as the fight(s) between the monsters would help to elevate the film to at least a "good to see it in the theater at least once" kind of summer flick. Unfortunately, it couldn't even do that for me. Not even the final fight between Godzilla and the M.U.T.O. made it something I would want to see again (though I will admit it was an epic scene to witness). The only things I could say that are positive are - Gareth Edwards did do a good job of not showing Godzilla right from the start, instead only showing flashes of him until near the end. It kind of reminded me of old monster movies that have done the same thing. A few years ago, a reboot of The Wolfman came out and tried the same technique, but that one failed in its attempts to be scary. As mentioned above, the fight scenes between the M.U.T.O. and Godzilla were pretty epic, and at the very least made it watchable.

Another thing I had trouble with was the cities Godzilla chose to destroy. I've been wondering lately why is it that Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City - or if it's overseas then it's most likely a place like Japan,  such as what happens in Godzilla - are the ones that get destroyed? Very rarely have I seen any other cities get destroyed by either a monster attack (Godzilla), alien attack (Independence Day) or a homicidal maniac (The Avengers, or action flicks such as the Die Hard series). For me personally, it's getting kind of old to see such massive destruction to the same cities every time. I would kind of like to see a smaller scale of destruction, and to different cities than the ones mentioned above. Don't get me wrong, I still love these types of films, but it's still getting a little old.

If you're looking for a good action/monster flick, this isn't the droid you're looking for. Personally, I would consider this the kind of film to rent on a rainy day or if you're bored and just want to pass a few hours. To be honest, if the news is true and there is going to be at least one sequel, I'm not really looking forward to it. Somehow I get the feeling I'm going to get roped into seeing it, but I highly doubt it'll be good if the first one is any evidence of what's to come. Although, I do hope I'm wrong.