Bitch'n Friday: Godzilla Moive Review

I had the up most pleasure to see the new Godzilla film last night at the I max theater in downtown Seattle.  I will try to keep this as spoiler free as much as possible.

   When I was a child I would wake up early on the weekends and watch the old classic (poorly dubbed) Japaneses Godzilla films.  I loved how they would tease you with the monsters and then towards the end, BAM, the big battle pays off.  That's why I always like old monster films, gives you brief glimpse of the monster, shaking of the bushes, and when you finally see the creature it is a reward within it's self.   With this new rendition of Godzilla it does just that and stays so true to the original source material.
  

Love me bitches!

         Yes you do not see the monsters for a good portion of the film and when you do it's always supper up close, from a distance with fog or dirt derby, or on the news helicopter.  I didn't mind these perspectives since it is a take on different view point in which the humans (in the film) could see the monsters.  It add a sense of mystery and awe as these giants battle it out and humans are reminded how truly weak we are compared to nature.  But when the final battle comes it is a huge pay off with wide shots of the monsters battling it out.  I like to think that it is some random solider view it from a roof top.
         Another thing that sent me to the moon was the sound mix.  I know you must be rolling your eyes and mumbling to yourself, "well no shit you like the sound since you are a sound editor." Well I feel anyone with a decent pair of ears will appreciate how well they incorporated the sound design and music to add tension and fear giving you the perfect roller coaster ride for your ears.  The heavy Taiko drums leads the viewers into impending destruction long before the monsters even reveal a finger nail.  The build up from the drumming along with impending beeps has the audience on the edge of their seats, dying to know what is going to emerge from the foggy depths.  Even  better is when they decided to give the movie a quiet atmosphere, building up tension with each passing second to only jolt them back with a loud boom from the monster.  The most pleasing sound came for the king of monsters himself, Godzilla with his iconic roar.  Granted it leaned on the bass side of the vocal range, but by doing so the audience and actual feel the rumble of the beast's  powerful roar.
        Now I have to briefly discuss the appearance of Godzilla.  Finally America has got it right with his design!  He is currently the largest Godzilla to date but his looks closely resemble the original 1954 Godzilla.   Below is a pic of all the Godzilla's (including that god awful 1998 versions) So you can see how well the designers stuck with the original design while adding a bit of flair.

http://s1351.photobucket.com/user/TrueAmericanGodzilla/media/1954--2014GodzillaFamilyTree_zps1bff4fe7.jpg.html

 

 

 

 

         I also love how they gave him more facial expressions, telling the audience their is more to this monster than fighting and destruction.  Godzilla has some presence of intellect of what is going on around him and problem solving abilities.  Also when they do the first pan up shot of Godzilla and he roars, the whole audience flipped out.  It was not only because of his roar but is facial expression right before, it was almost invoking a bitch please look.   Also his face is just too cute!

     

        If you are on the fence, GO SEE IT!  While some people argued that there isn't any character development in this film, I just want to point out this film is following several people as they witness a never before scene event in human history.  It is a monster film giving a nod to it's classic predecessor and not a story about a guy who has to over come a monster to discover who he truly is.  What do you think of the film are you going to see it? Let me know in the comment section below.

See you on the other side