Godzilla (2014) | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Director Gareth Edwards constructs his film well which hearkens back to the fun sci-fi monster movies of the 1950s. He uses their formulas of build up, buildup, slight reveal, buildup, big finale. I loved that.

... faithful to the classic Godzilla monster mashes of the sixties and seventies, when giant creatures would attack mankind and Godzilla would rise from the ocean to smite them.

The last 30 minutes of Godzilla are so marvelously exciting that by this point, the dull humans, and the film's generally slow-build, are secondary to the pure blockbuster showmanship anyway.

Godzilla may be the headliner, but this is the MUTO's story. Godzilla shows up when needed, and that's about it.

Edwards and Borenstein structure Godzilla similar to early Steven Spielberg movies: open with a bang, hold back the monster until halfway through, and drive the story by using half-informed protagonists trying to solve the cover-up.