Ford Brody, a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe. Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating crisis when an ancient alpha predator arises from the sea to combat malevolent adversaries that threaten the survival of humanity. The creatures leave colossal destruction in their wake, as they make their way toward their final battleground: San Francisco.
We're here to see the film's leading lizard, who is pretty gorgeously realized by an army of digitizers, even if he seems just a bit-player in his own movie for the first hour or so.
– Bob Mondello,
NPR,
16 May 2014
rotten:
The beasts just want to have fun, but the gravest letdown in Edwards's film is that, most of the time, he fends off the chance to have fun himself.
– Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
16 May 2014
rotten:
Godzilla handles everything the military hurls at him: ships, guns, planes, rockets, even a squadron of HALO paratroopers. The only thing that can cut him down to size is being relegated to a supporting role in his very own movie.
– Christopher Orr,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2014
fresh:
This is what you get, San Francisco, with all your douchey, flashy, dot-com money: You get stomped on by Godzilla.
– Christy Lemire,
ChristyLemire.com,
18 May 2014
fresh:
This version of the monster is legendary. On a scale of one to 10, give this Godzilla a solid 9.