Revisiting Godzilla 2014 was really interesting and tbh, I think I enjoyed this movie a little more in retrospect.
Some of my previous critiques still linger and I’ll agree them within this thread but in general it was a much better film than I gave it credit for.

First off I wanna express my love for this particular version of Godzilla. Presented more as this aged veteran of the times called back into action. The design evokes a lot of age and strength, he’s a complete beast from head to tail and I love it. I feel the design becomes more-

refined in KOTM (especially his dorsal spines) but in general it’s a very fresh design that takes aspects that made previous incarnations work and expands more into them while also incorporating new aspects, keeping it from being overtly different. A truly satisfying design.

The MUTOs were an extremely intriguing addition to the franchise. A very interesting concept and executed pretty while in my opinion. If there’s one thing I feel is a setback it may be that their presence within the story takes a little too much attention away from Godzilla-

something I find rather inappropriate considering it’s his film with his name in the title. That being said they’re a great antagonistic force for which is a worthy substitute for another villainous Godzilla that we’ve grown used to for a while.

Alexandre Desplat’s score is easily my favourite aspect of the entire movie. His way of making something new while also making sure it sounds very much familiar with Ifikube’s work in previous film’s helps give this film a lot more authenticity, even with the absence of-

Godzilla’s theme. The sound design is also top notch and helps gives a lot more atmosphere and weight, figuratively and quite literally, to the story. The creepy cackles of the MUTOs, Godzilla’s booming roar along with the crunches and cracks of rubble beneath their feet.

The characters were honestly not at all what I thought I was getting myself back into. Everyone plays their part incredibly well with the right amount of dramatic weight to keep it grounded. Aaron Taylor Johnson honestly doing quite well with what he had as Ford Brody. Then-

there’s of coarse Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody, easily the greatest performance in the entire film, as little time as he had until he was axed from the story to provide leeway for Ford’s journey. His emotional moments genuinely left me weepy and in general a lot of thought was-

provided in this performance. Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa was an absolute treat despite unfortunately not providing much for the actual story beyond being the voice of reason as well as the one who pretty much initiates the main objective of letting Godzilla destroy the-

MUTOs in order to restore nature’s balance. Luckily he’s given a little more time to shine in KOTM, but I feel there should’ve been more of him here.

Now, as for the infamous cutaways from the action. On one hand I respect the intent, as there’s only so much action and spectacle can provide when you have a story to tell, but I feel as if the Honolulu battle should’ve been shown off for at least three minutes or so, that way-

the second cutaway, which leads to the third act/San Francisco fight would feel less tedious as a result. That being said it’s fine, I get what Gareth Edwards was intending and thus his decisions, for the most part, have my respects.

If there’s one thing I feel is the ultimate drawback is that the film feels a little to serious. There’s not a lot of moments, if at all, of some downtime or any real levity. This can risk damaging a film’s overall performance and in a way this film suffers from it. That being-

said it’s not a big deal and can easily be overlooked if you’re too busy soaking in the beautiful cinematography and shot composition (trust me there’s a lot of that in this film).

Overall, I found myself genuinely appreciating this film, even almost six years later (I feel old).
Up next will be Kong: Skull Island, and boy I can’t wait for that.