Godzilla (2014)

Finally an American film with the greatest giant monster of them all that’s actually good.  Of course the bar had been dropped pretty low after the last version from Roland Emmerich, an embarrassing film with a giant alligator roaming New York instead of the great lord of lizards.  Director Gareth Edwards was the perfect guy to assign this franchise starter of course if you’re aware of his masterful independent film Monsters.  Here he crossed the globe with a fine cast of characters, Bryan Cranston being the standout.  I did have some issues with some of the characters but the overall the story arcs work, coming together for a monster battle at the end that is eye-popping.  Sure Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s performance is pretty average and Elizabeth Olsen is completely under used, but there’s enough human interaction to entertain us as we wait to see more of the monsters.  Could they have shown us more Godzilla?  Maybe, but for me there seemed to be a nice balance.  But for the sequel I expect a lot more, so bring it on, Legendary Pictures, the big green guy deserves an epic continuation.  Grade: B+