Review: "Godzilla"

Director: Gareth Edwards
Runtime: 123 minutes

The second that Godzilla's iconic roar blasts out of the speakers, you know that you've just witnessed the glorious rebirth of one of cinema's most famous movie monsters. After decades of silly ups and downs, Gareth Edwards' new reboot knows how to remind us all that Godzilla will always be king. If only the rest of the film were worthy of joining him on the throne. Edwards and co. create some stirring sequences, and they also keep the tone balanced between serious and silly. However, a lackluster protagonist and an uneasy focus on various members of the ensemble proves to be a considerable hurdle that the film is barely able to clear.

Faults and all, though, Edwards deserves credit for his handling of the towering monsters (yes, there's more than just the big guy). Restraint isn't a word that comes to mind when talking about a film involving cities being leveled, but it's rather on point here. Edwards handles the big reveal of Godzilla (Gojira, if you're feeling formal) gradually. This is a summer blockbuster/creature feature operating in the vein of Jaws or Alien, where the buildup, and the gradual flashes are more important that showing something in its full glory. 

To accomplish this, Edwards and DP Seamus McGarvey capture most of the mayhem from the ground level. We get a bit of a tail sliding away, a claw-like arm smashing into the ground, or a glimpse of Godzilla's scaly back. It's an inspired choice, and ensures that we, as viewers, look forward to seeing the monsters, instead of quickly growing bored of them. And when it comes time to let loose, Godzilla steps back just far enough to deliver the ridiculous action the character's legacy promises. 

Of course, in handling most of the action from the ground level, this means we have to pay attention to some humans too. Despite a stacked cast that includes (hi, Juliette Binoche) Bryan Cranston (bye, Juliette Binoche), Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and  David Strathairn the roles aren't terribly interesting or fun to follow. Cranston, at least, has a genuinely compelling emotional core that's effectively set up in the 1999-set prologue. Cranston's character is obviously a stock character (he's the mad man/conspiracy nut who's actually onto something), but the development the film affords his character puts the role far above similar characters. Meanwhile, Watanabe has some fun dispensing loony revisions of atomic history and spouting vague philosophical lines about nature's brutal ability to restore balance.

Everyone else mostly just does their jobs, with the exception being Aaron Taylor Johnson as Cranston's military-trained son. Johnson is also playing a stock character, but his feels totally empty, and even lazy; Charlie Hunnam's role in last year's Pacific Rim looks rich and nuanced in comparison. And, unlike Hunnam, Johnson has no fun characters to play off of. When the story is following Johnson around, the movie becomes a little less interesting, and makes you wish the monsters would hurry up and start causing mayhem again. 

With this human component left half-baked, Godzilla sometimes struggles to engage as it keeps teasing you with the history of the monsters, as well as the mystery of what they're doing now that they've been awakened. Most of the ensemble are also far away from the center of violence, leaving us with only terrified extras to connect with. 

Yet even with the deficiencies in the human roles, Edwards is still able to pull out some powerful visual moments as he keeps you waiting for the big finish. A scene of fighter jets losing power and dropping into San Francisco Bay is smartly used to build the vague sense of dread as the monsters approach. Even better is a freefall sequence that sends Johnson and other soldiers plummeting into the ruins of San Francisco from 30,000 feet. Red tracers streak behind them as they pass through layers of clouds illuminated by raging fires. The mix of painterly wide shots and claustrophobic POV footage is awe-inspiring, and there's not a creature in sight. 

And when the big fights start coming, they are appropriately big and clumsy. Here, Godzilla is a force of balance, meant to wipe out the insect-like creatures attacking human civilization. Yet his role as nature's proxy has no clear regard for human life. In his wrestling matches at the end, the big reptile does his fair share of property damage, all because it's a means to an end (how he's ever going to pay back the city of San Francisco, I have no idea). In between the epic tussles, Edwards finds room to insert moments of satisfying cheesiness. I'll avoid details, but there are certain gloriously over-the-top fight moves that are designed to leave audiences both cheering and laughing. 

