America's cultural relationship with Japan seems to have taken an interesting turn over the last decade. Anime has grown excessively popular from the early 90s onward, thanks in no small part to widely successful imports of franchise shows like Dragonball Z, Naruto and, of course, Pokemon. The novelty of Asian cuisine has also taken a small upturn in visibility, with items like panko bread crumbs, sushi and even Ramune become increasingly common in general food stores. But one of the newest phenomena to come from the East is GIANT MONSTER MADNESS! Most Americans know what Godzilla is, along with having perhaps a vague knowledge of Kaiju films in general, but recently this genre of film seems to be making its way into American produced cinema.
Fun for the whole Nuclear Family!
This doesn't count. This never happened.
Cloverfield. Pacific Rim. King Kong. Well, okay maybe that last one is already a well established American franchise that predates the Kaiju film phenomenon by 20 years, but it certainly fits the mold. Giant beast of unknown origin ends up in large city, becomes enraged and begins landscaping. Same with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The appeal to producers is obvious. Special Effects, Large-Scale Disasters, and Scary Monsters are all major audience draws, and Kaiju films combine all three into a nice, guaranteed money-making package. Plus, Pacific Rim had, like, Giant Robots and an Asian chick. Guaranteed money, son!
But how does the new Godzilla film hold up? Is it worth all the time, money, and leveled buildings to make this monument to a relative niche audience here in America? Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures says yes! But are they right? Let's look and see.
GODZILLA 2014 REVIEW
(warning: CONTAINS SPOILERS!)
The Originals
If we're going to look at the new Godzilla, we need to look at it's history. The original "Gojira" was released in 1954. This first film used the premise of a large, radioactive monster wrecking havoc on Tokyo as a metaphor for the devastation felt by Japan in the wake of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The power of this message was lost in subsequent films, with the franchise beginning the 'Monster vs. Monster' fighting scenario in the very next film, and later with Godzilla eventually becoming a champion of mankind, rather than one of the many beasts intent on destroying us. Much of the Showa period (and to a similar extent, the subsequent periods) is light-hearted and playful, with Godzilla defending humanity from raging monsters and keeping the destruction as a tertiary side effect rather than the main problem. Eventually Godzilla became considered more of a mascot or novelty rather than a serious threat, right up into the 2000s.
The American Film
we're only touching briefly on Roland Emmerich's 1998 Godzilla film, as it has been all but wiped completely from the fan base. Highlights are:
1. It changed the origin of Godzilla, making him essentially a mutated, radioactive iguana.
2. It rewrote him as demolishing New York instead of Tokyo.
3. It starred Matthew Broderick as the lead in an action-oriented film. (Nothing against him. Perfectly fine actor. Watch 'The Producers', you'll see what I mean.)
4. While a commercial success, it was unanimously panned by critics and audiences alike. The sequels were canned, and the studio produced a short-lived cartoon series instead.
Even the full-nude sex scene couldn't save it
The new film looks to wipe clean the mess left by Emmerich within the Kaiju genre fan base. Popular opinion seems to think it's been successful. And that belief certainly holds water. As a Kaiju film it's quite enjoyable. The monsters look great and behave destructively. The fighting is fantastic. The danger feels real and easily related to. Both the Japanese and Nuclear Bombing roots are respected and integrated well. The acting is well balanced, ranging from as-good-as-it-needs-to-be to top-tier performances. The movie is solidly constructed, directed, and has a clear beginning, middle and end.
But still with all this going for it, there's a lot it could benefit from as well. As much as it's a fun and well done film (and it is), I don't see it blowing any minds or becoming a cinema classic. Frankly, there's just not enough substance in it for us to latch on to. That may sound harsh for a film that's being so highly touted and fulfilling so many die-hard fans expectations (which it absolutely does). To better explain this, let's look at a few individual points more closely. Let's start with:
The Hero
The archetype of 'The Hero' is essential to any successful, classic film. It's through The Hero that we, the audience members, relate to the world in the movie we're watching. But what is a Hero? Well a hero can be anybody. A little girl. A dog. A soldier. But there are some things they must all have in common. First of all, they must be a decent yet realistically flawed individual. It's not necessary that this flaw be world-shattering, but it should be enough to keep the Hero from achieving some form of personal growth. At some point in the film, this flaw causes the Hero to undergo an experience which, upon completion, the Hero has learned to grow and address this flaw. It's usually best if this personal growth is an indirect result of the Hero's journey. Neo saves Morpheus from the Matrix and begins to believe in humanity. John McClane saves the hostages and learns to better appreciate the people in his life. Scott Pilgrim kills all the evil exes and learns to stop being afraid of real relationships. Such is the way of films we love and revisit, as they help us feel connected to ourselves and the human condition. But putting it plainly, there is no Hero in the new Godzilla. There is a central character we follow throughout the film, and see to the completion of it, but this man does not overcome a personal struggle at the end of the film. In fact, the one character flaw we see fixed occurs about 20 minutes into the movie, right at the beginning of the conflict. Our main man learns to forgive and make peace with his estranged father, who has died just moments before as a result of the MUTO Monster outbreak. He then spends the remaining length of the movie attempting to get home to his wife and young son, which is a perfectly noble goal. But it doesn't teach us, the viewer, an important truth, and that's what makes a good film an important film. Speaking of learning things, the next point we'll be looking at will be:
The Moral
The moral is closely tied to the central theme of the movie. Quite simply, the moral is the overall lesson or message the team behind the film wish to pass on to the viewer or viewers. The Toy Story trilogy's moral is that change is inevitable, and we must grow to find the good in it. Blade Runner teaches us that the human experience is a beautiful but bittersweet one. The Moral provides a major enhancement to the movie experience, and is usually tied very closely to the Hero's journey. But again in this, Godzilla 2014 falls short. The 1954 Gojira had this in spades, as it was a reminder of the terrifying consequences of nuclear warfare. The monster in that film was our creation, a byproduct of our destructive nature, and now Frankenstein's Monster had returned to wreck havoc. But in this new film, there is no connection like that. Humanity is merely an innocent bystander to this ancient struggle of monsters from eons before we evolved. At one point Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (played aptly by Ken Watanabe) makes a statement of Mankind's irresponsibility in our attempts to control nature, a statement he sticks with throughout the film. But the thing is, nothing we've done has caused this. The MUTO monsters aren't awoken by unnecessary deforestation or rising sea levels. The nest of two eggs is found accidentally by diggers, but by that point one of the eggs has already hatched and run off to sea, and the other egg is still dormant. Researchers take the egg that's still intact, and just study it. They don't try to destroy it (for fear of the high levels of radiation within seeping out and killing everyone) and they don't try to awaken it (because they're not stupid). All they do is study it, attempting to find a way it could be destroyed without harming us, as well as to determine whether it would be hostile to us. There's no great sin to learn from, no moral to pass on to the audience. All those scientists die as a reward for doing the smartest, most cautious thing they can.
Conclusion
These are small complaints for a movie of this caliber in the niche market that Kaiju films occupy. The film is better than it needed to be by leaps and bounds, and is as good an example as any of a solid, well-made film. But the lack of a Hero, Moral and other small detractions effect the larger picture in surprisingly big ways. Unless you're a Kaiju enthusiast, I don't see it making your list of favorite films.
Should I see it?
Yeah, if it piques your interest. Even if you're not a fan of this genre, this is a well made, solidly-constructed film that works for the purpose it was designed for. It's simple, destructive fun.
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