Godzilla
(2014/Legendary/Toho/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B+/B- Sound: A-/B- Extras: B Film: B
One
of the most eagerly awaited films of the year explodes onto Blu-ray
disc with incredible sound and picture quality and happily ushers in
a new era for the King Of Monsters! In every way, the 1998 Roland
Emmerich American Godzilla
film failed, this film succeeds with a more realistic approach,
tremendous special effects, and a foe for Godzilla to fight... oh,
and no baby Godzillas.. or Matthew Broderick! Gareth Edwards (who
broke out with his directorial debut Monsters
- which is a fabulous film by the way) succeeds in crafting elements
from past Godzilla
films into a more modern and grounded world. The film score by
Alexandre Desplat in the film is also noteworthy and really brings
the film to life.
Told
in a style similar to Jaws
(the
main character is even named Brody),
we don't fully see the towering creature until about the midway
through the film, focusing more on the human characters and a
developed back story on Godzilla and the MUTO (Massive Ultra
Terrestrials) that are both creatures that have been lying dormant
for quite some time. The battle sequences are expertly choreographed
and staged and the final reveal of Godzilla is pretty epic in scope.
Some of the films flaws deal with the casting of Aaron Taylor-Johnson
(Kick
Ass)
who delivers a dead-pan performance and doesn't quite fit into the
mold of his character. His dialogue and the way his character was
written was also slightly generic. (I would have preferred Ryan
Gosling as this character, honestly, but that just wasn't in the
cards.) The rest of the cast is fine though some argued at Bryan
Cranston's (Breaking
Bad)
presence in the film was too brief. I love Elizabeth Olsen in just
about everything, after Marcy
May Marlene,
it was apparent that she has great screen presence and a bright
future ahead.
Here's
the basic rundown of the film - in 1954, the United States Armed
Forces are assembled to witness a secret nuclear test. A hydrogen
bomb, decorated with a monster insignia, is detonated when a giant
creature emerges from the ocean. In 1999, Project Monarch scientists
Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins)
investigate a colossal skeleton in a collapsed mine in the
Philippines. They find two chrysalises; one dormant, one broken
open, and whatever hatched has made a trail through the forest to the
sea. In Japan, the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant experiences unusual
seismic activity. Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), the plant's
supervisor, sends his wife Sandra (Juliette Binoche) and a team of
technicians into the reactor. While the team is inside, the reactor
is breached, releasing radioactive steam. Sandra and her team are
unable to escape and the plant collapses into ruin.
Fifteen
years later, Joe's son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a US Navy
explosive ordnance disposal officer, living in San Francisco with his
wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and son Sam (Carson Bolde). After Joe is
detained for trespassing in the Janjira quarantine zone, Ford returns
to Japan. Convinced of a cover-up of the cause of the disaster, Joe
convinces Ford to help him retrieve vital data at their old home.
They find the zone is not contaminated, but after recovering the
data, soldiers detain them in a secret facility within the plant's
ruins. Inside, a giant winged creature emerges from a massive
chrysalis and escapes, destroying the facility. Joe is injured and
later dies. The incident is reported as an earthquake.
Serizawa,
Graham and Ford join a US Navy task force led by Admiral William
Stenz on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga to search for the
creature, dubbed Massive
Unidentified Terrestrial Organism,
or MUTO.
To Ford, the scientists reveal how a 1954 deep sea expedition
triggered the appearance of Godzilla, a prehistoric alpha predator;
how early nuclear tests were really attempts to kill it; that Project
Monarch was formed secretly to study Godzilla; and that the MUTO
caused the Janjira destruction. Ford reveals that Joe had monitored
echolocation signals that indicated the MUTO was communicating with
something...
The
MUTO is found feeding off the wreckage of a Russian nuclear submarine
it deposited in a forest in Hawaii. The military attacks and the
battle shifts to Honolulu airport where Ford is waiting for a flight
home. Godzilla arrives, causing a tsunami that devastates Waikiki.
After briefly fighting Godzilla, the MUTO flies away, and Honolulu is
left in ruin. Meanwhile, at a Nevada nuclear waste facility, a
second, larger and wingless MUTO, emerges and devastates Las Vegas.
The scientists deduce that the second MUTO is female, the two were
communicating and will meet to breed.
The
task force follows Godzilla, projecting that the monsters will meet
in San Francisco Bay. Stenz approves the use of a nuclear explosion
to kill the monsters, over the scientists' objections. Ford returns
with the military to California and joins a team delivering warheads
to San Francisco by train. The female MUTO destroys the train and
devours one of the warheads. The remaining warhead is airlifted to
San Francisco and activated. It is taken by the MUTOs, who construct
a nest around it in the downtown area. People are evacuating across
the Golden Gate Bridge when Godzilla arrives and the final showdown
begins! Let
them Fight.
The
production design and look of the Godzilla creature in this film is
spot on and I'm a huge fan of the MUTO and am glad that they didn't
pull out a safe character right out of the game. Rumor has it that
King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra will be in the sequel (slated for
2018 with returning director Gareth Edwards).
The
transfer on the disc is fantastic in 1080p high definition that looks
as sharp as it did on the big screen and preserves the 2.40:1 aspect
ratio in anamorphic widescreen. (A 3D Blu-ray edition has also been
issued we hope to see soon.) The sound is also FANTASTIC in
glorious, lossless DTS HD-MA 7.1 sound that really sounds fantastic
(maybe even BETTER or comparable to the theatrical viewing!) in an
amazing mixdown from the theatrical 11.1 Dolby Atmos presentations
where available. The DVD also included on the disc is in
anamorphically enhanced standard definition and pushes the limits of
the format but the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track doesn't compare to
the DTS. Total running time is 123 minutes.
Extras
include....
MONARCH:
Declassified - Discover explosive new evidence not contained in the
film that unravels the massive cover-up to keep Godzilla's existence
a secret:
Operation:
Lucky Dragon
MONARCH:
The M.U.T.O. File
The
Godzilla Revelation
The
Legendary Godzilla - Go behind the scenes with filmmakers and cast
for an even deeper look at the larger than life monsters in the film:
Godzilla:
Force of Nature
A
Whole New Level Of Destruction
Into
The Void: The H.A.L.O. Jump
Ancient
Enemy: The M.U.T.O.s
If
you liked this film there are also some great companion books out
there that Legendary produced including Godzilla:
The Art of Destruction
(on the previsualization and production of the film and Godzilla:
Awakening - which is a comic prequel to this film that has some great
art (distributed by Legendary Comics).
-
James Harland Lockhart V
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv
