Godzilla: The Discussion Continues
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Brent: For me, the human component of the story is easily the biggest weakness in Godzilla. I didn’t really need any more from them other than to be there to react to the monsters, but given the caliber of the cast, I was hoping for something more substantial on that front. When you have actors like Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, and more, watching them be totally underused is a bummer.
Nick: I loved Cranston, as I knew I would. He almost went over the top, but managed to anchor it with his subtle acceptance that he knows he’s viewed as a crackpot. The biggest emotional moment that didn’t involve cheering was Joe standing at the door, watching Binoche as she helplessly kept saying that she couldn’t get out. That dread was something that I’ve never felt in any other Godzilla story. Which doesn’t lift Ford Brody’s role in the story any higher, but it was nice to begin the film with something relatable and some heart, so that it could transition into a human-less disaster story by the end.
That said, why the hell wasn’t Elizabeth Olsen the main character? She can do more with those big gorgeous eyes than Taylor-Johnson can do with his whole body. Or at least what we can see of it in Godzilla. Even if her dialogue was crap, she would have been a much more compelling lead, and Ford could have still had a smaller military-based storyline.
Brent: I would have loved to see that. At least Cranston and Taylor-Johnson get screen time. Olsen is totally underutilized. And why the hell was Sally Hawkins even in this movie? All she did was follow Ken Watanabe around. Those two are fantastic, and the film does nothing with either of them except for that sweet, “Let them fight,” line.
Nick: Sci-fi loves to make its Asian characters just stand there, knowing things that they aren’t telling anyone else. With Sally Hawkins nearby.
Brent: He’s like Godzilla’s version of the wise old janitor in a John Hughes movie. He just knows things that he has no business knowing. With Sally Hawkins nearby.
Nick: Again, the comic does a good job of digging into his backstory, which involved his father being one of the original people studying Godzilla’s patterns. Basically what Cranston does, only with concrete knowledge of the monster’s existence. But here he’s just the guy who people can look at and think, “Godzilla is from Japan.”
Brent: I knew there must be more to his story. There were reports that Akira Takarada, one of the stars from the original, was going to make a cameo, and I always suspected that he was going to be someone who experienced Godzilla back in 1954, and who would shed some light on the proceedings, but you never get any of that. Serizawa (Watanabe) just seems to know that Godzilla is trying to restore balance to nature apropos of nothing.
Nick: They totally play up the Godzilla saving humanity concept. I don’t know why that part of the story was avoided so heavily here. It would have made a ton of sense. Almost more unbelievable than giant monsters was the fact that more people weren’t just saying, “Nuke it.” Once Watanabe’s Dr. Serizawa started saying things like “restoring balance,” people would have immediately dismissed him and sent him away. But I guess he has really good eyesight, since he pegged the stretcher-bound Bryan Cranston from a fucking mile away before that helicopter ride. Maybe he can see things no one else can.
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