MAY 24 ― One of my friends commented on Facebook that the new Godzilla movie should have been called Waiting For Godzilla, and if you’re a fan of a certain period of the Godzilla movie, I think he’s kind of right.
The tricky thing about the legend and everlasting legacy of Godzilla is that the movies mean different things to different people. Because of the man-in-a-suit nature of the special effects in the classic Godzilla movies, most people tend to associate the Godzilla movies with words like “cheap”, “fun” and “cheesy.”
What most people tend to forget are the serious ambitions of the original Godzilla film, which was more or less an allegory on the aftermath of the nuclear devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In director Ishiro Honda’s hands, the first Godzilla film was a cry of pain against the use of nuclear power and its effect on nature. It was only later, when the huge success of that first Godzilla film meant that there was more money to be made with the character that the whole kaiju genre was more or less born, with rival monsters like Mothra and Gamera getting their own films and sequels made in quick succession.
And it was only then that Godzilla became cheesier and cheesier, as Godzilla began fighting other monsters in as early as its second film appearance in Gojira No Gyakushyu (1955). Hollywood’s last attempt at making a Godzilla film with Roland Emmerich’s 1998 film didn’t help things as well. In fact, Hollywood’s first attempt at a Godzilla film, which inserted Raymond Burr into re-edited and dubbed footage of the first Godzilla movie, which was then released as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) also didn’t help at all.
But the moment it was announced that British newcomer Gareth Edwards was to direct a new Godzilla movie, I knew we were in good hands, even if he had only made one feature film before, the low-budget romantic-drama-with-monsters movie called Monsters. That movie, which reportedly cost only US$500,000 (RM1.6 million) yet boasting some very fine CGI (courtesy of Edwards himself, made on his laptop) was a good enough calling card to get the latest Godzilla producers to trust him with a Hollywood tentpole with a budget of US$160 million.
After seeing the new film, it was clear that trusting Edwards with the film was a very good choice. Despite having a major plot point that will remind people who have seen Monsters of that movie, Godzilla’s major strengths is not in the human element. It really does start quite slowly, and the characterisations are not especially deep, but this new Godzilla movie is a great example of where being simple is simply perfect.
Most probably inspired by the plot of Gamera, Guardian of the Universe (1995), which plays on the concept of the main character providing the “natural balance” on other monsters, what makes this Godzilla really awesome is simply how awe inspiring the size of it all is. It is a film in which every cent of its US$160 million budget can be believably seen onscreen, even after taking into account the many slow spots involving the obligatory expository dialogue.
The humans are sympathetic and well-acted enough by strong actors like Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, Japanese star Ken Watanabe, French legend Juliette Binoche, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and rising star Elisabeth Olsen (younger sister of the Olsen twins!).
But let’s not kid ourselves by saying that we’re paying more than 10 bucks to see Godzilla in the cinema to see the humans. Just admit it, we’re paying the money to see the great Godzilla himself, preferably doing battle with other monsters. But it would be great if the human element doesn’t suck. And it would be absolutely awesome if the monster element is, well, freaking awesome. And we get exactly that in this movie.
When we first see the film’s first MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), the dude’s already pretty big. And the second MUTO’s no slouch either. But Godzilla was just plain huge, probably the biggest Godzilla I’ve ever seen yet. And when the monsters mash with each other, I bet all the fanboys out there were getting tingles everywhere.
And Edwards is even clever enough to just keep on building and building the monster mash momentum all the way up until the great Godzilla starts to execute his signature moves, which will probably send shivers down your spine even if you’re unfamiliar with them.
It’s true that the movie might as well be called Waiting For Godzilla. But his first movie, Monsters, could actually be called Waiting For Monsters as well. As he’s proved for the second time now, waiting is no big deal if what we’re waiting for is worth the wait. And this new Godzilla really is worth the wait.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
