A scene from Godzilla. (AP/Warner Bros.)

The greatest predator ever created certainly knows how to make an entrance.

A delightful reception can always be expected from the audience after every stomp of its gigantic foot and each swoosh of its scaly tail, although unfortunately such things mean a devastated city is left in its wake.

Godzilla, the roaring beast that fed on nuclear radiation and breathed a radioactive blast, is one of the most beloved international icons of destruction.

Created in Japan when the country was still reeling from the impact of atomic bombs in the early 1950s, Godzilla, or Gojira in Japanese, was initially deemed an allegory to people'€™s fears of nuclear attack and the pain it caused. Originally produced by Toho Co., the movie has spawned over 30 series and a lot more merchandise products.

While in the past it was known merely as a terrifying force of nature, the second '€œAmericanized'€ version '€” now playing at theaters '€” has given it new status as the restorer of the nature'€™s balance.

Yes, Godzilla returned after Roland Emmerich'€™s blockbuster in 1998. Director Gareth Edwards gave the monster a new look '€” a height that reaches 110 meters tall '€” and a mission.

Written by David Callaham and Max Borenstein, the plot is based on its original story: that Godzilla was born in a nuclear incident and Japan is the ground zero of the catastrophe.

The story revolves around the Brodys, who live in the same compound as the fictional Janjira Nuclear Plant in 1999. Scientists Joe (Bryan Cranston) and Sandra (Juliette Binoche) investigate a seismic activity in the region.

The plant meltdown following series of jolts (a resonance to the Fukushima incident in 2011) has torn the family of three apart.

Their son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) returns to Japan as veteran Navy lieutenant, tasked with being an explosives disposal specialist, to help his father find the answer to what caused the incident 15 years ago.

In their quest, they meet scientists Ichiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) who bit by bit reveal information about the existence of the cockroach-like Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Object
(Muto) that nests in the nuclear plant.

The grown male Muto, which has the power to emanate an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), woke and took flight to Hawaii with the military tailing its movement. After creating havoc in Honolulu, the dinosaur-like monster heads to San Francisco Bay to continue its rampage.

When Ford and the military team is close to losing the battle, Godzilla rises from an ocean to fight the winged beast.

The movie is rated PG-13 because of some monster violence and scenes of mayhem.

Godzilla is supposed to be a monster blockbuster but the human characters bring an emotional intensity to the film. More than just fighting monsters, it emphasizes family values that are rarely seen in the movie genre.

The film is produced in 2D and 3D, but watching it on IMAX screens has an impressive effect that magnifies an already enormous movie, thanks to the skills of CGI artists and technicians.

From The Weekender

What if smart isn’t enough? Rethinking merit in a broken system

Michael J. Sandel’s The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? is resonating in Indonesia, where many already sense that the meritocracy system is broken.

Read on The Weekender

Godzilla
(123 minutes, Warner Bros.)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Screenwriters: David Callaham and Max Borenstein
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Bryan Cranston
Producers: Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers

Popular

Opposition grows over national hero title for Soeharto

Germany bans Muslim group accused of advocating caliphate

Soeharto is no hero