Warner Bros. Pictures
Everyone was excited in the Summer of 2014 when Warner Bros. released a brand new Godzilla movie to erase the stink of the previous American version that had several missteps, including redesigning the classic Japanese titan. Warner Brothers did a great job marketing the new reboot by barely showing the iconic monster. The feeling amongst the fans was that you have to have a pretty strong movie to promote it without even showing the title character. Unfortunately, the film provided a pretty weak story to reintroduce the titan, spending an inordinate amount of time on the other monsters, the M.U.T.O.s (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Objects) and a collection of characters spread throughout the story with little emotional connection for the audience.
REVIEW
Godzilla‘s biggest misstep was (SPOILER ALERT) killing off its biggest star 40 minutes in. The early ads featured said star prominently, so I felt I had a good idea of what the movie was going to be going in to it, but past that point it turned into a meandering tale that needed (a) the star and (b) Godzilla. The original theatrical experience of seeing the film with a perception based only on the trailer was ultimately disappointing.
Giving the film a re-watch, the (slightly) good news is that I did enjoy it a little more for what it was, but the film still suffers mightily from Bryan Cranston’s abrupt exit from the film. His was the one character that we could sympathize with because he had a real emotional reaction to everything that was going on. No one else really seems to be that invested in the events taking place in the film. The film does feel a bit overly long, but even at 8 minutes, there are quite a few glimpses of Godzilla throughout to tease us until we really get to see him full on. I still don’t care for the M.U.T.O.s though (and I think the studio heard the fans loud and clear and included all of the classic kaiju in the film’s follow-up … but perhaps that was even a bit of overkill). It is funny now to look back and be hit with the realization that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen, playing husband and wife here, went on to play brother and sister in Avengers: Age of Ultron a year later.
VIDEO
I reviewed the film’s Blu-ray upon its original release, and comparing that and the 4K side-by-side shows the differences in the image, particularly as the film’s timeline goes from daylight to darkness. The Blu-ray has the visual impression that someone turned the contrast down and the brightness up, making the climactic nighttime battle between Godzilla and the M.U.T.O.s a bit brighter.
The 4K’s HDR blacks are black, to the point of looking like the TV isn’t even turned on. This is definitely a movie you don’t want to watch in a brightly lit room. The daylight scenes look more naturally lit, colors are also natural and not overly saturated, and the detail is sharp. The 4K is definitely an improvement over the Blu-ray, even if it is technically a 2K upscale from the 1080p Blu-ray.
AUDIO
The new Dolby Atmos soundtrack completely immerses you in its soundscape, putting all of the surrounds to work, front, back and overhead. The Blu-ray’s DTS track was reference quality, and the 4K’s Atmos track (which, incidentally, was used for some of the original theatrical presentations so it isn’t technically a new audio mix) may have a little bit of an edge but I’d say they are comparable in quality.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Blu-ray included in the 4K package is the same as the original release, thus there are no new special features included with this package. The original bonus material was broken into two categories, ‘MONARCH: Declassified’ and ‘The Legendary Godzilla’. The second category title seems to have been dropped and each featurette is presented separately.
- MONARCH: Declassified includes ‘Operation: Lucky Dragon’ (2:44), ‘MONARCH: The M.U.T.O. File’ (4:29), and ‘The Godzilla Revelation’ (7:25), all a series of faux documentaries on MONARCH and Godzilla.
- Godzilla: Force of Nature (19:18) – Gareth Edwards, Bryan Cranston and others discuss the legacy of Godzilla and how to bring a realistic sensibility to a modern film (contains spoilery footage).
- A Whole New Level of Destruction (8:24) – Making the film’s destruction look as real as possible.
- Into the Void: The H.A.L.O. Jump (5:00) – Explains how the jump scene was filmed.
- Ancient Enemy: The M.U.T.O.s (6:49) – Gareth Edwards and the producers explain the development of the M.U.T.O.s.
OVERVIEW
A director’s commentary would have been a welcome addition to the home video release but that is still a major omission. However, if you’ve been a fan of the franchise leading up to the release of Godzilla vs. Kong and you don’t already own the Blu-ray, then this new 4K presentation is well worth adding to your library (especially if you own Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla, King of the Monsters on 4K. The visual and aural impact of the 4K release is worth the upgrade. The film also comes with a new 4K digital copy that is presented in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The 4K version is also available to stream from Apple TV.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment generously provided Hotchka with the 4K for reviewing purposes.
Godzilla has a running time of 2 hours 3 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence.
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