19.06.14
FILMS I WATCHED RECENTLY: *SPOILERS* Godzilla (2014) Dir. Gareth Edwards 15 years after a disaster at a nuclear power plant in Japan, a beast is awoken. This is quickly labelled as a ‘MUTO’. Godzilla herself (sic) is subsequently awakened on a mission to chase the MUTO to wherever the wind takes them. Cue immense destruction and various sub-plots, interweaved into the best blockbusters of recent years, complete with one of the most spectacular final acts of the year so far. Having forgotten that Godjira could in fact breath fire, sorry, radioactive particles, my heart leaped in delight. Waving my hands and clapping, someone said to me; ‘this is so stupid’. Why people decide to break out their physics chops during a film, in which the metaphor for radioactive waste is a mega six-legged monster, always perplexes me. Go watch a documentary... Gareth Edwards uses CGI, not to make things that aren’t real real, but to create works of art. The skydive scene has the palette of a turner winning artist, boasting a confident use of a musical composition that a certain Stanley Kubrick also used. He paints the picture of a city on the brink of the apocalypse, that is matched only by Ishirô Honda’s masterpiece. And yet through the mist we still see the soul within the King. Her roar shatters the heart of anyone who hears it. Edwards was clearly in control, primarily shown by the love between two Mutos, reminiscent of the final scenes of the vastly inferior Monsters. But I have a bone to pick, and here come the major spoilers. A slight change in plot could perhaps have lead to our movie being on par with the original and still utterly perfect Godjira (1954). Initially, I was impressed by the messages this particular beast was pulling on our average pop-corn muncher, but as it crescendoed to its admittedly spectacular finale, Gareth Edwards seemed to give up with this
film, music and art relevant warning. The nuclear politics were dropped, and my hopes for a tearjerking conclusion were dashed. The movie seemed to be saying; ‘It’s okay to use nukes because some fella in a helicopter can always come along and sort it out, and no one will notice if it does blow because they’ll be too busy hugging each other... well the ones who survive will... better not mention the numerous people that did die...’ At this point, I felt cheated. I can deal with a happy ending, but one in which the father survived the blast of a nuclear warhead and the mother magically escapes the collapse of a falling building is a step too far for this middle-class lowest common denominator family. The brilliance of the original was that it assured you that everything will not be alright. The message was not that nature will come along and sort everything out, but that if we carry on like this, mother nature or an eponymous lovable lizard-heroine will die. It upset people. In our society, death is a concept shunned from society. There is no hiroshima of the west. People, particularly white middle classes, are hidden from death and fear. In regards to Edwards’ Godzilla, she rose from the dead ‘more times than fucking lazarus!’ Certain kids are too precious to see sadness at a young age, but others of different backgrounds experience it from day one. If anything films, like pets, should help people experience heartbreak on a minor scale before they must face the real world. People do not come back to life, and sometimes you can’t just stand back and watch a fight happen. Despite the painful politics, Godzilla delivers spectacle ad infinitum. It is just a shame it didn’t deliver the heart to truly make a difference to children’s lives like ‘Tarka the Otter’ did, or Honda’s timeless Godjira. For Your Consideration:
Psychic
Darkside Full of Brooding techno ambiance. Stay with it and it will reward you...
Comedown Machine The Strokes
The highly underrated 180º turn from the usual mess of a Strokes album. Each note is carefully conceived for maximum effect. It is initially magnificent, but can grow weary so only listen to it once.