The JSH Reporter Summer 2014 | Page 25

MOVIE REVIEW MOVIEREVIEW 025 GODZILLA Author: Steven Crocchi, Marketing Coordinator With more than 30 Godzilla movies in existence, Director Gareth Edwards had his work cut out for him when making the newest installment of the Godzilla franchise. In this version of the film, two MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), escape from two government facilities and meet up in San Francisco, where they plan to breed. Ford Brody, a US Navy explosive ordinance disposal officer, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, works with the Navy Strike Force to lure the MUTOs away from the city and into the ocean, where the Navy plans to kill them using nuclear weapons. After the first MUTO escapes from a government facility in Japan, Godzilla awakens and begins hunting it after laying dormant in the ocean for years. Godzilla follows the MUTOs to San Francisco, and after the Navy’s plan fails, Godzilla is the only hope for killing the two monsters. Unfortunately, the movie fell short of my expectations. After Bryan Cranston’s success in the series Breaking Bad, many were excited to see his performance in this movie, but his role was much smaller than expected. The visual effects were outstanding, but unable to make up for the lack of plot and random, pointless scenes scattered throughout the film. Some of the fighting sequences were also a little over the top. I don’t think the producers needed to make Godzilla breathe fire or make the MUTOs emit EMPs (Electromagnetic Pulses). The ultimate fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs was quite entertaining, but too brief. The movie credits were longer than the final battle, which was very disappointing. I would recommend waiting for the Blu-Ray to be released.