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In many ways, mystery shrouds the latest incarnation of “Godzilla,” which is doubtless the closest thing to a masterpiece this blockbuster season will have to offer. To begin with, the movie is a conspiracy-theory yarn, kicked off with a gorgeous sequence in which vintage nuclear-test footage is paired with redacted opening credits (for example, Bryan Cranston’s name is nearly whited out along with other “top-secret” text). Then there’s the film’s teasing delay of its monstrous revelations — which, yes, are plural. And finally, there’s the great (and greatly seized) opportunity afforded director Gareth Edwards, whose only other film was the little-seen “Monsters.”
How was this rather green filmmaker entrusted with such a bankable, identifiable Hollywood brand? And furthermore, how was he able to land the primo cast that he did? Cranston, who plays a Japan-based nuclear plant advisor who smells something fishy (hint: It ain’t sushi), is joined by Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron-Taylor Johnson and the great Ken Watanabe, who plays a scientist with all the ancient intel on the titular, magnificent beast.
Whatever it was that put Edwards in the driver’s seat (and in such good company), the results pay off with towering rewards. Featuring top-shelf special effects and creatures whose massive scale is often breathtaking to witness, “Godzilla” makes metropolitan destruction tolerable again, primarily because it’s not the focal point. This isn’t another big-kid-with-a-digital-wrecking-ball actioner, but a true sci-fi thrill ride that’s focused on its creatures, its humans and its history.
Evoking the camp of Japan’s own “Godzilla” classics, Edwards doesn’t strain to incorporate his comic relief, nor does he shy away from at once upending and adhering to disaster movie tropes. Spolier alert: Most of the main characters survive, but “Godzilla” isn’t intent on glorifying its homosapiens. If anything, the sheer scale of Godzilla, et al is less intended to wow as it is to emphasize that we puny humans are rather insignificant when it comes to the long history of our world and the universe at large. And still, even with all that as an afterthought, the film is an absolute blast.
Godzilla
PG-13
Three-and-a-half reels out of four
Now playing at area theaters
Recommended Rental
A Birder’s Guide to Everything
PG-13
Available Tuesday
A favorite at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, “A Birder’s Guide to Everything” stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Road”) as a young birdwatcher who finds a presumed-extinct duck amid coping with a whole flock of domestic problems. An offbeat coming-of-age story ensues when the boy sets out for proof of his discovery with a group of teens and a benevolent birding expert, played by the always-excellent Ben Kingsley. The film is a harmless, yet endearing, diversion from the norm.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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