Godzilla returns
An imported creature known for stomping cities and pounding citizens returns in “Godzilla,” a reboot of the 1954 Tokyo favorite with political overtones about the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan during World War II.
The $160 million production, starring Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and Juliette Binoche, was directed by Gareth Edwards (the art-house fantasy “Monsters”) and will be presented in 3-D and IMAX. The filmmaker made every attempt to keep the giant being under control in terms of effects on the soundtrack.
“It makes the big things look bigger when you’ve just had a quiet moment,” Edwards says in Empire, a British entertainment magazine. “If everything is whizz-bang constantly throughout the whole movie it just becomes nothing.
“So you have to carefully go to quiet and restrain things so that the other things hit you hard.”
“Godzilla” received a previous reboot in 1998 with Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”) directing. The picture quickly fizzled.
Hopes are much higher for this PG-13 version, which could introduce a new generation of fans to the force of nature that comes from the sea and into Tokyo. In his book “Godzilla Versus! A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Giant Monster Series” (McFarland; $48.50), author David Kalat believes it’s important for viewers to know the genesis of the creature.
“While Americans may be aware that Godzilla is a Japanese creation, many do not fully understand what this means,” he writes. “Popular culture is an expression of the values, attitudes and heritage of a country.
“As a part of Japanese pop culture, Godzilla (in numerous previous films from Japan) movies can give Westerners a look into Japanese society. American viewers who watch Godzilla movies from an American perspective, however, miss or misunderstand elements that are uniquely Japanese.”