Godzilla : La Ville à l'aube du combat

I dislike stories that revolve around some miraculous but vaguely defined product or technology (in this case the 'nano-metal') that does whatever the plot requires, and as the first film left me with little interest in the characters (whom I found to be trite and flat), the sequel did nothing for me. Much of the movie consists of pretentious expositional pseudoscience, especially with respect to evolution, the limited action sequences differed little from the first film, and again Godzilla appears as a static, ill-defined craggy grey mass. My interest picked up slightly when the small twin girls started talking about their God who had been killed by Godzilla but had left an egg behind but that went nowhere (presumably being a set up for the third film). Ultimately I found this, the 33rd Godzilla movie, slow-moving and uninteresting.

Slower and more considered than its predecessor, the second act of this trilogy weilds its allegory as a finely tuned blade to explore the ways in which revenge can consume and overwhelm its victims. The colour palette contrasts vividly against other entries in the series, casting everything in a disorienting filter of hate that drives home the message of the trilogy; and this truly exceptional visual style builds on the already impressive artistry of the world it has created, taking it to a new level of immersiveness.

What people need to remember walking into any Godzilla movie is that the first 45-60 minutes involves talking. The last 30+ are solely dedicated to utterly amazing, feet-flailing excitement. If you consider this, the movie is fantastic: Here's my breakdown.

The art of storytelling is not lost in Japan. They understand the need to lay sufficient groundwork to build your story on. They also understand that conflict drives a story. While it may seem like the story lags, even I had a moment where I had to be reminded of this, it serves a purpose. They could have easily have just presented things to you without offering explanations, but that's a half-hearted story. In Horizon: Zero Dawn, they give you explanations to everything you're witnessing despite its seemingly insane scenario.

The tensions within the first one bubble over now in the second iteration of this three part series. The ideals of each group now reach their critical mass as they begin to question what exactly it is they're willing to sacrifice in order to defeat Godzilla. Not only that, but what it is that they're fighting; the monster, or the idea of it. If it is conflict that drives stories then this truly is a story. Seemingly each scene grasps this concept and seeks to convey it to us.

I'll probably come back and edit this later but this is the best I can offer after just watching it today and without any spoilers. I can say with surety that the efforts of the writers to give us a well-rounded story were felt. If you rate this a 4, I can see that. Much below that and I might call it unfair, even if you don't like the genre. One thing that bothers me is when people toss up a 2* rating with a review that basically says they don't like Godzilla, monster movies, or action in general. If you accept that it is a Godzilla film when you walk into it, at the very least, it won't be a waste of your time.

I am not sure about these negative reviews. The movie set has some great philosophical points. I have loved both on netflix so far. I referred a few friends to watch, they also felt the same. I don't usually watch anime, so maybe that is the difference. As a story, the writing is solid.

(First ever review so bear with me)

I decided to write this review as I felt the 2 user reviews up at the moment were either a bit lacking, or just downright pointless.

I personally enjoyed it enough to give it a 6, but it's a soft 6 for me as there are plenty of "down" periods that felt a bit dragged out for me. I also think that the story was a bit lacking in places as well as some characters that felt underutilized. (The pacing may be redeemed once I've seen all 3 and then be able to judge it as a whole, but for now, it's a gripe I have with it as a stand-alone film)

The animation is still stellar and I really enjoy the whole mythos of man/humanoid vs giant world ending monster(s), I just wish this particular movie had either some more action to it, or that we got to explore the Houtua (the aboriginals Haruo met in the first film) a lot more, but maybe that's saved for the 3rd film.

At the end of the day, I feel like it's worth seeing if you like monster movies, and I'm looking forward to the conclusion in the 3rd film.

I hope I succeeded in giving people a bit more nuance to determine if they should give it a go, as I do feel there are redeemable qualities to the contained story of this trilogy.