Whether or not Warner Brothers decides to pursue a sequel, at the very least they've made an American Godzilla that can stand on its own (as well as erase the memory of the 1998 film). Most of that credit, however, belongs to Mr. Edwards, who has smartly brought the resourcefulness of his indie background to this big-budget extravaganza. The human elements get progressively weaker the further it goes, but Edwards still manages to hold our attention thanks to his inventive ways of never showing more than necessary. Faults and all, when this Godzilla roars, it's pretty damn hard to look at anything else. 

Grade: B-

Review: "Argo"

Director: Ben Affleck
Runtime: 120 minutes

At once a period-thriller, true story, and darkly funny commentary on Hollywood, Ben Affleck's Argo is a stupendously entertaining drama built on remarkable craftsmanship. The actor's third outing as a director finds him in the middle ground between his first two features. Round three finds Affleck balancing the grim realities of Gone Baby, Gone with the broader entertainment value of The Town. The result is a lively and thoroughly entertaining film that is never sunk by its basis in real events. True story or not, this is compelling movie making that has mainstream appeal without needing to dumb itself down.

Based on declassified events, Argo follows Tony Mendez (Affleck), a CIA extraction expert, as he tries to maneuver the rescue of six Americans during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Opening with a nail-biting depiction of the assault on the American embassy in Tehran, the film follows six workers who escape to the home of the Canadian ambassador. From there, the film weaves together Mendez's unique (and very risky) idea for a mission: set up a cover as a Canadian film crew to get in and out of increasingly hostile Iran. 

What Affleck and writer Chris Terrio accomplish is a constantly engaging work of storytelling, even when the outcome is never really in doubt. Argo is, of course, working from real events, yet the film is so immersive that it never feels hindered by its historical basis. Affleck and his technical collaborators are firing on all cylinders, and whether the film is being funny or serious, the momentum never flags from the opening scenes. Terrio also deserves credit for including an efficient and thorough background of the events leading up to the hostage crisis. Even though Mendez may be the "good guy," the film as a whole makes several jabs at the American involvement in the Middle East that led to the crisis.

The only department where Argo is lacking is character development. That's not to say that the characters are one note. They're all nicely drawn, even if they aren't afforded terrific amount of depth. Yet because the characters are completely governed by their circumstances, and not their own doing, there's virtually no room for people to grow or change. The closest the film comes to achieving this is Joe Stafford (Scoot McNairy) gradually overcoming his disdain for Mendez's plan. It's a knock down for the film, where all of the other elements congeal so well. Thankfully the performances all come through quite nicely, especially McNairy, Bryan Cranston (as a fellow CIA official), and Clea DuVall.

Yet even though the character development borders on non-existent, Terrio's script is still very well written and Affleck's direction carries off the tonal switches of the narrative seamlessly. Rather than succumb to the temptation to create an overly dour and bleak story, Argo introduces a fair amount of humor. Most of it comes via makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and big time producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), both of whom help create the fake background info for the film Mendez is using as his cover. As much as the film is about the grim circumstances of the Iran Hostage Crisis, it is also a very funny send up of the amount of fakery involved in Hollywood.

Despite the forgery and deception involved in the plot, Argo is a very real, and very good third feature from Affleck. The use of real events never feels cheap or exploitative, and allows the director room to craft an impeccable thriller with some excellent and visceral sequences that deliver a wonderful payoff. Argo is a first rate piece of mainstream filmmaking that solidifies Affleck as one of Hollywood's most exciting voices behind the camera.

Grade: B+

Review: "Drive"

When Nicholas Winding Refn took the Best Director prize at Cannes back in May, his victory was considered something of a surprise. Amid a sea of names like Von Trier, Malick, and Almodovar, the Finnish director had come out on top, not only with the prize, but with one of the festival's best reviewed films. That title seems to have been well earned, because, despite its mundane premise, Drive is a stellar piece of filmmaking.

Ryan Gosling stars as Driver, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver, until one particular job goes awry and things get complicated. On paper, it seems like a silly spin-off of the Fast and Furious franchise, which is already silly enough (albeit enjoyably so). But it's execution that matters, not the ideas on paper, and there's where Drive, thanks almost entirely to Mr. Refn, delivers in spades. Like Joe Wright's Hanna, Drive is something of an art-house action film, one that favors style over substance. And, like Wright's film, Refn's actually makes style over substance work in the best way possible.

