He’s been stomping around pop-culture since 1954. While he may seem like just a giant lizard with atomic breath, Godzilla tells a story much closer to our own reality.
When the atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945, an entire culture was beyond devastated. Many survivors had to live out the rest of their days with the constant reminder of massive keloid scarring on their bodies. Though Japan recovered, it has never forgotten. Nor should we.
Emerging onto screen a few years after the bombing, Godzilla’s dark keloid-like skin is a reminder to the world that though Japan was horrifically scarred, it nonetheless rises. Godzilla was first introduced as just a monster rampaging around Japan (as the violence of the bombing was still fresh in the country’s mind).
But since then, the King of Monsters has shifted motives. He’s battled and saved us from threats of all kinds: many — like those in the newest installment — are the results of our own scientific arrogance.
He’s the classic, but inadvertant movie monster. He destroys lives in his wake, but ultimately, he — along with all the other rampaging monsters behind him — is the punishment mankind deserves for our nuclear crimes against each other. This latest Godzilla incarnation definitely lives up to its hype.
The last time Godzilla was adapted into Western cinemas was in 1998, awkwardly starring Matthew Broderick. It was done in an archetypical “monster movie” fashion, with the beast rampaging through New York. To sugar coat it: the movie didn’t do so well.
Now, director Gareth Edwards recreates Godzilla in his largest physical rendering yet, definitely stomping out the memory of its embarrassing predecessor.
Even though a full hour passes before the King of Monsters shows more than his spiked back protruding from the ocean, the wait is definitely worth it. Godzilla is magnificently re-interpreted. Standing an impressive 350 feet (with thighs that look like he pushed himself to the max on an elliptical), his look is strikingly faithful to the globally recognized Japanese design.
Put aside the mediocre story-telling, and just hear that iconic roar as if it were right outside the theatre. The scenes of giant monsters fighting are as eerily intriguing as witnessing unsettling footage on the evening news.
From the Philippines to Hawaii and Japan, then to Las Vegas, and ending in San Francisco, Edwards’ film is more global than the 1998 version, and it really resonates as a what if this really happened? kind of film.
The film is definitely a go-to summer movie (thus far) for stunning visuals. The first full body shot of Godzilla is sure to please your inner child. Don’t go for great storylines, however, as they unfortunately fall flat within the first hour after some emotional lypivotal events. Definitely go for the spectacular monster bashing, and Elizabeth Olsen’s surprisingly talented, but under-utilized acting skills.
