Since an abysmal 1998 American remake, Godzilla, the King of All Monsters, hasn’t lived up to his title. As one of the all-time great movie creatures, the giant radioactive lizard has rested more on his reputation than any proof from modern moviemaking. But that could all change today (December 10).
That’s because the first trailer for Gareth Edwards’ updated version of “
Godzilla Destruction Cranston The “Monsters” Touch “Godzilla” opens in theaters on May 16, 2014.
It might seem obvious, but with these teaser trailers, there are no sure bets. The worse sin that the first “Godzilla” trailer could commit is to not show the freakin’ thing. There have been enough photo leaks to know that the new design of Godzilla harkens back to the classic, shorter snout look, but with more spikes. It’s a good mix of old and new and should really be shown off.
If they’re going to show off Godzilla — which, again, they definitely should do — he’s got to be destroying some stuff. It’s what Godzilla does. Keeping the monstrous destruction out of the trailer would be like releasing a “Hunger Games” preview without showing Katniss firing a bow and running.
Aside from the solid creature design, the other ace in the hole here is the greatest actor working on television, Bryan Cranston. Walter White hasn’t made the crossover to the silver screen that he deserves, and his role in “Godzilla” may be enough to break away from the supporting, military man parts he’s been mostly relegated to.
Director Edwards got the job for “Godzilla” on the strength of his last movie, “Monsters,” a low-budget creature feature for which he did the limited special effects himself. (Watch it now. It’s on Netflix.) “Monsters” put the focus squarely on a human relationship, amid a monster invasion, and the resulting movie surprises with an incredible amount of cleverness and heart. While it wouldn’t be a “Godzilla” movie without some smashy-smashy, let’s not forget about the people, especially when they’re played by Cranston and future Avengers Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen.
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