Rather than fill the movie with endless car chases and noise, Drive's action scenes arise out of the plot (as opposed to the reverse, which is so common nowadays). They're well executed and stylish, but not so overly choreographed or over-the-top as to feel ludicrous. Refn, whose last film was the brutal and unsettling Bronson (2008) has toned down his flashier, fourth-wall-breaking impulses, yet the film is still immensely stylish. The script, by Hossein Amini (and adapted from James Sallis' novel), is light on dialogue, and truly acts as a skeleton. In different hands, the whole affair could have come off as empty, stiff, and bland. Refn and his cast, however, make sure that's not the case whatsoever.

Among the movie's many assets is Gosling as the nameless driver. The role, like the script, is little more than a skeleton, but the actor fills it out surprisingly well. At the offset, it's easy to be tricked into thinking that the performance is a lazy one. Quite the contrary; Gosling's portrayal is not necessarily complex or overly emotional, but his presence gives a strange sense of life to the role. In some scenes his eyes are almost hypnotic to watch (well, aside from the obvious reason), and one of his reaction shots after a moment of violence is excellent. We can connect with him, even though know almost nothing about him. Think of him as a nice version of No Country for Old Men's Anton Chigurh. Other roles are filled out nicely as well. Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac give nice turns as the driver's neighbors, the latter of whom has just been released from prison. Less successful are Ron Perlman and Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, although this is pretty much attributable to their limited screen time. In a movie with so little dialogue for certain roles, every second counts, and Perlman and Hendricks make it count, but there's not quite enough there for them to chew on. Albert Brooks, who has earned some whispers of Oscar buzz for his work, is effectively despicable as the film's eventual villain, but the real star of the supporting cast is Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, using his own limited time to create a surprisingly likable and sympathetic character.

The real star, however, is none of the people in front of the camera, but rather the man running the show; Mr. Refn himself. The characters may not have much in the way of depth, but Refn still allows us to spend plenty of time with them before the slide into violence. And once it hits its violent stride, Drive really takes off and makes its mark, mixing elements of crime dramas and 80s neo-noir. Like Bronson, some of Drive's images are graphically violent, but Refn refrains from shoving them in our faces. We'll get a quick glimpse or two, and then it's over, the editing and sound design taking over along with our imaginations. The violence also rises naturally out of the story, rather than for the sake of an overblown set piece.

Bolstered by excellent (albeit sometimes on-the-nose) soundtrack choices, and an atmospheric score from Cliff Martinez, Refn and DP Newton Thomas Sigel's images come vividly to life. The film make have the slightly washed out look of digital, but Refn and co. have made sure to fill the frame with enough color (including some hot-pink opening credits) to give the film a distinguishable look. Refn also knows how to use slow-motion effectively, to the point where the images captivate, rather than bore or become indulgent (are you listening, Zack Snyder?).

But how far can thin characters and style carry a film? If Drive and Hanna are any indications, then the answer is pretty damn far. Refn has made a film that uses its own understated sense of cool to lend the bone-dry script a sense of purpose. Drive has no deeper meaning, nor does it have a point to make; it's simply a story told well (and with more than a little panache). In a way, the style (some of which is its own restraint) almost is the substance, as nonsensical as that may seem. Rather that puff itself up into something bloated and over-the-top, Drive settles for the quiet, understated route, to become not only one of the best action films of the year, but one of the best, and certainly coolest, films of the year, period.

Grade: B+/A-

Trailer: "Drive"

More Drive (2011) Videos

One of the big surprises out of this year's Cannes Film Festival was Nicolas Winding-Refn's Drive, which not only earned strong reviews, but also a Best Director prize. Refn's work must really be something, because neither the reviews nor the trailer made the film sounds like something that would ever be up the alley of a Cannes jury. Regardless, this looks like a lean, tough, and stylish action thriller, with an incredible cast, and I get the feeling that this trailer hasn't even begun to show us the best parts of the movie. This looks like one fun way to transition between summer and fall.

**And even though this is a red-band trailer, it barely even qualifies.