The Unexpected in Godzilla: Godzilla (2014) Analysis

On reading movie reviews of Godzilla (2014), I found most of them misunderstanding what the film was talking about. The movie is smart. And, most reviewers do not realize that. I want to argue that the many different cliché and not cliché developments in the movie are done for reasons that are not apparent to the foremost viewer. Film majors and professors who study film can pick up the nuances that the director wants you to understand, but to the average viewer they maybe a little extravagant. For me to truly extrapolate what I want to say it would be better to have watched Godzilla (2014) before reading this  explanation, and I would highly suggest you to actually experience the film.

as found on screenrant.com

First of all, Godzilla is a film speaking about nuclear disarmament. Think about it. The MUTO, or Godzilla’s supposed enemies throughout the movie, feed on radiation and actively seek it out. From the very beginning, it is apparent that the MUTO can clear out all the nuclear waste in the entire world. Particularly in the entrance into the “quarantine zone” by the two main characters, there was zero radiation because the MUTO had taken all the nuclear radiation in the surrounding area. In essence, the MUTO can literally go all around the world and consume all the nuclear warheads and thus end the problem of nuclear arms proliferation, which then adds an interesting question elaborated by the television set at the end of the film: “Is Godzilla a hero?” I would argue that Godzilla is an antihero in this aspect. He plays the role of both the villain and the hero and brings out another interesting question about nuclear power (which I will elaborate later as I talk about the spousal coupling).

Another interesting underlining directorial choice within this film is it usage or homage to previous film; most notably for me is the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. One specific scene that stands out is when the son, Ford Brody, and three fellow soldiers leave the train to investigate a tunnel. As they move past the tunnel, they reach a bridge shrouded completely in fog, making it seem as though there is solid ground all around them. The cinematography of this scene specifically references the events around the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings. The high angled camera as we see them come into view of the bridge is similar to Gandalf and the fellowships entrance into the great hall, the two soldiers dropping to the bridge as if to hide is similar to the sequence where the hobbits were hiding from the Nazgûl, the dropping of the flashlight is similar to the event where Peregrin Took accidentally knocked the corpse into the well, and the train speeding with a burning engine car which was stopped (“you shall not pass”) by the MUTO is similar to Gandalf stopping Balrog as the burning engine car looks a bit like Balrog. Certainly, I could just be a kook crazy film fanatic, but often in film there have been directors known for paying homage to the past in one way or another in their films. Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elms Street pays homage to John Carpenter’s Halloween, which then pays homage to Hitchcock’s Psycho, among other movies. Godzilla pays its own homage to many different films from which Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings is certainly a large influence.

as found on businessinsider.com

Now to one of the most important points of the film, the three couples. Godzilla sets up three important couples, in this case husband and wife: first, Joe Brody and Sandra Brody, second, Ford Brody and Elle Brody, and finally, female MUTO and male MUTO. Joe Brody and Sandra Brody are the parents of Ford Brody who in case of simplification are representative of complacency to the ongoing events, until Joe’s wife dies. The female MUTO and male MUTO are a representation of a wish to return to an agrarian culture devoid of technology (as they emit EMP waves that render technology useless). Ford Brody and Elle Brody basically carry on Ford Brody’s will, becoming less disillusioned to the true horror of nuclear weapons and events that follow. Godzilla did destroy the view of an agrarian society which brings into question “How should nuclear power be used?” The movie does not forgo the possibility of the benefits of nuclear power but also fears its misuse and dangers from the fallout.

Godzilla (2014) is a smart movie. It takes many real world problems, most prominently nuclear disarmament, and presents them with a ridiculousness that harkens back to the original Godzilla franchise. Personally, I am glad they did not go the dark and depressing route that all movies love to do these days. The outrageous acting and dialogue all play a role in creating this film and cannot be written off simply as dumb and silly or a mark of bad movie making. The entire composition of  Godzilla (2014) is especially wonderful when you realize it.