Godzilla

There are some really nifty action sequences in British director Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla", especially in the last half hour, beginning with that brilliantly conceived and breathlessly executed paratroopers drop. But the movie on the whole is far less than the sum of its parts, problematic most of all in its attempt to reconcile brainless fun with dramatic aspirations, which feels forced every step of the way. (We are talking about giant lizards that come out from the bottom of the earth to kill us after all.) The lack of a self-aware, pulpy energy carries over to the rather wooden editing of the movie and its overall look, which goes for the raw and authentic but lands decidedly on the drab side. The visual effects are fine but nothting to write home about. Most effective are close-range shots that take advantage of the elaborate set pieces. Panoramic views, on the other hand, often expose flaws in unperfected CG-imagery and compositing. The score by prolific French film composer Alexandre Desplat also turns out to be one of his more generic creations.

The international cast boasts skilled, effortlessly soulful supporting players from different continents who are criminally underused here. While I will probably never tire of watching Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins act, making them play the most clueless scientists ever, constantly looking shell-shocked and saying very unintelligent-sounding things, is still pushing it. And poor Juliette Binoche is hardly in the picture. The true star of the show, Godzilla himself, roars and stomps like nobody's business but is curiously unmemorable, possibly due to said unspectacular visual design of the film and a choreography that's a bit simplistic and less than original.