Part of jvince's Top Ten Films of 2014

What's It About?: Godzilla fucks shit up.

Who's In It?: Kick-Ass, the good acting Olsen sister, the always awesome Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Heisenberg, David Strathairn, a Juliette Binoche cameo, Godzilla, and a couple of MUTOs (or Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms, but they're no longer terrestrial so is it MUAOs now?)

The Good: The insanely jaw-dropping action sequences. (My jaw was literally agape whenever shit went down.) Composer extraordinaire Alexandre Desplat's perfectly eerie score. (I think he outdid himself with his work here. Personally, his soundtrack is the highlight of the film.) The ridiculously eargasmic, floor-rumbling sound design. (If this isn't nominated for next year's Oscars, the voters will seriously need a check-up with their ENT.) The top-notch visual effects. (The 3D is not too noticeable and is only occasionally employed to add depth. IMAX, however, is highly recommended. Try seeing it in the biggest screen possible.) The Spielberg influence (e.g., the shots and the camera movements, the Jaws-esque teases and reveal, and the MUTO intro reminiscent of the first T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park.) Cranston doing what Cranston does best. "Mommy! Look! It's a dinosaur!" The epic final battle. Oh, and two words: Atomic. Breath. Fuck, yeah.

The Bad: With nearly every technical aspect being quite exceptional, the limp and lackluster script sticks out like a sore thumb: the characters feel nothing more than mere cardboard cutouts, their lines sound like something out of a dialogue generator, and you get the sense that the action scenes were written before the story when it should've been the other way around. It also suffers from what I'll refer to as the Pacific Rim Syndrome or the reserving of a powerful secret weapon for the end. (I could see others having an issue with that part, but I thought it was a pretty cool reveal, so it didn't bug me that much.)

What Did I Learn?: Godzilla is not to be fucked with. Emmerich's version is truly shit; a measly, pathetic speck of shit compared to this monster of a film. Gareth Edwards is going to be a household name and one of the go-to directors for summer blockbusters.

The Bottom Line: Director Edwards steps up to the task and delivers a crowd pleasing Spielbergian monster movie that's also unmistakably his own. In fact, at it's heart, it's very much like his impressive debut feature, Monsters, only with a bigger budget, a starrier cast, and the King of the Monsters himself. All hail the King of the Monsters! Godzilla comes recommended.

The Scorecard:

Direction: ★★★★

Acting: ★★★½

Writing: ★★★

Editing: ★★★★

Visuals: ★★★★

Sound: ★★★★★

Entertainment: ★★★★

Overall Rating: ★★★★