Godzilla

Dir: Gareth Edwards

2014

***

Every Monster film has a purpose, a subjective symbolism. The original Godzilla was a metaphor for nuclear attack following Hiroshima, other Monster films since have claimed similar use of metaphor, Cloverfield being one of the most resent, dealing supposedly with the idea of a Terrorist attack following 9/11. Gareth Edwards Godzilla sees two Monsters travel around the world, Godzilla in pursuit to bring balance to the world. Godzilla could be seen as many different things, a force for peace maybe, the UN? Mother nature? I doubt it, but I think the many different places that the action (devastation) takes place is a metaphor for the ever changing ways modern War is being fought. War is no longer something happening far far away. I could be wrong. Godzilla looks more like he did back in the original films, so Edwards has listened to what fans have said following on from 1998's widely criticised version, it could be that he wanted to give the fans what they wanted and having the contrast of various different locations made the film visually more appealing. Again I could be wrong or right on both counts. Either way, it's an enjoyable Monster film. It's not the intelligent drama, sprawling epic or earth shattering romance I thought it might have been since Gareth Edwards directed it but then he's already made that movie, this is just a bit of fun. And fun it most certainly is.